PrepTest 112 · Section 1 · Question 21 (Parallel Flaw)

Step 1 · Pre-Question Guidance · read this first

Question type

Parallel Flaw

The one idea it tests

A defect in the original thing is wrongly passed on to the quality of a copy or record of it.

The basic logic

X-Ray the argument: something was flawed as a version of its subject, so a copy of that something must be flawed as a copy. But a copy is judged by how well it matches its source, not by how good the source was. Find the answer that mixes up the source's flaw with the copy's quality just like that.

Tiny words that decide it

“so”
“will not”
“therefore”

Playground logic

Kevin's T. rex drawing looked nothing like a T. rex. Marcus says Lulu's photocopy of the drawing will therefore be a bad photocopy. But a photocopy is good if it matches the drawing, and it can match a bad drawing perfectly.

Step 2 · The kid story

The Wobbly Dinosaur Copy

Kevin proudly held up his drawing. "It's a T. rex!"

Nadia squinted. "It looks like a potato with arms."

Lulu ran it through the school copier for the class newsletter. Marcus shook his head. "Kevin's drawing is a terrible picture of a T. rex. So Lulu's copy will be a terrible copy of Kevin's drawing."

Priya held up the copy next to the original. Every wobbly line matched. Every potato bump was there. "Marcus, a copy is good if it matches what it copies. This one matches perfectly. It's a great copy of a not-great dinosaur."

Marcus frowned. "So the badness doesn't pass through the copier?"

"Nope," said Lulu, writing it down. "How good the original is and how good the copy is are two different questions."

Step 3 · Try the model question

Kevin's drawing is a poor likeness of a T. rex. So Lulu's photocopy of Kevin's drawing will be a poor copy of that drawing.

The flawed reasoning above most closely matches which one of the following?

Step 4 · The courtroom tale

The Case of the Faithful Translator

A publisher sued a translator. "Your Honor," said the publisher's lawyer, "the original travel guide was full of wrong directions. So her translation is a bad translation." Mr. Whitfield stood, adjusting his suspenders. "Your Honor, my client was hired to translate, not to fix. Every wrong direction in the original is a wrong direction in her version, word for word. That is what a faithful translation does." Judge Okafor nodded. "A copy is measured against its source. If the source is wrong and the copy matches it exactly, the copy has done its job. The guide's errors are not the translator's errors." Case dismissed.

Step 5 · Work the real question

Open PrepTest 112, Section 1, Question 21 in your official copy from LSAC (for example in LawHub) and read it there.

Your answer

How to apply it

First X-Ray the stimulus in abstract form: a thing is a poor version of its subject, so a reproduction of that thing will be a poor reproduction. Name the flaw: confusing how good a source is with how faithfully something captures it. Then check each choice for the same two layers, a source with a defect and a record or copy whose quality is wrongly judged by that defect. Reject choices with a different flaw or a valid structure.