Logical Reasoning · Paradox (Reconcile)

PrepTest 110 · Section 2 · Question 7

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

Step 1 · Pre-Question Guidance · read this first

Question type

Paradox (Reconcile)

The one idea it tests

Two rules seem to clash until you see that the second case grew out of the first.

The basic logic

Rule one says something counts only when there is a struggle. Rule two says something with no struggle can sometimes count. Look for a fact that lets the no-struggle case carry a struggle hidden in its past. Run the Handshake Test: the answer must shake hands with both rules.

Tiny words that decide it

“only when”
“yet”
“sometimes”

Playground logic

Ms. Rivera gives gold stars only when a kid pushes through a task they badly wanted to quit. Yet she sometimes gives a star to Owen for practicing spelling on autopilot. It fits once we learn Owen built that habit through weeks of pushing past the urge to quit.

Step 2 · The kid story

Owen's Mysterious Gold Star

Ms. Rivera has a strict gold star rule. "You earn a star only when you finish something you really wanted to quit." Everybody knows this. So when Owen got a gold star for doing his spelling practice, Marcus cried foul. "Owen does spelling every morning like a robot! He does not even want to quit anymore. That breaks the rule!" Lulu flipped back through her clipboard notes. "In September, Owen hated spelling. He groaned every day. He wanted to quit every single morning, and he kept going anyway. Week after week. That is how the robot habit got built." Priya nodded. "So the star is for the habit, and the habit is made of all those times he did not quit." Marcus scratched his head. "Fine. But I want a star for not arguing."

Step 3 · Try the model question

Ms. Rivera gives a gold star only when a student finishes a task they strongly wanted to quit. Yet she sometimes gives a gold star to a student who finishes a task out of pure routine, with no urge to quit at all.

Which fact, if it is correct, best removes the seeming clash in Ms. Rivera's practice?

Step 4 · The courtroom tale

The Case of the Effortless Medal

A swim club's bylaws say a courage medal goes only to a swimmer who conquers real fear. Yet the club gave one to a swimmer who now dives off the high board calmly, without any fear. A rival swimmer sued. "The rules were broken!" Mr. Whitfield called the coach. "Two years ago," the coach said, "she was terrified of that board. She climbed it shaking, every practice, for months, until the fear faded." Mr. Whitfield turned to the judge. "Your Honor, her calm today is built entirely out of fear she conquered. The medal honors exactly what the bylaws require." The judge dismissed the case.

Step 5 · Work the real question

Open PrepTest 110, Section 2, Question 7 in your official copy from LSAC (for example in LawHub) and read it there.

Your answer

How to apply it

Write the two clashing claims side by side: one requires a struggle, the other allows a case without one. Ask how the no-struggle case could still involve a struggle somewhere, for example in how it began. Test each choice with the Handshake Test: it must keep both claims true together. Reject choices about how often things happen, how hard it is to see inside people, or anything that touches only one side.