PrepTest 141, Section 4, 4. Psychologist: Some have argued that Freudian…

How will the right answer fit in terms of support and conclusion?

Only the right answer will accurately describe the support in the passage.

Highlight the main conclusion in the passage, if there is one:

surely this does not follow.

Psychologist: [BACKGROUND]. But surely [CONCLUSION]. [SUPPORT].

You should have no doubt that the support makes a comparison to “undermine” the pro-Freudian argument. The right answer absolutely has to say that.

Map the wording of the answers to the wording of the passage:

(A) introducing a principle…

Nope, a “principle” is a general rule. We’re looking for a comparison.

(B) questioning the truth of its premises

That’s not true! See what I did there? That’s what “questioning the truth” would look like.

(C) presenting an analogous argument…

That maps beautifully to the comparison, and “obviously false” lines up nicely with “would never be accepted.”

(D) …based on a false analogy

We like the “analogy” part, but the rest is way off. There’s no mention of a “false” analogy anywhere.

(E) …a supposed cause…is actually an effect…

There’s no cause-and-effect going on anywhere in this argument.

(C) is the correct answer.

Common pattern/s in this question: This one isn’t too tricky with its wording anyway, but recognizing the comparison still helps prevent a dumb mistake, and it probably helps you go faster and save more time for actual hard ones.