Logical Reasoning · Main Conclusion

PrepTest 131 · Section 1 · 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

Main Conclusion

The one idea it tests

Find the top bun when there is also a middle bun.

The basic logic

The argument opens by calling an old belief a mistake. Then it gives a reason, and gives a reason for THAT reason. The reason in the middle is a middle bun: supported, but it serves the first claim. The top bun is the rejection of the old belief, stated as a plain claim.

Tiny words that decide it

“it is a mistake”
“after all”
“for”
“impossible”

Playground logic

Tommy's top bun: repacking will never give him a perfect backpack for every day. His middle bun: a perfect pack for every day is impossible. His patty: school days vary too much for one set of stuff. Kevin would ramble about the patty, but the point is the top bun.

Step 2 · The kid story

The Perfect Backpack

Tommy used to think that if he kept repacking his backpack, he'd someday get it perfect for every school day. Lulu shook her head. "That's a mistake, Tommy. Repacking will never give you a backpack that's perfect for every day." "Why not?" Tommy asked, hiding a lollipop in the side pocket. "Because a pack that's perfect for every day can't exist," said Lulu. "Monday is swim day. Tuesday is art. Wednesday is a field trip. No one bundle of stuff can handle all of them." Priya nodded. "So, Lulu, what's your point?" Lulu tapped her clipboard. "My point is the first thing I said: repacking will never get you there. The rest is why." Tommy repacked anyway. He fit in three more lollipops.

Step 3 · Try the model question

Lulu: Tommy once thought repacking would eventually make his backpack perfect for every school day. He was wrong: repacking will never produce such a backpack. After all, a backpack perfect for every school day is impossible, since school days differ so much that no one bundle of stuff could handle them all.

Which one of the following best states what Lulu is mainly arguing?

Step 4 · The courtroom tale

The Umbrella Inventor

An inventor sued a magazine that called his dream foolish. The magazine's lawyer explained, "He believed tinkering would eventually yield an umbrella perfect for every storm. Tinkering never will. A perfect umbrella for every storm is impossible, because storms range from drizzle to hurricanes, and no single design handles all of them." Judge Park leaned forward. "So your client's main claim is about the tinkering?" "Yes, Your Honor. The impossibility is our reason. The storms are our reason for the reason." Mr. Whitfield sighed. "Well, at least it's a well-built burger."

Step 5 · Work the real question

Open PrepTest 131, Section 1, Question 13 in your official copy from LSAC (for example in LawHub) and read it there.

Your answer

How to apply it

Read the first sentence carefully: is it rejecting someone's belief? Then trace the support chain. Mark each 'because' or 'after all' claim and ask what it is supporting. A claim that has support and also gives support is a middle bun. The top bun is the claim everything else ultimately serves. Choose the choice that restates it, and watch out for middle buns, premises, and background beliefs.