LSAT 21 | Section 2 | Logical Reasoning: Q20

LR Question 20 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: Ann will either take a leave of absence from…

QUESTION TYPE: Sufficient Assumption

CONCLUSION: Ann will only quit her job if Technocomp finds out she has been offered a fellowship.

REASONING: Ann will only take a leave of absence or quit if she has been offered a fellowship. Technocomp will only allow Ann to take a leave of absence if it doesn’t find out about the fellowship.

ANALYSIS: Ann actually has three possibilities. If she is denied leave, she will quit for sure. But if she’s offered a leave of absence, she could take it or she could quit.

So it isn’t true that Ann will only quit if Technocomp denies her leave. She could also quit, even with a leave of absence

The correct answer says that Ann will automatically take a leave of absence (and not quit) if she is offered one. This proves the conclusion.

The wrong answers don’t help us say when Ann will quit. They just tell us irrelevant facts.

___________

1. It doesn’t matter how Technocomp finds out about the fellowship.
2. Ann’s reasons don’t matter. We only care about what she does.
3. The stimulus didn’t mention anything about Ann going to work for Technocomp’s competitors.
4. CORRECT. This is tricky, but correct. The argument ignored a third possibility: Ann quits even though she is offered a leave of absence. This answer choice rules that out. Ann will take a leave if she is offered one, and only quit if she isn’t offered one.
5. This is a catch-22. Ann won’t quit unless she is offered a fellowship.

Recap: The question begins with “Ann will either take a leave of absence from”. It is a Sufficient Assumption question. Learn more about LSAT Sufficient questions in our guide to LSAT Logical Reasoning question types.