Logical Reasoning · Main Conclusion (complete the argument)
PrepTest 129 · Section 2 · Question 18
Phase 1 (your first ~400 questions): read the guidance, then answer. No clock.
Step 1 · Pre-Question Guidance · read this first
- “similarly”
- “no one”
- “since”
- “would”
Playground logic
Priya's burger: patty one is that nobody who wants a good cake lets a random passerby pick the oven heat. Patty two says Grandpa truly cares about his garden. So the top bun has to be the matching lesson: Grandpa should not run his garden on a random neighbor's say-so. Kevin, the point is the copy of the lesson, not a brand new fact.
Step 2 · The kid story
Grandpa and the Tomato Opinions
Grandpa's tomatoes were looking droopy. Every neighbor who walked by had an idea. 'Water them three times a day!' said one. 'Paint the fence blue!' said another. Priya sipped her juice box and thought out loud. 'When Aunt Rosa bakes a birthday cake, she never lets some random person on the sidewalk pick the oven temperature. She cares about the cake too much for that. Grandpa cares about his tomatoes just as much. So...' Marcus jumped in. 'So Grandpa is the smartest gardener in town!' Priya shook her head. 'Nope. The cake part only tells us who NOT to lean on. So Grandpa should decide how to care for his tomatoes using something other than whatever a random passerby says.' Grandpa grinned and opened his gardening book. Biscuit dug a hole anyway.
Step 3 · Try the model question
Nobody who wants a cake to turn out well lets a random passerby choose the oven temperature. Likewise, since Grandpa truly cares about his tomatoes, ____.
Which choice best fills the blank so that the reasoning hangs together?
Step 4 · The courtroom tale
The Case of the Crowd-Picked Paint
Mr. Whitfield snapped his suspenders. 'Your Honor, my client owns a famous racing boat. The other side says she should have let the dock crowd vote on the hull paint.' He turned to the jury. 'No sailor who loves her boat lets strangers on the pier pick her paint. My client loves this boat. So, likewise, her paint choice should rest on something besides the crowd's shouting.' The opposing lawyer stood. 'Then she must be the best captain alive!' Judge Okafor sighed. 'Counsel, his comparison only tells us whose advice not to lean on. It says nothing about her being the best.' Mr. Whitfield bowed. 'Exactly, Your Honor. Same lesson, new boat.'
Step 5 · Work the real question
Open PrepTest 129, Section 2, Question 18 in your official copy from LSAC (for example in LawHub) and read it there.
Your answer
How to apply it
Find the first case and state its lesson in plain words: who should NOT be relied on, and why. Then spot the bridge word that says the new case is similar, and note what the new case shares with the first one. The blank must repeat that same lesson for the new person. Pick the choice that copies the lesson at the same strength. Drop choices that brag, rank, or claim more knowledge than the analogy gives.