LSAT 123 | Section 3 | Logical Reasoning: Q14

LR Question 14 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: Commentator: In academic scholarship, sources are always…

QUESTION TYPE: Principle – Conform

CONCLUSION: Universities should use open source software.

REASONING: Open source software is a closer match to academic scholarship’s values. Scholarship is central to universities’ mission.

ANALYSIS: The whole start of the argument is just context. The meat of the argument begins with “this shows”.

If you don’t already, you should learn to look for these structural cues to see where to focus your attention.

___________

1. The argument didn’t mention the “most advanced” software tools.
2. While open source software is free, the stimulus didn’t focus on price. Instead, the ability to modify and replicate were the central points. So this answer’s focus on price is misplaced. Also, “adequate” isn’t a good way of framing things: the stimulus seemed to be implying open-source was best. And the stimulus didn’t mention “the purposes” of academic scholarship. Instead, the stimulus focussed on the values of scholarship. (“their purposes” was only mentioned as a general term describing how open-source software can be used)

3. CORRECT. This matches. The final sentence of the stimulus says:

   • Open-source best matches the values
   • scholarship is central
4. The stimulus didn’t mention efficiency as a consideration. And the stimulus was about what you should use.
    
   (The fact that something is efficient doesn’t necessarily mean that you should do it. E.g. You might be efficient at ironing but decide it’s not worth doing)
5. This tells a university what not to do. The conclusion was about what a university should do.