Logical Reasoning · Main Conclusion

PrepTest 102 · Section 2 · Question 1

Phase 1 (your first ~400 questions): read the guidance, then answer. No clock.

Step 1 · Pre-Question Guidance · read this first

Question type

Main Conclusion

The one idea it tests

Find the claim the speaker is selling, not the fact or the reason used to sell it.

The basic logic

The argument opens with a fact, then predicts a good result from it, then gives a 'since' reason for the prediction. The prediction is the top bun. The opening fact is bottom bun or patty, and the 'since' clause is a helper.

Tiny words that decide it

“will”
“since”
“now”

Playground logic

Kevin starts with a fact (bottom bun: barking style comes from breed), then predicts that neighbors will get more patient (top bun), and props that up with a 'since' reason (patty). The prediction is his point, Kevin, not the dog facts.

Step 2 · The kid story

Kevin and the Barking Report

Kevin stood on the bench at recess with his dinosaur notebook. 'Big news! Scientists say how a dog barks mostly comes from its breed. Little yappy barks, deep booming barks, howls at the moon, all breed stuff.' Nadia nodded. Kevin kept going. 'So this will make the whole street nicer to noisy dogs. Because now a so-called good dog is just a dog that barks like the breeds most people own.' Marcus squinted. 'So your point is that barks come from breeds?' Priya sipped her juice box. 'Nope. That is the fact he started with. His point is the prediction: people will get more patient. The breed fact and the most-people part are there to hold the prediction up.' Kevin grinned. 'Also, a T. rex probably roared like a bulldog.' Nobody bought that part.

Step 3 · Try the model question

Kevin: We now know that a dog's bark style comes mostly from its breed. This discovery will make neighbors more patient with noisy dogs, since a well-behaved dog now counts as just one that barks like the breeds most people own.

Which choice sums up what Kevin is arguing for?

Step 4 · The courtroom tale

The Case of the Tuneless Choir

Mr. Whitfield snapped his suspenders. 'Your Honor, studies now show that singing off key mostly comes from how a person's ears are built. This will make our town choir far kinder to its wobbly singers, since a good singer now just means someone whose ears are built like most people's.' Judge Penny Ortez tapped her pen. 'Counselor, which part do you want me to rule on?' 'The kindness part, Your Honor. The ear science is just my evidence.' The judge nodded. 'Then that is your conclusion. Next time, lead with it.'

Step 5 · Work the real question

Open PrepTest 102, Section 2, Question 1 in your official copy from LSAC (for example in LawHub) and read it there.

Your answer

How to apply it

Read the whole argument and sort each sentence by job. Look for the claim that the other sentences are trying to prove, often a prediction or a recommendation. Watch for 'since' or 'because': what follows them is usually a reason, not the point. Ask 'why should I believe this?' of each candidate; the conclusion is the one the rest answers. Then pick the choice that restates that claim, and reject choices that merely repeat a supporting fact.