Logical Reasoning · Role of a Statement

PrepTest 156 · Section 2 · Question 4

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

The claim in question is the Boss: everything else in the argument works for it.

The basic logic

Find what the argument is trying to prove. A claim placed first after a concession (although...) is often the main point, with a chain of reasons stacked below it.

Tiny words that decide it

“although”
“mistake”
“if...then”

Playground logic

Kevin says it would be a mistake to rush his volcano. Then he lines up a chain: rushing means wet glue, wet glue means a saggy cone, a saggy cone won't erupt. Every link works for that first claim, so it is the Boss.

Step 2 · The kid story

Kevin's Slow Volcano

The science fair was on Friday, and Kevin's volcano was not done. Marcus told him to hurry. Kevin crossed his arms. "Although my volcano is late, it would be a mistake to rush it." Then he started explaining, as Kevin does. "If I rush, the glue won't dry. If the glue doesn't dry, the cone sags. If the cone sags, the baking soda has nowhere to go up, so there's no eruption. And a volcano that doesn't erupt is just a sad hill. Did you know some real volcanoes are older than dinosaurs?" Priya laughed. "Every step you said leads back to one point: don't rush." Lulu wrote BOSS next to the first sentence on her clipboard, and drew a little volcano beside it.

Step 3 · Try the model question

Kevin: Although my volcano is late, it would be a mistake to rush it. Rushing means the glue won't dry. Wet glue makes the cone sag, and a sagging cone won't erupt.

Kevin's claim that it would be a mistake to rush the volcano serves which job in his argument?

Step 4 · The courtroom tale

The Garden Gate

Mr. Whitfield faced the jury. "Although my client's garden gate squeaks, it would be a mistake to order him to replace it. Here is why. The squeak tells him when someone enters. Knowing when someone enters is how he caught the tomato thief last summer. Without the squeak, the tomatoes are defenseless." The judge leaned forward. "So every point you made, counsel, is there to support your first sentence?" "Exactly, Your Honor. The rest are my helpers. That first sentence is what I'm here to prove." The judge wrote one word on her notepad: conclusion.

Step 5 · Work the real question

Open PrepTest 156, Section 2, Question 4 in your official copy from LSAC (for example in LawHub) and read it there.

Your answer

How to apply it

Underline the claim the stem quotes. Ask which way the support flows: do other sentences give reasons for it, or does it give reasons for something else? Use 'because' between sentences to test. If everything else flows up into the quoted claim and nothing sits above it, it is the Boss. Then pick the choice that names it as the conclusion, not as a premise, background, or a view being refuted.