Logical Reasoning · Role of a Statement

PrepTest 116 · Section 2 · Question 24

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

Step 1 · Pre-Question Guidance · read this first

Question type

Role of a Statement

The one idea it tests

A premise can attack a rival's premise, which in turn knocks down the rival's conclusion.

The basic logic

Sort the voices: the rivals argue from one claim to a conclusion against a third person's view. The author then offers a fact to show the rivals' starting claim goes too far. The quoted fact is a Helper for the author, aimed at the Rival's foundation.

Tiny words that decide it

“mistakenly”
“even if”
“cannot completely”

Playground logic

Some kids say Kevin's drumming must be understood only as sticks hitting drums, so it shows nothing about his mood, against Aunt Rosa's view. Lulu points out that his drumming varies wildly, so sticks hitting drums can't be the whole story. The variety fact is a Helper aimed at the Rival's starting claim.

Step 2 · The kid story

What Kevin's Drum Says

Kevin drums on an overturned bucket every day. Aunt Rosa says you can tell Kevin's mood from his drumming. Some fifth graders disagree. "Drumming is just sticks hitting a bucket," said Marcus. "So it must be explained only as sticks and bucket. So it tells you nothing about Kevin's mood. Aunt Rosa is wrong." Lulu flipped her clipboard. "Marcus is mistaken. Kevin's drumming changes all the time: slow and soft on Mondays, wild and fast on pizza day, a dinosaur stomp when he is excited. Even if sticks and bucket are how the sound gets made, they can't completely explain the drumming." Priya nodded. "So Lulu used the variety to knock down Marcus's 'only sticks and bucket' claim, the one he used against Aunt Rosa."

Step 3 · Try the model question

Lulu: Some kids wrongly claim that since Kevin's drumming is just sticks hitting a bucket, it can only be explained by sticks and bucket. They conclude, against Aunt Rosa, that it reveals nothing about Kevin's mood. But since Kevin's drumming varies enormously, sticks and bucket cannot completely explain it.

What role does the claim that Kevin's drumming varies enormously play in Lulu's argument?

Step 4 · The courtroom tale

The Recipe Dispute

Opposing counsel argued: "A cake is just flour, eggs, and sugar reacting in an oven, so it must be explained purely by chemistry. Therefore, against the baker's claim, a cake tells you nothing about who baked it." Mr. Whitfield stood. "Your Honor, they are mistaken. Cakes from this very oven differ wildly in shape, flavor, and decoration. Even if chemistry explains how batter rises, it cannot completely explain these cakes." The judge nodded. "So your point about variety knocks out their 'purely chemistry' claim, the very claim they used against the baker." "Exactly, Your Honor."

Step 5 · Work the real question

Open PrepTest 116, Section 2, Question 24 in your official copy from LSAC (for example in LawHub) and read it there.

Your answer

How to apply it

Use the Voice Tracker. Mark the rivals' premise, the rivals' conclusion, and the view they argue against. Then find the author's own conclusion and the fact supporting it. Ask what the author's conclusion does to the rivals: does it confirm or undermine their premise? Match the choice that correctly names the target of the quoted claim and whose side it is on. Check direction carefully.