Logical reasoning PrepTest 139 · Section 4 · Question 24

Incorrect. In establishing praise for achievements as a requirement for children, the author does concede this point. However, she immediately pivots away from it ("but"), showing that it's not the main point.

Incorrect. This is a reason that praising children for everything is counterproductive, thus supporting that opinion in the conclusion. This answer reflects a premise of the argument.

Incorrect. This answer isn't established or implied by the argument, so it's out of scope.

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Argument

Valid or Flawed:
Flawed

Question Type:
Main Point

Stimulus Summary:
Goal - Build a kid's self-esteem
Approach - Praise the kid for everything they do, whether successful or not
Author's opinion - That approach is counterproductive
Support - If praised equally for success and failure, kids will stop believing and listening to the praise

Answer Anticipation:
Common argument structures are good because they help us to break down an argument into its parts and understand what the argument concludes much more easily. This argument features a common structure—goal/approach. When this is the case, the author's approach or the author's opinion of an approach is generally the main point.

Here, the background goal is to build children's self-esteem. The method raised to do so is to praise every action, whether it succeeds or fails. The author states an opinion of that—it's counterproductive ("actually erode"). She doesn't go on to present an alternative method that she believes would be effective, so this opinion of the established approach is the main point of the argument.

That's backed up by two other considerations. First, the second half of the argument discusses why it's counterproductive, thus supporting this first sentence. Second, the conclusion here uses a word that strongly suggests an opinion—"actually." Such adverbs suggest that the author is bringing up a point she's about to support, so be on the lookout for them!

Answer Explanation:
This answer reflects the author's opinion of the approach to building a child's self-esteem mentioned in the stimulus, so it's the main point. If something erodes self-esteem, then it causes it to suffer, so there's no meaningful term shift in this answer.

Key Takeaway:
There are some common reasoning patterns or structures on the LSAT. Things like goal/approach, or problem/solution. Knowing these and knowing what elements of them tend to be background (goal/problem), premise (facts or studies), and conclusions (approaches/solutions/opinion on approaches and solutions) can really streamline your approach to these questions.

Incorrect. This answer is, at most, implied by the argument in stating that praise for achievements is necessary for children, but even that's a bit of a jump. In any case, that statement was a concession, not a part of the author's argument, and so this can't be the main point.