LSAT 105 | Section 4 | Logical Reasoning: Q25

LR Question 25 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: Some residents of Midville claim that …

QUESTION TYPE: Identify the Conclusion

ANALYSIS: Look for conclusion indicator words. “But” is a common one. The first sentence says “but these people are mistaken”.

What do “these people” say? They claim Midville is generally more expensive than neighboring towns.

So if these people are mistaken, then the author must be arguing that: Midville is generally not more expensive than neighboring towns.

The rest of the stimulus is justifying why it isn’t more expensive:

1. Midville residents receive a lot of services from their high taxes, e.g. trash removal, rent/mortgage assistance, public transportation
2. In neighboring towns, you have to pay for this stuff yourself

___________

1. CORRECT. This directly paraphrases the author’s conclusion that the residents claiming otherwise are mistaken.
2. This is somewhat implied, since some residents think Midville is more expensive and those residents focus on the high tax rates. But it’s too far to conclude that they think their taxes are too high. Either way, it’s not the author’s main point. It’s part of the opposition’s thoughts.
3. The author never makes a general principle about public services always being cheaper than privately funded ones. The argument is specifically about Midville compared with nearby towns.
4. We know some residents ignore the services when assessing overall cost, but it’s too strong to claim that they’re unaware of the services at all. I’d imagine people would know whether they’re paying for trash removal or not.
5. We are never told how many residents use these services, let alone that most residents use all of them.