LR Question 19 Explanation
QUESTION TEXT: Committee chairperson: No new course will be approved…
QUESTION TYPE: Must be True
FACTS:
- A new course will only be approved if a proposal for it has already been received by the Dean or the committee.
- The Dean has only received one new course proposal.
- The committee has only received proposals for upper-level courses.
- Beginning next year, all upper-level courses will have prerequisites.
ANALYSIS: We have a few wonky facts here, so let’s work through them. First, we are told that new courses will only be approved if already received by the Dean or the committee. Then we learn about the proposals they have received. The committee has received an unknown number of upper-level proposals, and the Dean has received one proposal. Therefore, we can infer that all acceptable proposals are for upper-level courses, except potentially for the one the Dean has received. We also know that all upper-level courses will have prerequisites. We can make the following list of potential approved course proposals:
- A number of upper-level courses whose proposals were received by the committee (which will have prerequisites); and
- A maximum of one course whose proposal was received by the Dean (which may be an upper-level course, and if so would certainly have a prerequisite).
It is likely that the correct answer will relate to how many course proposals may potentially be approved, and the characteristics of those.
___________
- This does not follow. It is possible that the Dean may approve a lower-level course with a prerequisite.
- This also does not follow. It is possible that the committee approves some upper-level course proposals, and declines others.
- CORRECT. We know that the only way to get a lower-level course is through the single proposal received by the Dean. Therefore, if there are multiple, at least one must have come from a proposal received by the committee, meaning that it is an upper-level course and has a prerequisite.
- This one may have tricked you if you didn’t notice that it says “all courses offered”. This is way too broad. We don’t know anything about all the courses that are currently offered, only new proposals.
- We cannot properly infer this. There may be no new upper-level courses because no proposals were approved at all! In this scenario, the Dean has denied the proposal.
Recap: The question begins with “Committee chairperson: No new course will be approved”. It is a Must be True question. Learn how to master LSAT MBT questions on the LSAT Logical Reasoning question types page.
More Resources for Must Be True Questions
- Conditional Reasoning Article: Learn about conditional statements on the LSAT.
- LR Diagrams Guide: Learn how to draw LR diagrams.
- Intro to Conditional Reasoning: This intro course lesson covers conditional reasoning basics.
- Intro Course lesson: This intro course lesson covers Must Be True questions.
- Mastery Seminar lesson: This LR Mastery seminar lesson covers must be true questions.
Hi! I think #1 is not correctly translated. We’re told that no new course will be approved for next year’s schedule UNLESS a proposal has already been received either by this committee or by Dean Wilson. That translates to: IF new course will be approved for next year’s schedule –> proposal already received by Dean Wilson OR proposal received by this committee. Answer choices A, B, and E are wrong because we can’t have the necessary condition be “new course approved;” that’d be mistaken reversal without negation. Answer choice D is wrong because it’s too broad. Our stimulus says that all UPPER-LEVEL courses will have pre-reqs so (D)’s idea of ALL courses having pre-reqs is completely unfounded.
Hi, I may have missed something, but think #1 is the same as your translation? “A new course will only be approved if a proposal for it has already been received by the Dean or the committee.” = Course approved –> proposal received by Dean OR by committee
If we’re reading that the same way, was there an answer explanation you think is incorrect?