Logical Reasoning · Main Conclusion (Complete the Argument)

PrepTest 151 · Section 3 · Question 5

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 (Complete the Argument)

The one idea it tests

Two separate premises point the same way, so the blank is the claim they both support.

The basic logic

Read both premises and ask what top bun they hold up together. The first says one group really gets something more often. The second says that group also reads the same event that way more often. Put them together, and do not add a cause or a new claim.

Tiny words that decide it

“moreover”
“thus”
“more often”

Playground logic

Nervous players really do get bumped more, and they also feel fouled more from the same bump. Stack those two patties, and the top bun is: nervous players more often think they've been fouled.

Step 2 · The kid story

Who Thinks They Got Fouled?

At soccer practice, Owen kept falling down and yelling, "Foul!" Nadia kept notes. "Here's what I see," she told Priya. "Nervous players get bumped more than calm ones. They hesitate, so they end up in crowds." Priya nodded. "And?" Nadia flipped a page. "Also, I watched the same bump happen to a nervous kid and a calm kid. The nervous kid was way more likely to say it was a foul." Owen popped up from the grass. "So what does that mean?" Priya sipped her juice box. "Put the two facts together. Nervous players more often think they got fouled. You get bumped more, and you call more bumps fouls." Owen thought about it. "Fair," he said, and fell down again.

Step 3 · Try the model question

Nervous players get bumped during games more often than calm players. Also, when a nervous player and a calm player get exactly the same bump, the nervous player far more often feels it was a foul. Thus, _______.

Which one of the following best fills in the blank?

Step 4 · The courtroom tale

The Case of the Grumpy Customers

Judge Lin heard a fictional complaint about a bakery. Mr. Whitfield explained, "Your Honor, hungry customers wait in line longer, because they come at the lunch rush. Also, when hungry and full customers wait the exact same time, hungry ones far more often say the wait was too long." The judge leaned in. "So your point is?" Mr. Whitfield smiled. "Simply this: hungry customers more often feel they waited too long. Nothing about who is right, and nothing about what causes hunger." The judge nodded. "Two facts, one conclusion. Tidy."

Step 5 · Work the real question

Open PrepTest 151, Section 3, Question 5 in your official copy from LSAC (for example in LawHub) and read it there.

Your answer

How to apply it

Treat the blank as the top bun. Write each premise as a short line about one group compared with another. Notice that both premises point the same way. Ask what single claim they jointly support without anything extra. Cross out choices that add a cause, decide who is correct, flip the direction, or switch to a different behavior. The right answer should feel like the two premises shaking hands.