Logical Reasoning · Main Conclusion

PrepTest 155 · Section 2 · Question 6

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

The main point can sit near the front, right after background, with the evidence following it.

The basic logic

Sort each sentence onto the burger. A neutral setup is bottom bun. A claim with a strong "must" that the later sentences back up is the top bun. Findings and an "only possible" claim are patties. Ask: which sentence do the others exist to prove?

Tiny words that decide it

“must”
“only”
“so”

Playground logic

Lulu says there must be candy hidden between Tommy's mattress and blanket. Her pressing test and her "only candy is that hard" rule are the patties. The bed's layers are the bottom bun, and the hidden candy claim is the top bun.

Step 2 · The kid story

Lulu Presses the Blanket

Lulu marches into Tommy's room with her clipboard. "Tommy's bed has a soft mattress on the bottom and a fluffy blanket on top. Between them, there must be a candy bar." Tommy gulps. Lulu explains her method. "I pressed my hand all across the blanket. In the middle, I felt something much harder than the blanket. And in this house, the only thing that hard and that flat is a candy bar." Marcus, wearing his detective hat, says, "So your main point is that the bed is soft?" Lulu sighs. "No, Marcus. The bed being soft is just setup. My point is the candy. Everything else is my proof." Tommy quietly moves the candy to his sock drawer.

Step 3 · Try the model question

Tommy's bed has a soft mattress underneath and a fluffy blanket on top. Between those layers, there must be a hidden candy bar. Lulu pressed across the blanket and felt something much harder than the blanket in the middle, and in that house, only a candy bar could feel like that.

What is the main point Lulu is trying to prove?

Step 4 · The courtroom tale

The Case of the Hollow Statue

A museum claimed its bronze statue was solid. A collector disagreed. His lawyer, Mr. Whitfield, said, "Your Honor, this statue has a bronze shell and a stone base. Between them, there must be a hidden hollow space. An inspector tapped the statue from top to bottom. In the middle, the sound was much lighter than solid bronze, and only an empty cavity makes that sound." The museum's lawyer asked, "So your main claim is about the stone base?" Mr. Whitfield shook his head. "The base is just setting. My point is the hollow. The tapping and the sound rule are how I prove it." The judge wrote down one word: hollow.

Step 5 · Work the real question

Open PrepTest 155, Section 2, Question 6 in your official copy from LSAC (for example in LawHub) and read it there.

Your answer

How to apply it

Read every sentence and give it a job: background, evidence, or conclusion. Look for a sentence with a strong claim that later sentences support. Use the "because" test: put the candidate conclusion first, then "because," then the rest, and see if it reads smoothly. Reject choices that restate setup, describe the method, or repeat a supporting rule, even if they sound important.