Q6 - Although Jaaks is a respected historian

[ohthatpatrick]

Question Type:
Flaw

Stimulus Breakdown:
Conclusion: Jaaks' review of Yancey's book rests on a mistake.
Evidence: Jaaks' review says that the book inaccurately portrays the lives of fisherpeople. But Yancey used the same research methods here as she did in previous history books, all of which have been popular.

Answer Anticipation:
The argument boils down to whether or not Yancey inaccurately portrayed the lives of fisherpeople. The author seems to Yancey must have accurately portrayed their lives, since she used the same research methods as she'd used in previous, also-popular history books. But why should "using the same methods" resolve the issue? How do we know those methods are sound? Maybe her previous, also-popular book were also full of inaccuracies?

Correct Answer:
C

Answer Choice Analysis:
(A) This describes the classic flaw of Appeal to Inappropriate Authority, but our author's evidence doesn't rely on any scholar. Our author's evidence is "same method as before / also popular".

(B) Our author addresses the claim itself, calling it into question by arguing "how could Yancey have been guilty of an inaccurate portrayal if she used the same methods as before?"

(C) This seems to be part of the author's thinking. I'm more comfortable saying that the author assumes that "same methods" is evidence of accuracy, but since the author is listing both "same methods" and "both popular" as ways in which Yancey's new book is similar to her older ones, it seems like the author definitely thinks it's relevant to bring up whether this book, like the older ones, is popular.

(D) The evidence is not a sample. The evidence is a comparison of research methods and popularity of THIS book to those of previous books by Yancey.

(E) Red flag: presumes + extreme. The author doesn't have to assume that Yancey's methods are the ONLY ones that produce accurate results. The author just needs to assume that Yancey's methods produce accurate results.

Takeaway/Pattern: This has a pretty big red herring: "same research methods". It's dangled in front of us as the primary premise, and the author IS taking for granted that "using the same research methods is evidence of the book's accuracy". But it's also true to say what (C) is saying.

#officialexplanation