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 bk1111
  • Posts: 103
  • Joined: Apr 22, 2017
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#38432
Hi -

Sorry in advance for all these questions! Can someone explain why E is incorrect? I initially chose D, but upon revisiting the answer choices, changed my answer to E.

Thank you!
 Adam Tyson
PowerScore Staff
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#38451
No worries, bk, we're here to help!

The assumption here needs to close the logical gap between being a great novelist and getting that "intuitive grasp" the author speaks about. If he's going to argue that a novelist cannot be great if he doesn't get that intuitive grasp, then he must be assuming that the grasp is necessary, indispensable, for that greatness. That's where answer D comes in; it makes that grasp necessary in a conditional relationship in which being a great novelist is sufficient.

The problem with answer E is that it makes no such connection. There is no mention of greatness or of novelists. Without that link, this answer does nothing for us and isn't required by the argument.

Answer E is also something of a shell game, mixing up aspects of the stimulus in ways that they weren't originally expressed. "Observing and analyzing life" isn't quite what the stimulus is talking about, is it?

Look for the links that fill the logical gaps. This approach works well with assumption, justify, and strengthen questions frequently, and you'll be stepping up your gsme by spotting them and giving them your attention and consideration.

Keep at it!
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 PresidentLSAT
  • Posts: 87
  • Joined: Apr 19, 2021
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#91593
Hello Adam,

could you kindly spot why my reasoning for ruling out E?

Per the argument, the requirement for being a great novelist is an intuitive grasp of emotions of everyday life. There could be multiple ways of obtaining it but the author limits us to only one. I ruled out E because knowing about this required experience is contextually different from a grasp that doesn't require knowledge. This grasp is intuitive, whereas you can acquire the knowledge by experiment.

This section shook up my average lol
 Adam Tyson
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#91625
I think your reasoning for eliminating answer E makes some sense, President, but it overlooks a crucial aspect that kills it completely. This is an argument about being a great novelist, and the requirements for that greatness include some intuition. Answer E fails to address either "greatness" or "intuition"! It doesn't matter how one might acquire knowledge of those emotions; to be a great novelist you have to have an intuitive grasp, which is different from mere knowledge.

In Assumption questions, look for gaps between the issues raised in the premises and those discussed in the conclusion, and select an answer that connects those things to each other!
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 jackielsat
  • Posts: 8
  • Joined: Jun 07, 2022
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#96870
When I did this question, I diagrammed it as:


great novelists--> remain in academia

intuitive grasp--> immersion in life PRECLUDED by academia

So I predicted the assumption is that great novelists can't have intuitive grasp because intuitive grasp REQUIRES immersion but academia doesn't allow it, and novelists are required to remain in academia. Could you please help me understand where Im going wrong?

I chose E because it essentially states that there's no other way of gaining the intuitive grasp
 Rachael Wilkenfeld
PowerScore Staff
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#96887
Hi Jackie,

The first conditional you diagrammed is not correct. It's not saying that great novelists must remain in academia. It's saying that novelists in academia cannot be great.

Academia :arrow: great novelist
or
Great novelist :arrow: academia

Intuitive grasp of emotions of everyday life :arrow: academia

We are looking for the assumption required by the argument, so we need to connect the intuitive grasp of emotions in the premise to the great novelist in the conclusion. This is what we see in answer choice (D). We would diagram answer choice (D) like so:

Great novelist :arrow: intuitive grasp of emotions of everyday life

Answer choice (E) is not required for the argument. It talks about knowledge of the emotions of everyday life, which may be different from an intuitive grasp of those emotions. Additionally, the answer choice mixes up general analysis and observation skills with observing and analyzing life specifically.

Hope that helps!

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