LR Question 11 Explanation
QUESTION TEXT: When using a manufactured pattern to make clothing, a tailor…
QUESTION TYPE: Sufficient Assumption
CONCLUSION: A professional tailor never blindly follows a pattern, but always adjusts the pattern to fit the wearer exactly.
REASONING: When using a manufactured pattern to make clothing, tailors alter the pattern to accommodate future distortion. The tailor will alter the pattern to fit the wearer exactly, unless the clothing is to be worn by a person who precisely matches the pattern size.
ANALYSIS: We’re told that tailors alter the pattern to fit the wearer exactly, unless the wearer exactly matches the pattern. Then, in the conclusion, the author says that professional tailors always adjust the pattern. For both of these to be true, it must mean that professional tailors never make clothes for someone who fits the pattern exactly. If they did, then the conclusion couldn’t be drawn.
___________
- This doesn’t allow us to conclude that professional tailors always adjust the pattern. It just gives a reason for why alteration is necessary.
- This doesn’t lead to the conclusion that all professional tailors always adjust. It just tells us that some adjusting tailors are professional tailors.
- The conclusion isn’t about who are the best tailors, or who can alter patterns most perfectly.
- CORRECT. See above – this allows us to draw our conclusion. Professional tailors only make clothing for people who don’t match the pattern, so they always adjust the pattern.
- This might be true, but it doesn’t mean every professional tailor always adjusts the pattern.
Recap: The question begins with “When using a manufactured pattern to make clothing, a tailor”. It is a Sufficient Assumption question. Learn how to master LSAT Sufficient questions on the LSAT Logical Reasoning question types page.
More Resources for Sufficient Assumption Questions
- Conditional Reasoning Article: Learn about conditional statements.
- LR Diagrams Guide: Learn how to draw LR diagrams.
- Intro to Conditional Reasoning: Learn conditional reasoning basics.
- Intro Course lesson: This intro course lesson covers Sufficient Assumption questions.
- Mastery Seminar lesson: This LR Mastery seminar lesson covers sufficient assumption questions.
Hi! I see why D is correct. Why is E wrong (other than D being right)?
We’re told that a) tailors alter the pattern to accommodate future distortion and b) they always get the fit exactly right. In order to get the fit right, wouldn’t they have to accurately estimate shrinking and stretching, as E says?
Unless “fit” doesn’t include “future fit.” I’m not sure why it wouldn’t. It doesn’t say “fit the wearer exactly right when they first put it on” just as much as it doesn’t say “fit the wearer exactly after its had the chance to shrink or stretch.”
Hi! I think the confusion might come from what the question is asking us to do. While E may follow from the information we know, choosing it just based off that would treat this more like a Must Be True Question (i.e. based on these facts, what must also be true).
This is a Sufficient Assumption question. We know:
1. Tailors alter patterns to accommodate for distortion.
2. Unless your measurements exactly fit the pattern size, the tailor alters it to fit you.
3. The tailor ALWAYS adjusts the pattern to fit you.
We need something that helps bridge 1 and 2 with 3, such that 3 is guaranteed to always be true.
How does knowing that the tailor can estimate how much a fabric shrinks/stretches help us know they’ll ALWAYS have to adjust it? It doesn’t. It just sort of helps us be even more sure of 1, since we already knew that they alter it to accommodate future distortion.
On the other hand, if we know that people’s measurements NEVER exactly fit the chosen patterns, then it follows that tailors ALWAYS have to adjust the pattern.
Hope that helps! Let me know if you have further question.