Logical Reasoning · Inference

PrepTest 150 · Section 2 · Question 6

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

Step 1 · Pre-Question Guidance · read this first

Question type

Must Be True

The one idea it tests

Chain an 'only after' rule with a fact about who lacks the requirement.

The basic logic

Turn 'X only after Y' into 'X needs Y'. Then add the fact: most people lack Y. Combine: most people lack X. Watch out for answers that reverse the arrow (having Y guarantees X) or that reach beyond the lunchbox.

Tiny words that decide it

“only after”
“required”
“vast majority”

Playground logic

Lulu believes you can make Grandpa's swirly pancakes right only after a summer of lessons with Grandpa, and most kids at school never had those lessons. Snap the two together: most kids at school cannot make the swirly pancakes right. Lunchbox Rule: that comes straight from what she packed.

Step 2 · The kid story

Grandpa's Swirly Pancakes

Grandpa makes swirly pancakes shaped like galaxies. Lulu has a firm belief, written in clipboard ink: "You can only make swirly pancakes correctly after a whole summer of Grandpa's Saturday lessons." Grandpa gives those lessons only to grandkids, and Lulu knows that almost nobody at her school is Grandpa's grandkid. Marcus wandered in. "So does that mean you can make them, Lulu?" Priya shook her head. "Not from her belief alone. Lessons are needed, but needing them does not mean having them works." "Then what DOES follow?" asked Marcus. Lulu tapped the board. "Most kids at school cannot make swirly pancakes correctly. They never had the lessons." Tommy, covered in batter, proved her point.

Step 3 · Try the model question

Lulu is convinced that the skill to make Grandpa's swirly pancakes correctly can be gained only after a summer of Grandpa's lessons. Such lessons are what Grandpa's grandkids receive. Lulu also knows that nearly all the kids at her school have never had these lessons.

If Lulu's belief is correct, which statement has to be true?

Step 4 · The courtroom tale

The Licensed Clock Fixers

A guild lawyer stood before the court. "Your Honor, our position is that a person can fix a cuckoo clock properly only after five years of guild training. And most people in this town have never had that training." The judge asked, "So what follows?" The guild lawyer puffed up. "That every guild member fixes clocks perfectly!" Mr. Whitfield shook his head. "Training is required, counselor, but required is not the same as enough. What follows is smaller: most people in town cannot fix a cuckoo clock properly." The judge agreed. "Stick to what your premises carry."

Step 5 · Work the real question

Open PrepTest 150, Section 2, Question 6 in your official copy from LSAC (for example in LawHub) and read it there.

Your answer

How to apply it

Translate the believed rule into 'ability needs training.' Note the extra fact about how many people lack the training. Link them: those who lack the training lack the ability. Then use the Spoiler Test on each choice. Reject any choice that treats the training as a guarantee, any 'should' claim, and any claim about groups the rule does not cover. Choose the one that follows from linking the two pieces.