Logical Reasoning · Strengthen

PrepTest 154 · Section 2 · Question 16

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

Step 1 · Pre-Question Guidance · read this first

Question type

Strengthen

The one idea it tests

To back up 'this evidence tells us little', show another way the evidence got distorted.

The basic logic

The conclusion says some leftover evidence is a poor guide to what people once had. The premise gives one reason it got distorted. A strengthener adds another reason the leftovers do not represent the original: something selectively removed or changed them. Watch for answers that make the evidence more useful (Saboteur) or that do not touch representativeness.

Tiny words that decide it

“by itself”
“relatively little”
“among other reasons”

Playground logic

Lulu says the lost-and-found box tells us little about what kids actually bring to school, partly because it gets soggy under the leaky roof. The top bun is 'the box is a bad guide'; the patty is the soggy damage. Learning that the janitor quietly takes the nicest items home would add another reason the box misleads.

Step 2 · The kid story

The Lost-and-Found Box

Ms. Rivera wanted to know what kids bring to school, so Marcus proposed digging through the lost-and-found box. "Everything's in there!" he said. Lulu shook her head and checked her clipboard. "That box won't tell us much. For one thing, it sits under the leaky roof. Half the stuff is mush." Marcus frowned. "Mush is still evidence." Then Owen leaned in. "Also, every Friday the older kids sneak in and take back the good stuff. Fancy water bottles, new jackets, cool pencil cases. All gone." Lulu wrote that down fast. "So the box is missing the best things on purpose. That makes it an even worse guide." Marcus looked at a single wet mitten. "Okay," he said. "I'll do a survey instead."

Step 3 · Try the model question

Lulu: Some say the lost-and-found box shows what students bring to school. But the box alone reveals little about that. For one thing, the box sits under a leaky roof, so many items in it are ruined.

Which choice, if true, gives Lulu's case the biggest boost?

Step 4 · The courtroom tale

The Case of the Attic Letters

A historian claimed a family's attic letters showed how they lived. Lawyer Mott objected for the estate: "Your Honor, those letters tell us little. Mice have chewed through boxes for decades." The judge looked doubtful. "Mice chew a bit. Is that all?" Mr. Whitfield, serving as an expert witness, stood. "Not all. The family's lawyer removed every letter about money and property years ago and locked them elsewhere." Lawyer Mott beamed. "So the attic holds only what was left after the important ones were pulled!" The judge nodded. "That makes the attic a much weaker witness to how they lived."

Step 5 · Work the real question

Open PrepTest 154, Section 2, Question 16 in your official copy from LSAC (for example in LawHub) and read it there.

Your answer

How to apply it

Name the conclusion: the leftovers are a poor guide to what was originally there. Note the reason given (one kind of distortion). Look for the answer that adds a second, independent reason the leftovers are unrepresentative, such as items being selectively taken away. Reject answers that make the leftovers more informative (Saboteur) or that are about a side detail.