Logical reasoning PrepTest 144 · Section 2 · Question 25

Incorrect. We're trying to justify a conclusion that what happened last year will happen again this year, so bringing up a difference isn't likely to help that argument. Additionally, it's not clear how the number of shows reflects on cancelation odds—do they go up because the production company is spread too thin, or do they go down because costs can be lower per show as they reuse police props?

Incorrect. A subtle shift, but this answer is about most of all the shows W&W produced, not most of their new shows as the premises and conclusion are about. This answer leaves open the possibility that, while most of W&W's shows are cop dramas, none of the new ones last year were. That said, if this answer did establish that W&W's new shows last year were all cop dramas, and they were all canceled, that would strengthen the argument that the same thing would happen again this year with a new roster of cop dramas.

Incorrect. Similar to (B), this answer is about all the shows W&W produced last year, not just the new shows. That said, this answer leaves open the possibility that W&W didn't produce any cop shows last year, in which case there couldn't be a parallel drawn to this year.

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Argument

Valid or Flawed:
Flawed

Question Type:
Strengthen

Stimulus Summary:
W&W new shows last year-most-Canceled for poor viewership
W&W new shows this year → Police dramas
Police dramas-most-not Popular
Therefore: Likely that W&W new shows this year-most-Canceled

Answer Anticipation:
There are a lot of quantifiers being thrown around here—the conclusion features two of them—and a lot of subtle shifts (new shows vs. shows; shows this year vs. shows last year), but let's orient around the most important statement in any stimulus—the conclusion.

Here, the conclusion states that most of W&W's new shows are likely to be canceled. Why? Because all of their new shows last year were canceled, and all of their new shows this year are in an unpopular genre.

So to strengthen the argument, we need to establish that these two reasons are good reasons to believe the new shows this year will be canceled. That leaves the anticipation pretty wide open, but, to sum up, we're looking for an answer that establishes:

(1) What happened last year is likely to happen again this year
(2) Cop shows are likely to be canceled again this year

Answer Explanation:
This answer establishes that the new shows W&W produced last year that were canceled have a relevant similarity to their new shows this year—they're in the same (unpopular) genre. This relevant similarity strengthens the argument that the outcome from last year is likely to repeat, and so this is the correct answer.

Key Takeaway:
There are some questions on the LSAT that end up coming down to some very small details and subtle shifts. This question had several very tempting answers that discussed shows instead of new shows. This highlights a great strategy for picking an answer when you're down to 2-3—read them back to back and note any differences. For instance, that should have made clear that (C) and (D), while similar, had a different scope, with (C) talking all shows and (D) talking new shows. From there, you can compare that noted difference to the stimulus to see which one is (more) relevant.

Incorrect. This adds to something we already knew—cop shows generally aren't popular these days. Anything that just adds to a premise won't strengthen an argument. Additionally, a show doesn't need to be among the most popular to avoid cancelation—it just has to have viewership above the cancelation threshold.