Logical Reasoning · Principle (Illustrate)
PrepTest 157 · 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
- “not primarily”
- “rather”
- “more”
Playground logic
When the garden dies, the class blames the plant monitor more than the janitor who shut off the sprinkler. Lulu points out it's not about who they know better; it's that the class can vote the monitor out. So the rule: kids blame more when they feel in control of the person.
Step 2 · The kid story
Who Killed the Tomatoes?
The class tomato plants wilted. Everyone glared at Nadia, the class plant monitor. But Lulu's clipboard showed the janitor had switched off the sprinkler for a week. "He's just as much to blame," she said. Marcus argued, "We blame Nadia because we know her better. She sits right there!" Lulu shook her head. "We know the janitor too. He waves every morning. That's not it." Priya sipped her juice box. "Here's the real reason. We vote for plant monitor. We can kick Nadia out next month. We can't fire the janitor." Owen nodded. "So we pile blame on the person we feel we control." Nadia sighed. "Great. Being elected means being blamed." Biscuit sniffed a tomato and walked away.
Step 3 · Try the model question
When the class tomatoes wilted, kids blamed Nadia, the elected plant monitor, more than the janitor, who was equally responsible. This was not mainly because kids knew Nadia better; rather, it was because kids felt they had more power over Nadia, since they could vote her out.
Which general rule does this situation best illustrate?
Step 4 · The courtroom tale
The Case of the Blamed Bus Driver
Parents packed the courtroom, furious that the school bus kept arriving late. They blamed the bus driver, not the city road crew who left the bridge closed for weeks. "Is it because you see the driver every day?" the judge asked. A parent shook her head. "We see the road crew every day too. They're outside our houses." Mr. Whitfield stood, thumbs in suspenders. "Your Honor, the true reason is this: parents sit on the board that hires drivers. They can't touch the road crew." He spread his hands. "People heap blame where they feel they hold the reins." The judge sighed. "The court notes the driver was simply easier to aim at."
Step 5 · Work the real question
Open PrepTest 157, Section 2, Question 6 in your official copy from LSAC (for example in LawHub) and read it there.
Your answer
How to apply it
Identify the pattern of blame and the comparison group that shares responsibility. Then find the explanation the passage rejects and the one it endorses after the contrast word. Pick the generalization that connects more blame to the endorsed reason, the feeling of power. Eliminate choices built on the rejected explanation, on who truly holds power, or on how much responsibility people deserve.