LSAT 152 | Section 4 | Logical Reasoning: Q11

LR Question 11 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: To be considered for this year’s Gillespie Grant …

QUESTION TYPE: Flawed Reasoning

CONCLUSION: Mary will only be considered if she mails her application 10 days before the deadline.

REASONING: Applications must be received by October 1, and mail can take up to 10 days.

ANALYSIS: Have you ever ordered something online and they tell you it’ll be delivered in 3-7 days? 2 days later, joy! It’s been delivered.

Same thing goes here. Mail takes up to 10 days. It’s not guaranteed to take 10 days, it can take less.

So it’s too strong to conclude that she will only be considered if she mails it 10 days before. Yes, she probably should, but there’s a realistic chance she can mail it 5 days before and it’ll still make it there in time.

“Could take up to X time” isn’t the same as “Will always take X time”.

___________

1. The argument is talking about what happens if she applies. It does not matter whether she actually does apply.
2. We’re only discussing regular mail, so express mail doesn’t matter.
3. CORRECT. The argument isn’t considering the minimum delivery time. If the mail can arrive faster, the conclusion doesn’t follow.
4. The argument is strictly about timing, it makes no claims about Mary’s competitiveness as an applicant overall.
5. Multiple issues here. First, we know nothing about express mail. Second, we have no reason to believe express mail is required to make sure your application gets there. There’s no issues presented with regular mail.