Logical Reasoning · Weaken

PrepTest 113 · Section 3 · Question 6

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

Step 1 · Pre-Question Guidance · read this first

Question type

Weaken

The one idea it tests

A claim that people can do something 'without ever' needing an expert is popped if their success actually came from earlier help by an expert.

The basic logic

The evidence is a high success rate. The conclusion says success happens with no expert ever involved. Look for a fact showing the successful people had expert help in the past, so the 'never needed' part fails.

Tiny words that decide it

“never”
“most”
“only”

Playground logic

Marcus says most kids can spot a slipped bike chain without ever asking a mechanic, because most kid guesses were right. Pop it: the kids who guessed right had already been shown a slipped chain by a mechanic.

Step 2 · The kid story

The Bike Chain Detectives

Marcus ran a survey at the bike rack. "I asked 100 kids who thought their bike chain had slipped. 85 were right! That's even better than the bike shop guy guesses. So clearly most kids can spot a slipped chain without ever asking a mechanic."

Owen nodded, impressed.

Priya slurped her juice box slowly. "Did you ask how they learned what a slipped chain looks like?"

Marcus blinked. "No."

Nadia raised her hand. "I was one of the 85. Last summer the bike shop guy showed me exactly what a slipped chain looks like. Same with Kevin."

Priya smiled. "So most of your right guessers got their skill from a mechanic. 'Without ever asking a mechanic' just popped."

Step 3 · Try the model question

Of 100 kids who believed their bike chain had slipped, 85 were correct, a better hit rate than the local bike mechanic's quick guesses. So clearly most kids can tell a slipped chain on their own without ever needing a mechanic.

Which one of the following, assuming it is accurate, most seriously calls the conclusion into question?

Step 4 · The courtroom tale

The Case of the Self-Taught Bakers

A cooking school sued a bakery chain for an ad saying, "Most folks can tell when bread is done without ever taking a class!" The chain's lawyer showed a study: 80 percent of home bakers judged doneness correctly. Mr. Whitfield, for the school, hooked his thumbs in his suspenders. "Your Honor, I have a question for the study's author." He turned to her. "How did those correct bakers learn?" The author shifted. "Well, most of them had taken one of the school's bread classes years ago." Mr. Whitfield bowed. "So their skill came from a class. 'Without ever taking a class' does not hold." The judge ordered the ad changed.

Step 5 · Work the real question

Open PrepTest 113, Section 3, Question 6 in your official copy from LSAC (for example in LawHub) and read it there.

Your answer

How to apply it

Find the success-rate evidence and the stronger 'never needs an expert' conclusion. Notice the gap: success now does not prove no expert helped earlier. Look for a choice showing that the successful people relied on an expert at some point. Reject choices about rare complications, comparisons among experts, or what the failed group believed, since they do not attack the 'never needed' claim.