History of Slang

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A statistical review of word types and frequencies in all of the works of fiction in a library has found that the works of fiction published prior to 1970 use far fewer slang words, measured as a percentage of the book's total words, than the works of fiction published in 1970 or later. Evidently, whether or not they intended to do so, authors of works published prior to 1970 used less slang than authors of later books.

Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens this argument?

The amount of slang used in non-fiction books in the statistical review is essentially constant across periods of history.

Works of fiction published in 1970 or later are often just as critically acclaimed as works of fiction published prior to 1970.

Prior to widespread means of information communication, slang words were less likely to be understood by the entirety of a widespread readership.

The less slang a published book uses, the more likely it is to remain stocked by a library over time.

Writers of manuscripts prior to 1970 used as much slang as those of later manuscripts, but due to more conservative attitudes of editors during the earlier period, the manuscripts written during the earlier period were less likely to be published.

Review: History of Slang

Explanation

Reading the question: since we have an argument, we can do some term matching.

The conclusion is the last sentence: a comparison of authors and slang. The evidence doesn't discuss authors; it discusses books and slang. So an assumption appears to be a connection between books and authors. Is there some mismatch in how the books represent the authors? We'll use that expectation as our filter.

Applying the filter: we can see that the only answer choice that mentions both authors and books explicitly is (E). But choice (E) is flawed; if the books aren't published, they aren't material to the conclusion, which limits itself to authors of works published. Therefore, (E) is out. Starting back at the top of the answer choices: choices (A), (B), and (C) all introduce new concepts that fail to bridge "books" and "authors"; they are non-fiction books, critical acclaim, and likelihood of being understood. Typically, introducing new concepts only causes problems. Choice (D) talks about being "stocked by a library." This may sound irrelevant at first, but in fact, being stocked in this library is the way in which a book represents an author; the authors who don't have books stocked in the library are omitted from this study, potentially distorting it. In other words, if (D) is true, 21st century books may or may not have lots of slang, but older books in a library will only be the non-slang ones. Choice (D) would give an alternate explanation for the point of evidence in the argument, so it seriously weakens the argument. The correct answer is (D).

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History of Slang