LSAT 119 | Section 4 | Logical Reasoning: Q25

LR Question 25 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: Unquestionably, inventors of useful devices deserve credit for their…

QUESTION TYPE: Role in Argument

CONCLUSION: Engineers should also get credit for inventions. They help make them workable.

REASONING: Engineers often (but not always) are the ones who turn an inventor’s idea into reality.

ANALYSIS: This is a good argument. It reminds us not to forget the poor, neglected engineers. The sentence in question clarifies that in some circumstances there is no engineer, as the inventor creates his own invention.

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1. Quick: what are the practical and theoretical elements of the argument? Don’t choose a nonsense answer for lack of a better idea.
2. CORRECT. Yes, the sentence qualifies the argument and lets us know the situation is not universal.
3. Which earlier statement is the sentence supporting? If you can’t answer that, you don’t get to pick this answer choice. (Hint: it isn’t supporting any statement.)
4. The argument relies on the inventor/engineer distinction, and clearly defines it as: person who creates an idea vs. person who creates a product. Even when the same person fulfills both roles, this distinction is crystal clear.
5. Eliminating the profession of engineering and having inventors do all of the engineering work is not a good alternative solution to this problem. That’s not what the stimulus meant to suggest by mentioning this fact.

Recap: The question begins with “Unquestionably, inventors of useful devices deserve credit for their”. It is a Role in Argument question. Learn how to master LSAT Role questions on the LSAT Logical Reasoning question types page.