PrepTest 147

[lcid:3687] Prep Test 147 LSAT — Logical Reasoning — S4 Logical reasoning

Question prompt

Journalist: Some critics argue Remaining source text redacted.
Why the credited answer is right

Credited answer: A

The notes below walk through why it fits the stem and how to eliminate the rest.

Question Type

Strengthen with Sufficient Premise Questions

Answer choices

  1. A
    The news reporting of Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice A matches the stem
    Correct. Argument or Facts:
    Argument

    Valid or Flawed:
    Flawed

    Question Type:
    Strengthen with Sufficient Premise

    Stimulus Summary:
    Critics - As news gets more entertaining, it gets lower in quality.
    Counterexample - The greatest journalists were the most entertaining
    Conclusion - As news gets more entertaining, it doesn't get lower in quality

    Answer Anticipation:
    First, note that we rephrased the conclusion to represent the meaning of it. Thinking about the conclusion as simply, "these critics are mistaken," makes it harder to see what the gap in the logic is.

    With the full conclusion written out, we can start to see where the gap is in the reasoning here. For these greatest journalists to serve as a counterexample to the relationship stated by the critics, they'd have to be both entertaining and engaged in reporting of the highest caliber. While the Journalist does note that these "greatest" journalists were the most entertaining, she never establishes that the "greatest" journalists in her eyes are the ones who had high-caliber reporting.

    If their caliber of reporting was particularly high and they were entertaining, then they serve as a counterpoint to the Critics' argument and the conclusion is valid, so let's find that answer.

    Answer Explanation:
    This answer matches our anticipation perfectly. If the greatest journalists had the highest caliber reporting and they were the most entertaining, the relationship argued by the Critics is wrong.

    Key Takeaway:
    Strengthen with Sufficient Premise answers are very anticipatable. Spend the time to see what concepts need to be established/connected and you should be able to fly through the answers.
  2. B
    The greatest journalists have Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice B is not credited
    Incorrect. This doesn't address whether their reporting was of the highest caliber.
  3. C
    Journalistic greatness involves producing Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice C is not credited
    Incorrect. This answer defines greatness without guaranteeing high-caliber reporting, so it doesn't justify the conclusion.
  4. D
    Entertainment and news are Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice D is not credited
    Incorrect. The argument doesn't talk about news as being categorized as entertainment, just that it can be entertaining.
  5. E
    The worst journalists have Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice E is not credited
    Incorrect. If anything, this aligns with the Critics' view.

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