Logical Reasoning · Strengthen

PrepTest 113 · 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

Strengthen (justify a criticism)

The one idea it tests

The speaker says a fix that starts late will not work well. Find the fact that explains why waiting hurts.

The basic logic

The patty: the fix is useful. The top bun: starting it late will flop. The gap is about timing. The right answer shows that the problem gets harder to fix the longer it sits, so a late start loses its power.

Tiny words that decide it

“late”
“relatively”
“however”

Playground logic

Grandpa says training Biscuit is worth it (patty), but Marcus's plan to wait a whole year will barely work (top bun). The secret sauce is about time: bad habits get stronger the longer they run, so a late start is fighting a bigger problem.

Step 2 · The kid story

Biscuit and the Someday Plan

Biscuit had a habit. Every time the doorbell rang, he leaped on the couch and howled like a fire truck. Grandpa said, 'We should teach him a calm trick. A good trainer could fix this.' Marcus raised a finger like a detective. 'Agreed. But let's wait until next summer. Then he'll be bigger and smarter.' Grandpa frowned. 'Waiting that long won't work nearly as well.' Marcus asked why. Lulu flipped her clipboard. 'Because every day Biscuit howls and nobody stops him, the habit gets deeper. By next summer it will be like a path worn into the grass.' Priya sipped her juice box. 'So the later you start, the harder the fix. That is the fact that makes Grandpa right.' Biscuit howled at the mail truck, as if to agree.

Step 3 · Try the model question

Grandpa: Training Biscuit to stay calm when the doorbell rings is worth doing, and a trainer could help. But Marcus's plan to begin the training a year from now would not work nearly as well.

Which choice, if true, gives the best support for Grandpa's objection to Marcus's plan?

Step 4 · The courtroom tale

The Case of the Leaky Roof

Mr. Whitfield snapped his suspenders. 'Your Honor, my client agrees the school roof needs patching. He only objects to the city's plan to patch it next spring.' Judge Marla Finch raised an eyebrow. 'Why does the date matter?' A roofer took the stand. 'Every rainstorm soaks the boards a little more. By spring, the wood will be soft and the leak twice as wide. A patch that works today will slide right off then.' Mr. Whitfield nodded. 'So the longer we wait, the worse the problem, and the weaker the fix.' The judge scribbled a note. 'That is a reason about timing, and it fits your objection. Patch it this week.'

Step 5 · Work the real question

Open PrepTest 113, Section 2, Question 1 in your official copy from LSAC (for example in LawHub) and read it there.

Your answer

How to apply it

Find the exact target: the speaker likes the general fix but attacks one detail, its timing. Do not support the fix in general; support the claim that the late version will work poorly. Ask, 'What would make a late start weaker than an early one?' The winner shows that the problem changes over time in a way that makes it harder to solve later. Toss choices that attack the fix as a whole or talk about cost.