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An obscure novel from the thirteenth century has been attributed to [#permalink]
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yogesh610 wrote:
mike please help me explain why the answer is not B?


Let me try.

The argument says that
- An obscure novel from the thirteenth century has been attributed to Author X ( Conclusion)
- The year of completion of the book is 1221 ( this has been accepted) .
- The author mentions a specific character in her diary that appears in the last chapter of the book.
Now inspite of all these information the sole author of the long work is often disputed.
The question asks Which of the following, if true, most strongly supports the argument above?


We need to find that extra information that will make the conclusion strong.

A. In several diary entries in the year 1220, Author X mentioned that she was lonely working on the obscure novel but that it was almost complete.
- We already know the year of completion. So this doesn't help us.

B. For record-keeping purposes, Author X had a court scribe copy her diary, so a second copy of her diary verifies the authenticity of her entry about the obscure novel in 1221.
- It says the second diary is just a copy of the first one. So, there is no new information that may strikeout the dispute. In any case, we still do not know what is written in the 2nd copy.

C. No writers other than Author X wrote interior portions now accepted as part of the obscure novel after Author X had finished her portion in 1221.
- This is the solid evidence that can prove that the Author X is the sole writer of the obscure novel. Till 1221 the author hasn't yet finished the novel. And so no one could duplicate the writings before 1221.

D. Early in 1222, a political coup took place that would have made life so turbulent for Author X that it would have been virtually impossible for her to continue to edit and add to the obscure novel.
- This actually tells us that the author could not write after 1221. But this doesn't help us, because the author had already finished writing his novel before 1222.

E. The last chapter of the book was the last one Author X wrote.
- This adds no new information .

Originally posted by urhowig on 05 Apr 2017, 23:55.
Last edited by urhowig on 07 Apr 2017, 06:56, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: An obscure novel from the thirteenth century has been attributed to [#permalink]
Need more explanation. Experts help.
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Re: An obscure novel from the thirteenth century has been attributed to [#permalink]
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Experts Please help in explaining.
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Re: An obscure novel from the thirteenth century has been attributed to [#permalink]
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I believe that the argument speaks about chronology and not the authorship. It explicitly states that there is doubt regarding authorship but chronology is clear. Hence, we should find an option proving that the work was completed in 1221 and not one which is trying to prove that the author is indeed X.

Only 'C' is adding more info onto this. It says no other author has mentioned about this work after 1221, hence the novel was completed in 1221.

All the other options throw more light onto the fact that Author X wrote the diary. They don't provide any new info other than which provided already in the argument to show that the novel was completed in 1221 itself. Hence option C is the answer.
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Re: An obscure novel from the thirteenth century has been attributed to [#permalink]
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godot53 wrote:
An obscure novel from the thirteenth century has been attributed to Author X, although whether she was the sole author of the long work is often disputed. The year of completion has also been disputed but should be accepted as 1221, because in this year Author X wrote a diary entry about her joy at having completed the work. In this diary entry she also mentions a specific character who appears only in the last chapter of the book. While doubts may remain about certain aspects of the book's authorship, there is no doubt about its chronology.

Which of the following, if true, most strongly supports the argument above?

A. In several diary entries in the year 1220, Author X mentioned that she was lonely working on the obscure novel but that it was almost complete.
B. For record-keeping purposes, Author X had a court scribe copy her diary, so a second copy of her diary verifies the authenticity of her entry about the obscure novel in 1221.
C. No writers other than Author X wrote interior portions now accepted as part of the obscure novel after Author X had finished her portion in 1221.
D. Early in 1222, a political coup took place that would have made life so turbulent for Author X that it would have been virtually impossible for her to continue to edit and add to the obscure novel.
E. The last chapter of the book was the last one Author X wrote.


Official Explanation



Reading the question: The conclusion is that the year of completion of this book was 1221. If no flaw is obvious, we jump to the answer choices and apply the negation test.

Logical proof: choice (A) a weak strengthener, but when we negate it, the argument could still hold. It's not unusually material to the argument whether or not Author X wrote such diary entries. Same with (B); it strengthens the argument, but is not required. Choice (C) is different; if we negate (C), the argument blows up. In such a case, there were writers other than Author X who later wrote interior portions of the book, after 1221, so the year of completion wasn't 1221. (C) is in. (D) is quite similar to (A) and (B). (E) strengthens as well, but the argument doesn't break if (E) is false.

The correct answer is (C).
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Re: An obscure novel from the thirteenth century has been attributed to [#permalink]
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Good question, will give it a try.

Conclusion: Novel was completed in 1221, even though it may or may not have been solely written by X.
Premise: Novel was completed by/in 1221 as X wrote about completing the work in 1221 in her diary and also mentions a character that appears only in the last chapter
Conclusion Negated: Novel may or may not have been written in 1221
Gap: 1 - maybe she completed the novel before but wrote about it in her diary later
2 - maybe even though she completed the novel at her end, there were additional portions that were added later by other authors (we know conclusion is allowing for there to be other authors)

"Strengthener" is a statement that if true, "addresses existing gaps in the argument"
Any argument that strengthens the fact that X was the sole author of the novel is not a strong strengthener, because, the conclusion is asserting the year of completion, while leaving authorship "open ended".

Answer Choice Analysis
A. In several diary entries in the year 1220, Author X mentioned that she was lonely working on the obscure novel but that it was almost complete. - Gap 2 not addressed
B. For record-keeping purposes, Author X had a court scribe copy her diary, so a second copy of her diary verifies the authenticity of her entry about the obscure novel in 1221. - Gap 2 not addressed; additionally, we don't know if the court scribe itself did a perfect job
C. No writers other than Author X wrote interior portions now accepted as part of the obscure novel after Author X had finished her portion in 1221. - addresses Gap 2
D. Early in 1222, a political coup took place that would have made life so turbulent for Author X that it would have been virtually impossible for her to continue to edit and add to the obscure novel. 1 and 2 both unaddressed
E. The last chapter of the book was the last one Author X wrote.Gap 2 not addressed[/quote]




godot53 wrote:
An obscure novel from the thirteenth century has been attributed to Author X, although whether she was the sole author of the long work is often disputed. The year of completion has also been disputed but should be accepted as 1221, because in this year Author X wrote a diary entry about her joy at having completed the work. In this diary entry she also mentions a specific character who appears only in the last chapter of the book. While doubts may remain about certain aspects of the book's authorship, there is no doubt about its chronology.

Which of the following, if true, most strongly supports the argument above?

A. In several diary entries in the year 1220, Author X mentioned that she was lonely working on the obscure novel but that it was almost complete.
B. For record-keeping purposes, Author X had a court scribe copy her diary, so a second copy of her diary verifies the authenticity of her entry about the obscure novel in 1221.
C. No writers other than Author X wrote interior portions now accepted as part of the obscure novel after Author X had finished her portion in 1221.
D. Early in 1222, a political coup took place that would have made life so turbulent for Author X that it would have been virtually impossible for her to continue to edit and add to the obscure novel.
E. The last chapter of the book was the last one Author X wrote.
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Re: An obscure novel from the thirteenth century has been attributed to [#permalink]
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