LSAT 104 | Section 4 | Logical Reasoning: Q22

LR Question 22 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: Words like “employee,” “payee,” and “detainee” support…

QUESTION TYPE: Miscellaneous

(I’ve never seen this type of question elsewhere, so I’m not going to bother inventing a new category of question type to name it.)

CONCLUSION: If -ee words refer to one person out of two, then they’re referring to the person the action is aimed at.

REASONING: “Employee”, “payee”, etc. all speak of someone affected by something another person did. “Absentee” seems to be an exception.

But we can narrow what we’re talking about to exclude words like absentee that only refer to one person’s action.

ANALYSIS: This is a good argument, if a bit subtle. The author has narrow the definition of what he’s talking about. He ends up only referring to words that end with -ee and describe a situation with two people.

So absentee is excluded by this new definition.

“Absentee” was special because it wasn’t an action done to someone. The right word is the same.

The wrong answers are actions done to someone.

___________

1. An honoree is honored by someone.
2. An appointee is appointed by someone.
3. A nominee is nominated by someone.
4. A transferee receives a transfer from someone.
5. CORRECT. An escapee escapes. He does it himself, no one gives him an escape.

Recap: The question begins with “Words like “employee,” “payee,” and “detainee” support”. It is a Miscellaneous question. Learn more about LSAT questions in our guide to LSAT Logical Reasoning question types.