Logical Reasoning · Principle

PrepTest 154 · Section 2 · Question 8

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

Step 1 · Pre-Question Guidance · read this first

Question type

Principle (justify the argument)

The one idea it tests

A general duty plus a big, avoidable cause equals a need for training.

The basic logic

The patty says something is becoming the top avoidable cause of a problem, and many helpers feel unready to handle it. The top bun says those helpers need more training. The rule that clicks: helpers should be properly trained to handle the main avoidable causes of the problems they deal with.

Tiny words that decide it

“if”
“soon”
“clearly”
“need”

Playground logic

Kevin's report: dog-chewed papers will soon be the top avoidable reason homework goes missing, and half the homework tutors say they don't know how to advise about it. So tutors need training. The secret sauce: tutors should be trained to handle the main avoidable causes of lost homework.

Step 2 · The kid story

The Biscuit Crisis

Kevin gives a report to the homework club. "If things keep going this way, chewed-up papers will soon be the number one avoidable reason homework goes missing." He holds up a soggy worksheet. Biscuit wags proudly. "And a survey Lulu ran found that half of our homework tutors say they don't know how to help kids dog-proof their backpacks." Lulu nods and taps her clipboard. "So," Kevin concludes, "the tutors need training in dog-proofing." Marcus scoffs. "Why should tutors care about dogs?" Priya sips her juice box. "Because a tutor's job includes stopping the avoidable causes of missing homework. If the biggest one is dogs, tutors should be trained to handle dogs." Mr. Whiskers watches from the windowsill, smug and blameless for once.

Step 3 · Try the model question

Kevin: If current trends hold, chewed-up papers are about to become the top avoidable cause of missing homework. Yet half of our homework tutors say they do not feel ready to advise students about dog-proofing their backpacks. So tutors clearly must be given extra dog-proofing lessons.

Which principle, if accepted, gives Kevin's reasoning the most support?

Step 4 · The courtroom tale

The Lighthouse Keepers' Lawsuit

Mr. Whitfield represents the Harbor Sailors Guild. "Your Honor, fog is quickly becoming the top avoidable cause of boat collisions here. Yet forty percent of lighthouse keepers admit they don't know how to run the new fog horns." The lighthouse board's attorney objects. "Their training was fine for decades!" Whitfield points to the board's own charter. "It says keepers must be properly trained to prevent the major avoidable causes of collisions. If fog is now the major cause, and keepers can't handle it, the charter demands new training." The judge nods. "The duty plus the facts leads to the remedy." The board schedules fog horn classes, and the harbor gets noisier.

Step 5 · Work the real question

Open PrepTest 154, Section 2, Question 8 in your official copy from LSAC (for example in LawHub) and read it there.

Your answer

How to apply it

Find the top bun (a group needs more training in some area). Find the patty (that area is becoming a leading avoidable cause of a problem, and many in the group feel unready). Ask what rule connects those facts to a duty to train. The right principle says the group must be properly trained to handle the major avoidable causes. Reject rules that block training, shift attention elsewhere, or address someone other than the group.