Author X’s Novel

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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?

Review: Author X's Novel


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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