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- Posts: 8950
- Joined: Feb 02, 2011
- Tue May 23, 2017 3:34 pm
#35297
Complete Question Explanation
Point at Issue. The correct answer choice is (D)
Editor Y likes a certain photograph while editor Z does not. Both find its composition attractive (Z concedes that it is “pretty”), but Z is troubled by the fact that the photograph does not make a statement. Both arguments are relatively simple and contain causal reasoning. According to editor Y, the photograph is good because its composition is attractive (the colon punctuation mark introduces an appositive clause that supports the clause before the colon). Likewise, the second sentence in editor Z’s argument supports her conclusion that the photograph is not good in the first.
Structurally, the two arguments can be diagrammed as follows:
Answer choice (A): This answer choice is incorrect because it does not pass the Agree/Disagree Test. While editor Z is likely to agree that a photograph’s composition should be related to a statement that it makes, editor Y makes no comment regarding this issue.
Answer choice (B): Both speakers agree that the photograph in question is attractive. We cannot know how they would view photographs that are not attractive.
Answer choice (C): Editor Z would agree that a photograph could be attractive without making a statement. Editor Y’s opinion, however, cannot be deduced from the information contained in the stimulus. Although Y clearly regards the photograph in question as attractive, she remains silent on the issue of whether it makes a statement. This answer does not pass the Agree/Disagree Test and is therefore incorrect.
Answer choice (D): This is the correct answer choice, because editor Y would agree with the statement and editor Z would disagree with it. The key to answer choice (E) is the word “can,” which denotes a possibility that is relatively easy to prove or disprove. According to editor Y, the photograph in question is good because its composition is attractive. As a result, she would probably agree that attractiveness by itself can make a photograph a good photograph. (Note the carefully worded language here. While we cannot prove that Y would regard attractiveness as sufficient to make any photograph good, it can be sufficient – as exemplified by the photograph in question.)
Editor Y, of course, would disagree with this statement. She concedes that the photograph is pretty (i.e. attractive), but argues that it is a bad photograph regardless. Therefore, she would disagree with the claim that attractiveness by itself can make a photograph a good photograph. Answer choice (E) passes the Agree/Disagree Test, and is therefore the correct answer choice.
Answer choice (E): Editor Y uses the term “attractive” to describe the photograph’s composition, while editor Z concedes that “it’s very pretty, but…” This dialogue suggests that, for editor Z, the terms “attractive” and “pretty” are interchangeable and so she would probably agree that they are referring to the same feature. Of course, we have no reason to suspect that editor Y would disagree with this statement, making answer choice easy to eliminate.
Point at Issue. The correct answer choice is (D)
Editor Y likes a certain photograph while editor Z does not. Both find its composition attractive (Z concedes that it is “pretty”), but Z is troubled by the fact that the photograph does not make a statement. Both arguments are relatively simple and contain causal reasoning. According to editor Y, the photograph is good because its composition is attractive (the colon punctuation mark introduces an appositive clause that supports the clause before the colon). Likewise, the second sentence in editor Z’s argument supports her conclusion that the photograph is not good in the first.
Structurally, the two arguments can be diagrammed as follows:
- Cause Effect
Y:
Attractive composition 
Good photograph
Z: Make a statement Good photograph
Answer choice (A): This answer choice is incorrect because it does not pass the Agree/Disagree Test. While editor Z is likely to agree that a photograph’s composition should be related to a statement that it makes, editor Y makes no comment regarding this issue.
Answer choice (B): Both speakers agree that the photograph in question is attractive. We cannot know how they would view photographs that are not attractive.
Answer choice (C): Editor Z would agree that a photograph could be attractive without making a statement. Editor Y’s opinion, however, cannot be deduced from the information contained in the stimulus. Although Y clearly regards the photograph in question as attractive, she remains silent on the issue of whether it makes a statement. This answer does not pass the Agree/Disagree Test and is therefore incorrect.
Answer choice (D): This is the correct answer choice, because editor Y would agree with the statement and editor Z would disagree with it. The key to answer choice (E) is the word “can,” which denotes a possibility that is relatively easy to prove or disprove. According to editor Y, the photograph in question is good because its composition is attractive. As a result, she would probably agree that attractiveness by itself can make a photograph a good photograph. (Note the carefully worded language here. While we cannot prove that Y would regard attractiveness as sufficient to make any photograph good, it can be sufficient – as exemplified by the photograph in question.)
Editor Y, of course, would disagree with this statement. She concedes that the photograph is pretty (i.e. attractive), but argues that it is a bad photograph regardless. Therefore, she would disagree with the claim that attractiveness by itself can make a photograph a good photograph. Answer choice (E) passes the Agree/Disagree Test, and is therefore the correct answer choice.
Answer choice (E): Editor Y uses the term “attractive” to describe the photograph’s composition, while editor Z concedes that “it’s very pretty, but…” This dialogue suggests that, for editor Z, the terms “attractive” and “pretty” are interchangeable and so she would probably agree that they are referring to the same feature. Of course, we have no reason to suspect that editor Y would disagree with this statement, making answer choice easy to eliminate.