- PowerScore Staff
- Posts: 8917
- Joined: Feb 02, 2011
- Sat Mar 03, 2012 6:24 pm
#84839
Complete Question Explanation
Parallel Flaw. The correct answer choice is (B)
The stimulus in this problem exhibits an error of division, where the attributes of the whole are taken
to apply to each part of the whole. In this case, the whole is the university student body, and the part
is Miriam. You must find an answer that contains a similar whole-to-part error of division.
As you attack the answers, it becomes apparent that answer choices (A) and (B) are Contenders and
answer choices (C), (D), and (E) are Losers. We will first analyze (C), (D), and (E):
Answer choice (C): Unlike the stimulus, this answer choice contains valid reasoning and is therefore
incorrect. If that fact escaped you during your analysis, this answer choice also reverses the
relationship, moving from part to whole (the stimulus moves from whole to part).
Answer choice (D): This answer contains a Mistaken Negation, not an error of division.
Answer choice (E): This answer choice contains an error of composition, where the attributes of the
parts are mistaken for the attributes of the whole. This part-to-whole error is the reverse of the error
in the stimulus.
Most students mark answer choice (A) as a definite possibility. Answer choice (B) also looks
attractive, so look more closely at both in order to decide between them.
Answer choice (A): There are several points that differentiate the argument in this answer from the
argument in the stimulus. First, the reasoning in this answer choice is valid, and that alone makes
the answer incorrect. However, most students do not realize that the argument is valid; they are too
caught up in analyzing the part-to-whole mechanics in the answer. Second, this answer has the same
subject as the stimulus, always a red flag. Third (and this relates back to the first point), although
this answer choice is similar in some ways to the argument in the stimulus, this answer focuses on a
group where each member performs a single activity: the students take mathematics. If the students
take mathematics and Miguel is a student, then he too would take mathematics. In the stimulus, the
focus is on a group (“the student body”) that collectively performs many activities—the students at
the university “take courses in a wide range of disciplines.” Obviously, as a student at the school,
Miriam does not have to take courses in a wide range of fields, and she could stick to a narrow range
of disciplines. This last point in particular makes answer choice (A) a very tricky answer, and as
such it provides a good example of why you should not simply select the first attractive answer you
see, and why you instead should read all five of the answer choices (unless time pressure makes that
impossible).
Answer choice (B): This is the correct answer. Like the stimulus, the focus is on a group that
collectively performs many activities: the editorial board of the law journal has “written on many
legal issues.” As a member of the editorial board, Louise need not write on many legal issues. Since
the error is identical to that in the stimulus, this answer is correct.
Parallel Flaw. The correct answer choice is (B)
The stimulus in this problem exhibits an error of division, where the attributes of the whole are taken
to apply to each part of the whole. In this case, the whole is the university student body, and the part
is Miriam. You must find an answer that contains a similar whole-to-part error of division.
As you attack the answers, it becomes apparent that answer choices (A) and (B) are Contenders and
answer choices (C), (D), and (E) are Losers. We will first analyze (C), (D), and (E):
Answer choice (C): Unlike the stimulus, this answer choice contains valid reasoning and is therefore
incorrect. If that fact escaped you during your analysis, this answer choice also reverses the
relationship, moving from part to whole (the stimulus moves from whole to part).
Answer choice (D): This answer contains a Mistaken Negation, not an error of division.
Answer choice (E): This answer choice contains an error of composition, where the attributes of the
parts are mistaken for the attributes of the whole. This part-to-whole error is the reverse of the error
in the stimulus.
Most students mark answer choice (A) as a definite possibility. Answer choice (B) also looks
attractive, so look more closely at both in order to decide between them.
Answer choice (A): There are several points that differentiate the argument in this answer from the
argument in the stimulus. First, the reasoning in this answer choice is valid, and that alone makes
the answer incorrect. However, most students do not realize that the argument is valid; they are too
caught up in analyzing the part-to-whole mechanics in the answer. Second, this answer has the same
subject as the stimulus, always a red flag. Third (and this relates back to the first point), although
this answer choice is similar in some ways to the argument in the stimulus, this answer focuses on a
group where each member performs a single activity: the students take mathematics. If the students
take mathematics and Miguel is a student, then he too would take mathematics. In the stimulus, the
focus is on a group (“the student body”) that collectively performs many activities—the students at
the university “take courses in a wide range of disciplines.” Obviously, as a student at the school,
Miriam does not have to take courses in a wide range of fields, and she could stick to a narrow range
of disciplines. This last point in particular makes answer choice (A) a very tricky answer, and as
such it provides a good example of why you should not simply select the first attractive answer you
see, and why you instead should read all five of the answer choices (unless time pressure makes that
impossible).
Answer choice (B): This is the correct answer. Like the stimulus, the focus is on a group that
collectively performs many activities: the editorial board of the law journal has “written on many
legal issues.” As a member of the editorial board, Louise need not write on many legal issues. Since
the error is identical to that in the stimulus, this answer is correct.