Logical Reasoning · Point at Issue

PrepTest 149 · Section 3 · Question 7

Phase 1 (your first ~400 questions): read the guidance, then answer. No clock.

Step 1 · Pre-Question Guidance · read this first

Question type

Point at Issue

The one idea it tests

Two speakers disagree about whether current rules already cover an action, not about whether the rules should change.

The basic logic

One speaker says an action is not against the current rules and gives a comparison. The other attacks the comparison and names a current rule the action might break. Use the Two-Clipboard Test: the point at issue is the one that one clipboard says yes and the other says no.

Tiny words that decide it

“cannot”
“but”
“could be”

Playground logic

Frankie says reading over a shoulder on the bus breaks no bus rule, just like glancing at a poster. Sharon says it could break the stay-in-your-seat rule. Their clipboards split on one thing: whether it breaks a current bus rule.

Step 2 · The kid story

The Bus Ride Debate

On the bus, Frankie leaned over and read Sharon's comic. "Hey!" said Sharon. "Relax," said Frankie. "There is no bus rule against this. It is just like looking at the posters on the wall." Sharon pushed him back. "Not the same. You glance at a poster for a second. To read my comic, you have to lean into my seat for the whole ride. That could count as breaking the stay-in-your-seat rule." Lulu, across the aisle, drew two clipboards. On Frankie's: breaks a bus rule? No. On Sharon's: breaks a bus rule? Could be. She circled that line. "That is where you two split," she said. Frankie closed the comic. Sharon was already on the last page anyway.

Step 3 · Try the model question

Frankie: No bus rule forbids reading over someone's shoulder. It is no different from looking at a poster on the bus wall. Sharon: But a glance at a poster takes a second, while reading over a shoulder means leaning into someone's seat for many minutes. That could break the stay-in-your-seat rule.

Frankie and Sharon disagree about whether reading over someone's shoulder on the bus

Step 4 · The courtroom tale

The Case of the Borrowed Shade

The orchard owner sued a hiker for resting under his apple tree beside the trail. Mr. Whitfield defended the hiker. Your Honor, no current law forbids this. Sitting in a tree's shade is no different from enjoying the smell of the blossoms as you pass. The owner's lawyer stood. But smelling takes a second. Resting in shade means staying put for an hour inside the fence line, and that could count as unlawful lingering. The judge set two cards on her desk. One says no law is broken. One says a law could be. That is your dispute, counsel. Not whether the law should change.

Step 5 · Work the real question

Open PrepTest 149, Section 3, Question 7 in your official copy from LSAC (for example in LawHub) and read it there.

Your answer

How to apply it

Fill two clipboards: write what each speaker commits to. Notice whether the first speaker makes a claim about current rules and the second answers with a current rule. Test each choice: does one speaker clearly say yes and the other clearly say no? Reject choices only one speaker addresses, and choices about what rules ought to be when both speak about what rules are.