Logical reasoning PrepTest 135 · Section 2 · Question 18

Incorrect. While the stimulus does imply that Abella may have been a "vector" for West to influence Stuart, there are two issues with this answer. First, the stimulus never brings up "discussions" as the basis for this influence—maybe West influenced Stuart by influencing Abella's work, and Abella's work influenced Stuart. Second, the stimulus brings up several means by which Stuart could have been influenced by West to show that it's unlikely that he wasn't influenced through any of them, but that doesn't mean that any particular method definitely resulted in influence.

Incorrect. In rebutting the rebuttal, the Historian is supporting her initial argument—that West influenced Stuart. This answer is the opposite of what the Historian is saying in the stimulus.

Incorrect. While Stuart's contemporaries didn't use West's terminology, that doesn't mean they weren't influenced by his in other ways.

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Facts

Question Type:
Must Be True

Stimulus Summary:
(Historian: West influenced Stuart)
Rebuttal: Stuart mentioned West's work only once in his diaries
Rebuttal of rebuttal: Stuart mentioned meetings with West several times. Stuart's friend studied under West. Stuart's work used language only West was using at the time.

Answer Anticipation:
You have to enjoy how convoluted LSAT arguments get sometimes! Well, maybe not enjoy. Or even like. Hate. You have to hate how convoluted they get!

Here, the Historian starts by bringing up a rebuttal to an earlier argument she made, and then she goes on to rebut that rebuttal.

The rebuttal uses Stuart's diaries as evidence to rebut the claim. The Historian goes on to show that the diary itself contains evidence for her initial contention that the first rebuttal ignores, and then she goes on to bring up two separate pieces of evidence for her initial statement.

It's unclear what the correct answer is going to state because there aren't statements that would traditionally lead us to a correct answer—strong, causal, conditional, or comparative statements—but the entire stimulus is meant to support the initial contention and defend it from criticism, so the correct answer will probably reflect that.

Answer Explanation:
The Historian claimed that West influenced Stuart. Some critics rebutted that. In this stimulus, the Historian defends her initial claim from that rebuttal by bringing up several means by which she believes West influenced Stuart. This answer stating that Stuart's work was, in some possibly small way, influenced by West is therefore supported.

Key Takeaway:
While there will frequently be the ability to anticipate the answer in a Must Be True question, there will also be plenty of questions where it's unclear what direction the correct answer will go. Don't get trapped in thinking that you need a solid anticipation to move to the answers. It certainly helps, and it can prevent you from falling for a trap answer, but sometimes you need to just keep moving and head to the answers when you're not seeing an anticipation.

Incorrect. While we know that Stuart used West's terminology, and none of his contemporaries did, there's no support that it was this use that resulted in it being commonplace today. Maybe West's work saw a surge of popularity that drove the terminology being adapted after Stuart and his contemporaries were in the conversation.