Professor Chan: The literature department’s undergraduate courses should cover only true literary works, and not such frivolous material as advertisements.
Professor Wigmore: Advertisements might or might not be true literary works but they do have a powerfully detrimental effect on society—largely because people cannot discern their real messages. The literature department’s courses give students the critical skills to analyze and understand texts. Therefore, it is the literature department’s responsibility to include the study of advertisements in its undergraduate courses.

Which one of the following is an assumption on which Professor Wigmore’s argument depends?
(A) Texts that are true literary works never have a detrimental effect on society.
(B) Courses offered by the literature department cannot include both true literary works and material such as advertisement.
(C) Students who take courses in the literature department do not get from those courses other skills besides those needed to analyze and understand texts.
(D) Forms of advertising that convey their message entirely through visual images do not have a detrimental effect on society.
(E) The literature department’s responsibility is not limited to teaching students how to analyze true literary works.

Please explain your answers.

Anymore comments? Not C.

My choice is A.


If we assume that lterary works have minute detrimental effect than Professor Wigmore's whole comment is invalid as he talks specifically on detrimental effect.

waiting for reply though.

I go with B.

I would say B, but I kinda doubt... It it sounded "Courses offered by the literature department doesn't include..." I would be more confident in my choice. I also thought about E, but it says about "to analyze true literary works" and author speaks about "to analyze and understand texts" which is not the same.

So, I pick B

OA is B.

I'll try to elucidate. Professor's argument depends on condition that lit depature does not include or cannot include both true literary works and advertisments. Otherwise Professor's claim to include the study of ads in the course does not make sense at all.
Sorry for late answer.

To be honest, me too but I guess this one (B) is the only answer that accomplishes logically the argument.

Whats the source?
To me E sounds best. It was down to choosing between A and E and A got rejected for being too extreme.

B never even occurred to me. Would love to see the explanation.

I got E as well. B never even occured to me. I can't see the logic with B.