The correct answer is (C).
(C) Role of a Statement
Step 1: Identify the Question Type
A question stem that takes a portion of the stimulus and asks you what role it plays in the argument is a Role of a Statement question. Start by finding the referenced statement in the stimulus and underlining it. Then read the argument in full, breaking it down into the evidence and conclusion. Focus on the structure of the argument and how the underlined statement fits into that structure.
Step 2: Untangle the Stimulus
The question stem focuses on the "complaint of several centuries ago that powerful memory and extemporaneous eloquence were being destroyed," which is found in the second sentence. Underline it and then go back to the top and parse the argument's structure.
In the first sentence, the author identifies a common present-day complaint that electronic media has corroded intellectual skills fostered by literature. Then the author presents a similar complaint from centuries ago: The spread of the written word was destroying intellectual skills fostered by oral culture. The author then concludes that the human mind will merely change, not degrade.
Step 3: Make a Prediction
The referenced statement is an old complaint that the author uses to put into perspective the current complaint. The author uses both to support the conclusion that the human mind is evolving and adapting, not deteriorating. Therefore, the statement in question is evidence and being used as an analogy to dismiss the alleged coming harm to the human mind. As you move to the answer choices, make sure you understand the conclusion of the stimulus as well. Many Role of a Statement answer choices will indicate that the statement is "evidence in support of the claim that . . . " To be correct, the answer must accurately describe the conclusion that the evidence supports.
Step 4: Evaluate the Answer Choices
(C) correctly matches the role of the statement. The complaint from centuries ago did revolve around a cultural change, and the author uses it to downplay concerns that such changes are harmful to the human mind.
(A) incorrectly describes the conclusion of the argument. This answer choice actually describes the current complaint, which the author then proceeds to downplay.
(B) is Out of Scope. This choice makes up a conclusion that is found nowhere in the argument.
(D) is a tempting answer yet subtly distorts the conclusion. The author may actually accept that intellectual skills fostered by literary media are being lost in the shift to electronic media. But the author's point is that this loss of some skills (and likely replacement by others) should not be considered a degradation of the human mind, just a change.
(E) is incorrect because the author uses this example in support of her argument. The author does not dismiss it, nor is there any suggestion that the statement would be used by those the author counters.
