PrepTest 157

[lcid:3725] Prep Test 157 LSAT — Logical Reasoning — S2 Logical reasoning

Question prompt

Democratic societies in which Remaining source text redacted.
Why the credited answer is right

Credited answer: E

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

Argument or Facts

Facts

Strategy Overview

Argument or facts? Always facts Determine which general idea the passage provides an example of Use anticipations to select the answer choice that describes the general idea the passage illustrates, Generally, the correct idea will need to be expressed in weak language

Answer Anticipation

This passage identifies a phenomenon: that discontented democratic societies blame politicians more than other powerful, responsible figures. It then rules out one possible explanation: discontented people do not blame politicians because the politicians are more well-known than other figures. Finally, the passage identifies the real reason: discontented people blame politicians because the people feel like they have more power over the politicians.
From this example, we can make a generalization. We'll just replace some of the specific nouns, like "politicians," with more generic terms. We can say something like, "People blame those over whom they feel like they have more power or control, even when there are other equally blameworthy parties." To be safe, we should probably soften the language a bit. After all, we only have one example to make this generalization from. We can't say what always or even usually happens. So, let's go with, "People sometimes blame those over whom they feel like they have more power or control, even when there are other equally blameworthy parties."

Answer choices

  1. A
    Often the people who Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice A is not credited

    This doesn't match our anticipation, so we can quickly eliminate it. After all, the passage doesn't discuss which figures people view as "having the most power." It discusses which powerful figures people blame for society's problems and explains why people blame them.

  2. B
    People tend to ascribe Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice B is not credited

    This doesn't match our anticipation, so we can cross it off. After all, the passage doesn't identify which figures people "ascribe more power to." The passage identifies which powerful figures people blame for society's problems and explains why people blame them.

  3. C
    To the extent that Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice C is not credited

    This doesn't conform to our anticipation, so we'll toss it out. In fact, the passage explicitly rules out this explanation. The passage says that people don't blame politicians for society's ills because politicians are more well-known than other responsible parties. The passage says that people blame politicians because people feel like they have more sway over politicians.

  4. D
    Publicly known people are Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice D is not credited

    This doesn't quite match our anticipation, so we can eliminate it. The passage doesn't make any evaluative claims that would support a generalization like this one. The author doesn't say or imply that politicians or other responsible figures should be held more responsible for society's problems. Instead, the author identifies which powerful figures people blame for society's problems and explains why people blame them.

  5. E
    People are more inclined Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice E matches the stem

    Finally, an answer choice that matches our anticipation. We anticipated that the correct answer would say something like, "People sometimes blame those over whom they feel like they have more power or control, even when there are other equally blameworthy parties." This answer choice matches that idea, as it states that people are more likely to blame the figures that they believe they have power over. This answer choice would certainly be better if it was stated in weaker, easier-to-support language. However, since this is the only answer choice related to the phenomenon and explanation in the passage, we'll put aside any reservations and select this option.

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