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Although many 17th century broadsides, popular ballads
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Updated on: 28 Jul 2017, 22:29
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Difficulty:
75% (hard)
Question Stats:
58% (02:21) correct 42% (02:28) wrong based on 267 sessions
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Although many 17th century broadsides, popular ballads printed on a single sheet of paper and widely sold by street peddlers, were moralizing in nature, this is not evidence that most 17th century people were serious about moral values. While over half of surviving broadsides contain moralizing statements, and it is known that many people purchased such compositions, it is not widely known why they did so, nor is it known how their own beliefs related to what they read.
Which one of the following, if true, most strengthens the argument?
(A) like other forms of cheap 17th century popular literature, surviving broadsides seem mostly to have been rather low literary quality and to have been written by hack writers.
(B) In many moralizing ballads, the moral content was confined to a single stanza expressing a pious sentiment tacked onto a sensational account of crime and adultery
(C) Some 17th century ballad sellers also sold some sermons printed in pamphlet form
(D) The clergy occasionally stuck broadsides warning about the danger of strong drink on the doors of 17th century alehouses
(E) Well educated people of the 17th century held broadsides in contempt and considered broadside peddlers to be disreputable vagrants
This is a Strengthen question, as evidenced by the phrase, “which of the following… most strengthens the argument.” Our first item of business is therefore to identify the conclusion of the author and then look for gaps between the conclusion and the premises. However, the Testmaker has made it difficult to identify the conclusion of the argument. Using the “why?” test to evaluate pieces of the argument help you to determine what the actual conclusion is. Normally, the last sentence in an argument is a prime candidate for the location of the conclusion (in fact, this is what the Testmaker wants you to believe for this particular problem.)
However, looking closer at the argument, it is obvious that the “why” of the last statement is to show that moral broadsides were not evidence most seventeenth-century people were serious about moral values. This is the logical gap: while the assumption exists that most seventeenth- century people purchased broadsides because the broadsides were moralizing, we actually don’t know why they were purchased. The answer choice should plug this logical gap.
Answer choice “A” is a distraction that fails to focus on the logical gap. Regardless of if the broadsides were of low quality, the body of the question indicates they were popular. Answer choice “A” still does not tell us why most seventeenth-century people purchased broadsides.
Answer choice “B” gives us an alternative people purchased reason for broadsides: why the most seventeenth-century moralizing aspect of the broadsides was rather minimal, and they actually “sensationalized” crime and adultery. This helps the author of the argument prove that we can’t assume most people purchased broadsides because the broadsides were moralizing. “B” helps strengthen the argument.
Answer choice “C” is at best irrelevant to the argument (since the original argument focuses on broadsides, not on pamphlet sermons.) At worst, answer choice “C” actually weakens the argument, since buying printed sermons would seem on its face to be evidence that the populace was serious about moral values.
Answer choice “D” focuses on the interests of the clergy, but fails to mind the logical gap. The argument in the body of the question makes a conclusion about “most seventeenth-century people.” Answer choice “D” makes no comment on “most seventeenth-century people,” and concentrates on a small group of people “occasionally” posting moral broadsides on alehouse doors. This cannot help explain the popularity of broadsides sold by street peddlers.
In like manner to answer choice “D”, answer choice “E” also focuses on the interests of a subgroup while failing to mind the logical gap. The argument in the body of the question makes a conclusion about “most seventeenth-century people.” Answer choice “E” makes no comment on “most seventeenth-century people,” and concentrates on only “well- educated people” who steered clear of both broadsides and street peddlers. Naturally, this cannot help explain the popularity of broadsides sold by street peddlers.
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Re: Although many 17th century broadsides, popular ballads
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05 Nov 2009, 11:17
My Reasoning: Although many 17th century broadsides, popular ballads printed on a single sheet of paper and widely sold by street peddlers,..................
now why would anyone pay money to read some dreary boring and preachy stuff. so what if the peddlers were baddies or if the stanzas carried warnings, were written by hacks etc.... scandalous material has a great chance of selling, eh?
Re: Although many 17th century broadsides, popular ballads
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28 Nov 2015, 21:49
zaarathelab wrote:
Although many 17th century broadsides, popular ballads printed on a single sheet of paper and widely sold by street peddlers, were moralizing in nature, this is not evidence that most 17th century people were serious about moral values. While over half of surviving broadsides contain moralizing statements, and it is known that many people purchased such compositions, it is not widely known why they did so, nor is it known how their own beliefs related to what they read.
Which one of the following, if true, most strengthens the argument?
(A) like other forms of cheap 17th century popular literature, surviving broadsides seem mostly to have been rather low literary quality and to have been written by hack writers.
(B) In many moralizing ballads, the moral content was confined to a single stanza expressing a pious sentiment lacked onto a sensational account of crime and adultery
(C) Some 17th century ballad sellers also sold some sermons printed in pamphlet form
(D) The clergy occasionally stuck broadsides warning about the danger of strong drink on the doors of 17th century alehouses
(E) Well educated people of the 17th century held broadsides in contempt and considered broadside peddlers to be disreputable vagrants
According to the book, the option B is "In many moralizing ballads, the moral content was confined to a single stanza expressing a pious sentiment tacked onto a sensational account of crime and adultery." Hope i helped
Re: Although many 17th century broadsides, popular ballads
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31 Mar 2019, 07:02
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