PrepTest 136 · Section 4 · Question 13 (Parallel Reasoning)

Step 1 · Pre-Question Guidance · read this first

Question type

Parallel Reasoning

The one idea it tests

Match the shape: grant that something bad is unlikely, then say the act is a bad idea anyway because the result would be terrible.

The basic logic

X-Ray the argument: others say the odds are low; the author agrees the odds are low; the author still concludes the act is unwise because the outcome, if it happened, would be disastrous. The match must concede low chance and rest the verdict on huge harm, not on low reward or low cost.

Tiny words that decide it

“true, but”
“still”
“since”
“unwise”

Playground logic

Tommy says the shelf will almost never fall (bottom bun). Priya agrees, but says Grandpa's one-of-a-kind plates still should not go there (top bun), because if it fell the loss would be total (patty). Small chance plus giant harm equals no.

Step 2 · The kid story

Grandpa's Plates on the Wobbly Shelf

Grandpa wants to show off his great-grandmother's painted plates. There is only one set in the whole world. Tommy points at the high shelf in the hallway. "Put them up there! That shelf hardly ever wobbles. Dad says the brackets are super strong." Priya looks at the shelf, then at the plates. "You're right. It almost never wobbles. The chance it falls is tiny." "So, yes?" asks Tommy. "No," says Priya. "If it ever did fall, every plate would shatter. We can't buy new ones. Ever." Lulu writes it down: "Small chance. Huge loss. Don't do it." Grandpa nods. "The plates go in the glass cabinet on the floor." Biscuit wags, slightly disappointed that nothing will crash.

Step 3 · Try the model question

Tommy says the hallway shelf is so sturdy that the chance it falls is very small. That is true. Still, putting Grandpa's one-of-a-kind plates on it would be unwise, since if the shelf did fall the loss could never be undone.

Which argument has a reasoning pattern most like Priya's?

Step 4 · The courtroom tale

The Fireworks Permit Hearing

"Your Honor," said the company lawyer, "our fireworks barge almost never misfires. Odds are one in a million." Mr. Whitfield stood. "I agree with those odds. I checked them myself." The courtroom murmured. "But the barge would sit right beside the town's only wooden pier, packed with families. If that one-in-a-million misfire happened, the pier would burn with everyone on it." Judge Reyes tapped her pen. "So you accept the chance is tiny, but you object because the outcome would be a catastrophe." "Exactly, Your Honor. Some risks are too terrible to take, even when they are small." The permit was denied.

Step 5 · Work the real question

Open PrepTest 136, Section 4, Question 13 in your official copy from LSAC (for example in LawHub) and read it there.

Your answer

How to apply it

X-Ray the stimulus first: what do others claim, does the author grant it, and on what basis does the author still reject the act? Write the skeleton in plain words (small chance, conceded; act still unwise; because the harm would be enormous). Then check each choice part by part. Throw out any that challenge the low chance, any that weigh a small reward or small effort instead of huge harm, and any that conclude the act is fine.