Logical Reasoning · Strengthen EXCEPT

PrepTest 115 · Section 4 · Question 13

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

Step 1 · Pre-Question Guidance · read this first

Question type

Strengthen (EXCEPT)

The one idea it tests

Four choices help a hypothesis that one kind of evidence often leads to wrong outcomes; the answer is the one that fails to help, often because it points the other way.

The basic logic

Name the hypothesis in plain words: a common source of information is often wrong, and that wrongness often causes a bad final result. Helpers show the source is unreliable, or that the decider leans heavily on it. The odd one out shows nothing of the kind, or shows a safeguard that would reduce the problem.

Tiny words that decide it

“EXCEPT”
“common”
“supports”

Playground logic

Lulu's hypothesis: wrong answers in the class trivia game often happen because teams follow the loudest teammate. Helpers say the loud kid is often wrong or that teams follow loudness. The odd one out says something that does not help, like who writes the questions.

Step 2 · The kid story

The Loudest Voice in Trivia

Every Friday the class plays team trivia. Almost every team has one kid who shouts an answer right away. Lulu has a hypothesis, written neatly on her clipboard: "Following the loudest teammate frequently causes teams to get answers wrong." Owen helps her collect clues. "Loud kids usually answer before they finish hearing the question," he says. Nadia adds, "And teams almost always write down whatever the loudest kid says." Frankie says, "The loud kids are the most sure of themselves, and sureness does not mean they are right." Each clue makes Lulu nod. Then Kevin says, "the teacher's helper writes the trivia questions." Lulu frowns. "That is true, Kevin, but it does not help my hypothesis at all." Kevin shrugs and draws a stegosaurus.

Step 3 · Try the model question

Lulu hypothesizes that following the loudest teammate frequently causes teams to give wrong answers in class trivia.

Each of these, if true, helps Lulu's hypothesis EXCEPT:

Step 4 · The courtroom tale

The Case of the Confident Mapmaker

A town council is sued after a new road was built in the wrong spot. The town's expert offers a theory: "Hand-drawn maps often cause roads to be misplaced." Mr. Whitfield calls three witnesses. One says the maps are drawn from memory. One says the council always trusts the maps without checking. One says the mapmakers seem very sure even when they are wrong. Each witness helps the theory. Then a fourth witness says, "The council always sends a surveyor to double-check every map." Mr. Whitfield turns around. "Your Honor, that last one does not help our theory. If anything, a double-check would catch the mistakes." The judge nods. "Noted. That witness is the odd one out."

Step 5 · Work the real question

Open PrepTest 115, Section 4, Question 13 in your official copy from LSAC (for example in LawHub) and read it there.

Your answer

How to apply it

Restate the hypothesis as a chain: a source is often unreliable, the decider relies on it, so wrong outcomes follow. Mark four choices as helpers when they show unreliability or heavy reliance. The correct answer is the one that does neither. Be alert: it may show a safeguard that would catch the errors, which actually pushes against the hypothesis. Check that every other choice clearly feeds the chain before you pick.