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Logical Reasoning · Main Conclusion

PrepTest 113 · Section 4 · Question 8

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 (Fill in the Blank)
The one idea it tests
Chain the conditionals: the 'only' condition plus a chain of results leads to a conclusion about anyone who reaches the goal.
The basic logic
Turn 'only those with X get Y' into 'if Y, then X'. Then follow the chain: X leads to A, A leads to B, B leads to a loss. So anyone who gets Y is headed for that loss. The blank must link the goal to the loss, in the right direction.
Tiny words that decide it
  • “only”
  • “leading to”
  • “hence”
  • “likely”

Playground logic

Only teams that practice every single day win the trophy; daily practice makes kids sick of the sport; and sick-of-it kids drift away. Chain it up: any team that wins the trophy will likely see its love of the game fade.

Step 2 · The kid story

The Trophy Chain

Coach Aunt Rosa explained the soccer league. 'Only teams that practice every single day will win the trophy.' Owen groaned. 'Every single day?' Rosa continued. 'Kids who practice every single day see nothing but drills. That makes them start to wonder why they even play. And when kids wonder that, they drift away from the game.' Lulu drew arrows on her clipboard: Trophy, then daily practice, then wondering, then drifting away. Priya tapped the last arrow. 'So if a team wins the trophy, its love of soccer will likely fade.' Marcus said, 'No way. Winning makes you love it more!' Lulu pointed at her arrows. 'Not by this chain.' Biscuit chased a ball across the yard, happily never practicing at all.

Step 3 · Try the model question

Only teams that practice every day will win the trophy. Daily practice fills kids' days with drills, which makes them question why they play, and that leads them to drift away from the game. Hence a team's love of the game will likely ______.

Which choice best finishes the argument?

Choices

Step 4 · The courtroom tale

The Case of the Gold Medal Gardens

A town council argued over a flower show rule. Mr. Whitfield read from the record. 'Only gardens using the newest giant sprinkler can win gold. Those sprinklers run so long they wash the topsoil away. Without topsoil, the old roses die out.' He looked up, thumbs in his suspenders. 'Your Honor, put the links together. Any garden that wins gold is a garden whose old roses will likely die out.' The opposing lawyer protested. 'Winning gold proves a garden is healthy!' Judge Priscilla Dunn shook her head. 'Not by the facts you agreed to. Gold requires the sprinkler, and the sprinkler leads to lost roses. The chain is the chain.'

Step 5 · Work the real question

Open PrepTest 113, Section 4, Question 8 in your official copy from LSAC (for example in LawHub) and read it there.

Your answer

How to apply it

Rewrite any 'only' claim as an if-then with the goal on the left. Then write each 'this leads to that' link as an arrow and connect them into one chain. Ask what the first item now guarantees at the end. Pick the choice that connects the start to the end in that direction, at the same strength. Reject choices that bring in new remedies or fairness ideas, or that flip the arrow.