LSAT 25, Logical Reasoning II, Q8, LSATHacks

QUESTION TEXT: Knowledge of an ancient language is essential for reading original…

QUESTION TYPE: Weaken

CONCLUSION: There’s no need for scholars of ancient history to learn ancient languages.

REASONING: Most ancient documents have been translated.

ANALYSIS: There are a few problems. First, it’s best to read a document in its original language. Much is always lost in translation.

Second, ancient documents might not have been translated to your language, even if they’ve been translated to a modern language. Many Roman documents have only been translated into Italian, for example.

Third, only “most” documents have been translated. There might be some important documents that aren’t translated.

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1. CORRECT. This is the third error above. Just because you often don’t need an ancient language doesn’t mean you never need one. Some documents might not be translated.
2. Which statement of fact is treated like this? All of the premises are treated as facts.
3. This isn’t a circular argument. You don’t need to learn ancient languages because most documents have been translated. The conclusion is different from the premise.
4. There’s no expert judgment mentioned. And the whole passage sticks to one topic: ancient history and language.
5. No premises contradict each other. There’s only two: you need to know an ancient language to read an ancient document, and most ancient documents are translated.

Recap: The question begins with “Knowledge of an ancient language is essential for reading original”. It is a Weaken question. Learn more about LSAT Weaken questions in our guide to LSAT Logical Reasoning question types.

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