LSAT 4 | Section 1 | Logical Reasoning: Q16

LR Question 16 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: The current proposal to give college students a broader…

QUESTION TYPE: Flawed Reasoning

CONCLUSION: The proposal to give college students more course choice should be abandoned.

REASONING: [paraphrase] Those students are a bunch of lazy jerks who will never amount to anything.

ANALYSIS: The author doesn’t give any evidence that the current method of course selection is good or that the new method is bad. He just insults the students. This is a pure ad hominem attack, where the person is attacked, rather than the idea.

___________

1. CORRECT. Yes. He doesn’t give us any reason to believe his conclusion is correct. He just insults people.
2. His conclusion is the first sentence. He doesn’t restate it (which would have been circular reasoning.) Instead he just bad-mouths the students.
3. It’s pretty clear what satisfied means: the students will never be content, happy, etc.
4. He doesn’t do that. He clearly states that their proposal is to give students more choice.
5. In all cases, “student” means someone who is studying at his college. (equivocally means using different meanings)

Recap: The question begins with “The current proposal to give college students a broader”. It is a Flawed Reasoning question. Learn more about LSAT Flaw questions in our guide to LSAT Logical Reasoning question types.