The older a country is, the more likely it is to be ruled by a monarch. Thus, since most countries are not ruled by m...

Irina on September 25, 2019

@Hannah-Anderson,

I would not necessarily diagram this question considering not all the statements are conditional, but we can break down the stimulus:

Premise 1: Most countries are not ruled by monarchs.
Premise 2: The older the country is the more likely it is to be ruled by a monarch.
Conclusion: If a country is particularly new, it is probably not ruled by a monarch.

The question asks us to identify a similar pattern of reasoning. It appears that for all the answer choices novels = countries, movies = monarchs, and popular=old.

With this in mind, let's compare (A) and (D).

(A) Most novels are not made into movies. The more popular the novel is the more likely it is to be made into a movie. Thus, if a movie is quite unpopular it is probably not based on a novel.

The premises parallel the reasoning in the stimulus, but the conclusion is completely different. The conclusion is equivalent to saying that if a monarch is old, it is probably no ruling a country.

(D) Most novels are not made into movies. The more popular the novel is, the more likely it is to be made into a movie. Thus, if a novel is quite unpopular, it will probably not be made into a movie.

This answer choice parallels the reasoning in the stimulus exactly. The conclusion is equivalent to if a country is quite new, it probably will not have a monarch.

Let me know if this makes sense if you have any further questions.