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- Mon May 23, 2016 4:00 pm
#25374
Complete Question Explanation
(See the complete passage discussion here: lsat/viewtopic.php?t=10524)
The correct answer choice is (A)
To answer an open-ended Must Be True question without a textual referent, use the process of elimination: disregard any answer choice that is not supported by the passage, and examine in detail any remaining contenders.
Answer choice (A): This is the correct answer choice. Dostoyevsky clearly holds that a literary work must stand or fall on its artistic merit and that “only fully realized artistic works could fulfill their goals” (lines 33-34). Observant test-takers might notice the conditional reasoning that underlies this argument:
Since Dostoyevsky defines “artistic merit” simply as the “ability to write well” (lines 40-41), he would probably agree that only well written works of literature could serve a particular political view.
Answer choice (B): This is the Mistaken Reversal of the correct answer choice. According to Dostoyevsky, serving a particular political view is not a necessary precondition for a work of literature to be well written. In fact, answer choice (B) expresses a view held by the radical critics with whom Dostoyevsky disagrees.
Answer choice (C): Whether poorly written works of literature always attempt to serve a particular political view is entirely unclear given the information presented.
Answer choices (D): According to Dostoyevsky, good writing does not require the service of a particular political view. This does not mean, however, that good writing cannot serve any such political view.
Answer choice (E): This answer choice is the contrapositive of answer choice (D). Since the two answer choices are identical in meaning, neither of them can be correct, as the correct answer choice is always unique.
(See the complete passage discussion here: lsat/viewtopic.php?t=10524)
The correct answer choice is (A)
To answer an open-ended Must Be True question without a textual referent, use the process of elimination: disregard any answer choice that is not supported by the passage, and examine in detail any remaining contenders.
Answer choice (A): This is the correct answer choice. Dostoyevsky clearly holds that a literary work must stand or fall on its artistic merit and that “only fully realized artistic works could fulfill their goals” (lines 33-34). Observant test-takers might notice the conditional reasoning that underlies this argument:
- Sufficient
Necessary
Fulfill Goal 
Artistic Merit
Since Dostoyevsky defines “artistic merit” simply as the “ability to write well” (lines 40-41), he would probably agree that only well written works of literature could serve a particular political view.
Answer choice (B): This is the Mistaken Reversal of the correct answer choice. According to Dostoyevsky, serving a particular political view is not a necessary precondition for a work of literature to be well written. In fact, answer choice (B) expresses a view held by the radical critics with whom Dostoyevsky disagrees.
Answer choice (C): Whether poorly written works of literature always attempt to serve a particular political view is entirely unclear given the information presented.
Answer choices (D): According to Dostoyevsky, good writing does not require the service of a particular political view. This does not mean, however, that good writing cannot serve any such political view.
Answer choice (E): This answer choice is the contrapositive of answer choice (D). Since the two answer choices are identical in meaning, neither of them can be correct, as the correct answer choice is always unique.
