Logical Reasoning · Paradox

PrepTest 140 · Section 2 · 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

Paradox

The one idea it tests

Two opposite methods can both help if each fits a different stage: one builds the base, the other adds gains once the base is strong.

The basic logic

Side one: tight control from the top boosted results back then. Side two: loosening control boosts results now, in groups that are already strong. Find the fact that shakes hands with both sides, usually a difference in stage or situation that makes each method the right one at its time.

Tiny words that decide it

“yet”
“already”
“further”

Playground logic

Coach's strict drills made the team better at first, yet now the already-good team improves by letting players suggest plays. The Handshake: once the basics are locked in, extra gains come from the players' own ideas.

Step 2 · The kid story

The Soccer Puzzle

Last fall the Hornets could barely kick straight. Coach Aunt Rosa ran the same drills every practice and called every play herself. The team got way better. This spring, the Hornets were already good. Aunt Rosa tried something new: each player could suggest plays. The team got even better. Marcus was baffled. 'Wait. Last year, Aunt Rosa deciding everything made us better. This year, us deciding things made us better. Those can't both be true!' Priya calmly sipped her juice box. 'Sure they can. Drills built our basics. Once you have the basics, the next boost comes from the people on the field, who notice things the coach can't see from the bench.' Frankie and Sharon started debating which of them had suggested the best play. That took a while.

Step 3 · Try the model question

Last fall, the Hornets improved a lot when their coach ran fixed drills and called every play. Yet this spring, the already strong Hornets improved further when the coach let each player suggest plays.

Which fact, if it turned out to be so, would best explain how both improvements happened?

Step 4 · The courtroom tale

The Bakery Partnership Dispute

Two bakery partners stood before Judge Alvarez. 'When we opened,' said one, 'I wrote every recipe and every schedule, and sales soared. Now my partner lets the bakers decide things, and sales are soaring again. That makes no sense!' Mr. Whitfield rose, suspenders gleaming. 'Your Honor, it makes perfect sense. At first the bakery needed order. Now that the basics run smoothly, the next jump comes from bakers who see small problems up close and suggest fixes.' The judge nodded. 'So each method fit its stage. No contradiction here. Case dismissed, and somebody please bring me a croissant.'

Step 5 · Work the real question

Open PrepTest 140, Section 2, Question 13 in your official copy from LSAC (for example in LawHub) and read it there.

Your answer

How to apply it

Write the two sides on separate lines: what worked earlier and the opposite thing that works now, in a group that is already doing well. Look for the difference in situation between the two. Use the Handshake Test: the right choice explains why the second method adds gains specifically for groups that are already strong, without denying the first result. Drop Half-Hugs that touch one side and choices that add unrelated causes.