Logical Reasoning · Role of a Statement

PrepTest 151 · Section 2 · Question 25

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

Step 1 · Pre-Question Guidance · read this first

Question type

Role of a Statement

The one idea it tests

A broad lesson pulled from one example can be a Helper that supports the Boss.

The basic logic

Find the Boss first: the recommendation at the end. Then ask how the statement in question connects. If it is a general rule drawn from a story and then applied to the new case to back the recommendation, it is a Helper: a broad rule that props up the Boss.

Tiny words that decide it

“we learn”
“thus”
“what is needed”
“then”

Playground logic

Ms. Rivera tells a story about the free pencil bin, pulls out a lesson (free and wanted means people grab too much), and uses that lesson to back her plan to charge a ticket at the marker cart. The lesson is a Helper. The plan is the Boss.

Step 2 · The kid story

The Marker Cart

Last month, Ms. Rivera put out a free pencil bin. By lunch, it was empty. Kids took five pencils each, "just in case." Kevin took twelve and used them as dinosaur bones. Ms. Rivera tells the class, "Here is what I learned. When something people want costs nothing, they take too much, and the bin runs dry." Then she points to the art corner. "Our marker cart is empty every afternoon. So starting Monday, each marker costs one class ticket. Then the cart will stay stocked." Lulu writes on her clipboard: Story, then lesson, then plan. Priya nods. "The lesson is not the plan. The lesson holds the plan up."

Step 3 · Try the model question

The free pencil bin emptied by lunch. From that we learn that when something people want costs nothing, they take too much. The marker cart runs empty every afternoon. So each marker should cost one class ticket, and then the cart will stay stocked.

What job does the statement 'when something people want costs nothing, they take too much' do in Ms. Rivera's argument?

Step 4 · The courtroom tale

The Parking Garage Case

A city wants to start charging for spots at the courthouse garage. A driver objects. The city's lawyer explains. "Your Honor, the library once gave away free tote bags. They were gone in an hour, and people took armfuls. The lesson is simple: when a wanted thing is free, people overuse it. Our garage is free and always full. So we should charge for it, and then spots will open up." Mr. Whitfield, for the driver, admits, "The lesson is not the conclusion, Your Honor. It is the bridge between the tote bags and the garage." The judge nods. "A general rule holding up the plan. Noted."

Step 5 · Work the real question

Open PrepTest 151, Section 2, Question 25 in your official copy from LSAC (for example in LawHub) and read it there.

Your answer

How to apply it

Locate the Boss: usually the recommendation or prediction at the end. Then find the statement in the question and ask whether it is a specific event, a general rule, or the final claim. Check its link to the Boss: does the Boss lean on it? If it is a general lesson that supports the Boss, call it a Helper. Match that job description, not the topic words, in the choices.