Logical Reasoning · Strengthen
PrepTest 146 · Section 3 · Question 2
Phase 1 (your first ~400 questions): read the guidance, then answer. No clock.
Step 1 · Pre-Question Guidance · read this first
- “probably”
- “cause”
- “during”
Playground logic
Tommy's patty is that his spelling scores slid during the weeks his bedtime kept jumping around, and his top bun says the jumpy bedtime is a major cause. The secret sauce is that the timing match is not just luck. Showing that his great weeks always came with a steady bedtime helps the sauce stick.
Step 2 · The kid story
The Bedtime Blame Game
Tommy's spelling grades dropped all through March. 'It wasn't me,' he told Aunt Rosa. 'It was my bedtime. In March it jumped all over the place: 8 o'clock, then 10, then 9:30 because of the movie. Tired brain, bad spelling.' Aunt Rosa looked at Lulu. Lulu flipped her clipboard. 'Tommy, that might be true. But maybe March words were just harder. Or maybe you hid candy in your desk and ate it during tests.' 'I would never,' said Tommy, with a lollipop in his pocket. Lulu tapped her pencil. 'Here's what would help your case. If every month you spelled great, your bedtime stayed steady, then the bedtime story gets a lot stronger.' Tommy grinned. 'January! Bed at 8 every night, and I got stickers all month!'
Step 3 · Try the model question
Tommy's spelling grades fell during March. During that same month his bedtime changed wildly from night to night. A shifting bedtime leaves a kid tired, and tired kids spell worse. So the shifting bedtime was likely a big cause of Tommy's falling grades.
Which choice, if true, gives Tommy's argument the most support?
Step 4 · The courtroom tale
The Case of the Noisy Neighbors
A small library sued a drum school that practiced next door. 'Your Honor, our book checkouts dropped all summer, and the drummers practiced all summer. The racket chased readers away.' The drum school's lawyer shrugged. 'Coincidence. People go to the beach in summer.' Mr. Whitfield, helping the library, stood up. 'Your Honor, here are three years of checkout records. Every season the drummers were away and the street was quiet, checkouts stayed high, even in beach season.' The judge leaned in. 'So when the noise was gone, the readers came back?' 'Every time.' The judge banged the gavel. 'That makes the noise story a lot more convincing.' The head drummer whispered, 'Should we try soft brushes?'
Step 5 · Work the real question
Open PrepTest 146, Section 3, Question 2 in your official copy from LSAC (for example in LawHub) and read it there.
Your answer
How to apply it
Find the cause and the effect in the conclusion, and notice the evidence is mostly that they happened together. Then look for a choice that adds a matching pattern: when the cause was absent, the effect was absent too. Eliminate anything that leaves the cause link untouched or makes it look shakier.