In my last English test, four of the ten multiple choice que

Even I marked D at first place.....

Hmmmmm, but why is D incorrect and C correct? Both seem appropriate.

Here is the OE


In the argument the author discusses one case in which the popular belief worked for him. He deduced from that that the popular belief is true. One example is not enough to prove a universal statement that uses ‘always’. Hence (C) is the correct answer.

(A): Incorrect. We do not know whether the author went with his instinct because he believed in the popular belief. Even if he did depend on popular belief, such a dependency doesn’t falsify the argument.

(B): Incorrect. The information about the rest of the questions may or may not have affected this argument.

(D): Incorrect. Since the author is trying to prove this popular belief, providing information about the times when this strategy did not work will not make his argument logical.

(E): We cannot say whether the popular belief is a myth or a reality.

I still could not get why D is inappropriate.

If we know the times when this strategy did not work we can surely say that the argument is weakened.

Please help

The focus of the argument is "tests with multiple choice questions." Hence this strategy is being discussed only with respect to this situation. The author never mentioned the strategy pertains to all situations. Rather a specific situation is being described as a generalization out here.So "C" is more appropriate than "D."

In my last English test, four of the ten multiple choice questions confused me. I answered each one of them according to my gut feeling, my first instinct. I found out that I had answered all four of them correctly. The popular belief that when stumped by a multiple-choice question on a test, always trust your first instinct must, therefore, be true.

Key idea: The author uses one specific incidence and makes a generalized conclusion based on this singular incident.

The argument is flawed primarily because the author

A. depends of popular belief rather than documented research findings - Nope. eliminate (A).

B. does not supply information about rest of the six questions - Even if we have this information, it is not related to the conclusion drawn. Hence, eliminate (B)

C. uses one specific situation to prove a generalization - This is exactly what the author does - the author uses one specific situation (In my last English test,...) to prove a generalization (The popular belief that when stumped by a multiple-choice question on a test, always trust your first instinct must, therefore, be true). hence, (C) is the right answer.

D. does not provide information about the times when this strategy did not work. -This is not stated or implied in the passage. Moreover, the passage fits the description of (C) perfectly. Hence, eliminate (D)

E. fails to distinguish between myth and reality - Irrelevant. Hence, eliminate (E)

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