Logical Reasoning · Main Conclusion

PrepTest 151 · Section 2 · Question 10

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

Step 1 · Pre-Question Guidance · read this first

Question type

Main Conclusion

The one idea it tests

Find the claim the whole argument is built to prove, even when it shows up in the very first sentence.

The basic logic

The speaker states a view, reports a rival view and that rival's evidence, then reinterprets the evidence so it fits the speaker's own view. The rebuttal is a Helper. The top bun is the view the rebuttal protects.

Tiny words that decide it

“however”
“more likely”
“most likely”

Playground logic

Kevin opens with his top bun: Grandpa is emptying the cookie jar. The rival idea (Tommy did it) and its clue (one cookie a day) are background, and Kevin's rebuttal (Grandpa has exactly one with his tea every night) is a Helper that steers the clue back to his first sentence.

Step 2 · The kid story

The Case of the Shrinking Cookie Jar

Kevin stood on a chair, peering into the cookie jar. "Grandpa is probably the one emptying this," he announced, then spent two minutes on a stegosaurus. Back on track: "Marcus says it's Tommy. His big clue? Exactly one cookie vanishes every single day, like a sneaky schedule." Tommy, cheeks suspiciously round from a candy he was hiding, said nothing. "But a steady pace fits Grandpa better," Kevin went on. "Grandpa has exactly one cookie with his tea every night. Tommy never stops at one of anything." Priya sipped her juice box. "So what's your point, Kevin?" "My point," said Kevin, "is that Grandpa is the cookie culprit. The one-a-day clue is just his tea habit." Lulu wrote on her clipboard: Boss = Grandpa did it. The tea habit is the Helper.

Step 3 · Try the model question

Kevin: Grandpa is most likely the one emptying the cookie jar. Marcus claims Tommy took the cookies, pointing out that exactly one cookie disappears each day. But that steady pace better matches Grandpa: he eats exactly one cookie with his tea every night.

Which choice states the main point Kevin is driving at?

Step 4 · The courtroom tale

The Vanishing Paint

Mr. Whitfield snapped his suspenders. "Your Honor, the purple paint on the fence most likely faded from sunshine. The other side says vandals scrubbed it, pointing out that the fading is perfectly even from end to end." He smiled. "But even fading is exactly what sunshine does: the fence faces south and gets light all day, every day. Scrubbing by hand leaves streaks." Judge Pemberly peered over her glasses. "So your claim is the sun did it, and the evenness is your reason, not your claim?" "Exactly, Your Honor. The evenness is my helper. The sunshine is my point." The judge nodded. "Then I know what you are trying to prove."

Step 5 · Work the real question

Open PrepTest 151, Section 2, Question 10 in your official copy from LSAC (for example in LawHub) and read it there.

Your answer

How to apply it

Read the stimulus and mark three pieces: the speaker's opening view, the rival view with its evidence, and the speaker's reinterpretation of that evidence. Ask which claim the reinterpretation is defending. That is the Boss. Check that every other sentence answers "why believe it?" for that claim. Cross out anything that is only a supporting piece or someone else's view. Pick the choice that matches the defended claim, including its hedge word.