LSAT 105 | Section 4 | Logical Reasoning: Q10

LR Question 10 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: In the course of his reading …

QUESTION TYPE: Principle – Application

CONCLUSION: Even though 1984 resembles other futuristic books, that resemblance doesn’t prove Orwell read them.

REASONING: He likely encountered certain storytelling conventions a lot, and authors in the same genre often draw on the same conventions.

ANALYSIS: The core idea here is that similarity doesn’t necessarily imply direct influence. Why? Because there may be a common source producing the similarities.

So the structure we’re looking for is:

• Work A resembles Work B.
• But both may have drawn from the same conventions/traditions.
• So, we can’t conclude A was directly influenced by B.

___________

1. This says direct influence tends to produce genre membership. The stimulus is about the reverse issue: resemblance does not prove direct influence.
2. This says direct influence may exist without resemblance. The stimulus says resemblance may exist without direct influence.
3. This says direct study of prior works is necessary. The stimulus explicitly rejects the idea that resemblance requires direct exposure to earlier works.
4. CORRECT. These features could simply be common conventions of the action genre. Therefore, resemblance to other action films doesn’t prove direct influence.
5. This discusses what makes something belong to a genre. The stimulus is about whether similarities prove direct influence, not about defining genres.