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Logical Reasoning · Main Conclusion

PrepTest 129 · Section 3 · Question 3

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
The one idea it tests
The point is the claim the rest of the passage is built to support, even when it shows up at the very start, right next to a concession.
The basic logic
Find the claim that answers 'so what?' Watch for a concession ('although...') followed by the author's real point, then examples marked by 'after all' that hold it up.
Tiny words that decide it
  • “although”
  • “after all”
  • “if”

Playground logic

Kevin's top bun comes first: going all in on one club is risky, even though it helps you get good. Everything after 'after all' is patty: examples of how the one club could vanish. The concession is just bottom bun.

Step 2 · The kid story

Kevin's One-Club Plan

Kevin announced he was quitting every club except Dinosaur Club. "Then I'll be the best dinosaur expert in the whole school!" Lulu tapped her clipboard. "Being in only one club does help you get really good at it," she said. "But putting all your afternoons into one club is risky." Kevin blinked. "Risky how?" "After all," Lulu said, "Dinosaur Club has only one teacher. If Mr. Okafor moves away, the club could end. And if the club only meets in the library, one leaky roof could cancel the whole season." Kevin looked worried. "So I could end up with zero clubs?" "Exactly," said Lulu. "Maybe keep the chess club too." Kevin agreed, as long as chess club served pineapple pizza.

Step 3 · Try the model question

Lulu: Although joining just one club helps you get very good at it, putting all your afternoons into one club is risky. After all, many clubs depend on a single teacher. If that teacher leaves, the club ends. If the club has only one room, a leaky roof can cancel a whole season.

Which one of these best captures Lulu's main point?

Choices

Step 4 · The courtroom tale

The Case of the One-Flavor Ice Cream Shop

Mr. Whitfield faced the jury. "Yes, selling only vanilla let my client's shop make the best vanilla in town. I grant that. But selling only one flavor is risky. After all, if the vanilla farm has a bad year, the shop has nothing to sell. And if a new shop opens with better vanilla, my client has no backup." Judge Patel leaned forward. "So your point, counselor, is not that the vanilla is good." "Correct, Your Honor. My point is that one flavor is a risky plan. The rest is just why."

Step 5 · Work the real question

Open PrepTest 129, Section 3, Question 3 in your official copy from LSAC (for example in LawHub) and read it there.

Your answer

How to apply it

Read for the sentence the others are working to support. If the passage opens with a concession and then a 'but' or 'such... carries' claim, that claim is often the point. Run the 'because' test: point, because example one, because example two. Reject choices that restate a single example or the concession.