Logical Reasoning · Flaw
PrepTest 140 · Section 2 · Question 9
Phase 1 (your first ~400 questions): read the guidance, then answer. No clock.
Step 1 · Pre-Question Guidance · read this first
- “all”
- “less than”
- “currently”
Playground logic
Tommy's top bun: he is a kid who does all he can to keep his room tidy. His patty: his room is tidier than last month, and no room can be perfectly clean. Lulu spots the missing plank: he never showed there wasn't something more he could do right now.
Step 2 · The kid story
Tommy's Tidy Room Claim
Mom said Tommy's room was a mess. Tommy was offended. 'That's unfair! A tidy kid is a kid who does everything he can to keep his room neat. My room is way neater than it was last month. And nobody's room can be perfectly clean. So I'm a tidy kid.' Lulu peeked in with her clipboard. She saw a closet stuffed shut, a sock on the lamp, and candy wrappers under the bed. 'Being neater than last month isn't the same as doing everything you can,' she said. 'You could put the wrappers in the trash right now.' Tommy looked at the wrappers. The wrappers looked back. Mr. Whiskers knocked one off the bed, as if to agree with Lulu.
Step 3 · Try the model question
A tidy kid does everything he can to keep his room neat. My room is much neater than last month, and no room can be perfectly clean. So I am a tidy kid.
Tommy's reasoning is flawed because it
Step 4 · The courtroom tale
The Quiet Neighbor Hearing
A drummer was accused of being a noisy neighbor. His lawyer said, 'A considerate neighbor does all he can to keep the noise down. My client plays much quieter than last year, and no drum is truly silent. So he is considerate.' The other side's lawyer, Ms. Bell, objected. 'Your Honor, quieter than last year is not the same as doing all he can. Practice pads and soundproof foam are available today. He uses neither.' Judge Gray nodded slowly. 'Improvement is nice. But the standard was all he can, and that is a higher bar.'
Step 5 · Work the real question
Open PrepTest 140, Section 2, Question 9 in your official copy from LSAC (for example in LawHub) and read it there.
Your answer
How to apply it
Find the definition or standard the argument uses, and notice how strong it is. Then see what the evidence actually shows: usually progress compared with the past, plus a claim that perfection is impossible. Ask what possibility the evidence leaves open. The right answer names a better option the author never ruled out. Reject answers that describe moves the argument does not make.