#18 - Historian: Those who claim that Shakespeare did not

[99bengardner@gmail.com]

I selected (E), as there was an unsupported assumption that being associated with the aristocracy meant you were a snob (and that snobbery motivated you), one that would only logically follow if the reader were to have already accepted the conclusion.

I rejected A, B and to some degree D because there was no claim that Shakespeare is the true author, though I was torn between E and D. I see now that I missed the wording of purely by snobbery, which D "maybe not snobbery" would poke a big hole in. But I remain confused as to why E doesn't work

[Luke Haqq]

Hi 99bengardner!

I'm not sure that I see that assumption in this stimulus. That is, I don't see the author necessarily thinking that being associated with aristocracy makes one a snob. It's possible, for example, that what makes one a snob is thinking that plays should be published when they are authored by aristocrats. Since it doesn't seem like the sort of assumption you suggested is clearly being made, answer choice (E) doesn't quite fit in describing a flaw in the argument.