• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

LSAT Hacks

The Explanations That Should Have Come With The LSAT

  • Start Here
    • About
  • LSAT Explanations
  • LSATHacks Pro
  • Course
  • Mastery seminars
  • Tutoring
  • Books
  • Login
LSAT Explanations » LSAT Preptest 70 » Logical Reasoning 1 » Question 23

LSAT 70, Logical Reasoning I, Q23

LSAT 70 Explanations

LR Question 23 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: Columnist: Although most people favor the bill…

QUESTION TYPE: Principle – Strengthen

CONCLUSION: The country is not a well-functioning democracy.

REASONING: Most people want the bill, but influential people oppose it. The bill won’t violate human rights.

ANALYSIS: Principle questions are sometimes like sufficient assumption questions. The stimulus will give you a bunch of facts, then give a moral judgment. You need to show that those facts justify the moral judgment. So we need an answer that says one of the following:

Well functioning ➞ pass into law if benefits and no violations within a few years

NOT pass into law if benefits and no violations within a few years ➞ NOT well functioning

Be very precise. Two wrong answers sound good, but have the wrong timeline.

___________

  1. This is almost right. But the stimulus said most people favored the bill. This answer talks about bills that benefit most people. Those are different things.
  2. This sounds good, but look at the timeline. The stimulus complained that the bill wouldn’t be passed into law for a few years, but it might be passed eventually. So the situation might not violate the criterion in this answer choice.
  3. This answer supports the idea that we are in a well functioning democracy. It says that it’s normal for such a democracy not to pass useful bills if influential people oppose them.
  4. This describes bills that are passed. The question was about a bill that is not going to be passed.
  5. CORRECT. This answer fits the facts. It says that in a well functioning democracy, beneficial bills will be promptly passed into law. In the stimulus, the beneficial bill wouldn’t be passed for a few years, if at all.

Previous Question
Table Of Contents
Next Question




Free Logical Reasoning lesson

Get a free sample of the Logical Reasoning Mastery Seminar. Learn tips for solving LR questions

Hi, I'm Graeme Blake

I run LSAT Hacks, and got a 177 on the LSAT. The single best thing I've ever made is the set of LSAT Mastery seminars. They show you how to think like a 170+ scorer when doing questions. Get them here: Mastery Seminars

I guarantee you'll like them, or you get your money back within 7 days. There's no risk. Check the reviews, people have said they improved within a few days.
---------
Photos and Updates: You can follow me on Instagram here

For updates, sign up for my email list. I update whenever I have new posts.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. David says

    February 6, 2018 at 10:19 am

    I suppose (D) is incorrect because it neglects the urgency required by a well-functioning democracy? Instead it talks about the past, which doesn’t address the aforementioned issue of time.

    Is this the correct reasoning for negating (D)?

    Reply
    • TutorLucas (LSAT Hacks) says

      February 12, 2018 at 6:07 pm

      The crux of the issue with (D) is that it does not help us strengthen the conditional reasoning in the stimulus. The stimulus is talking about a bill that will not be passed (or won’t be passed for a few years). (D) is talking about bills that have been passed. We need an answer choice that helps to strengthen the connection between this bill not being passed and this country not being a well-functioning democracy.

      (E) does the above. It says that in a well-functioning democracy, this bill would be passed. This bill won’t be passed for a few years, if at all, therefore, this is not a well-functioning democracy.

      Reply
  2. MemberSabrina (LSAT Hacks) says

    January 26, 2015 at 3:16 am

    Hi Thanusha,

    The issue with (C) is that it doesn’t help to justify the columnist’s reasoning at all. He’s claiming that the country in question is NOT a well functioning democracy.

    (C) on the other hand defines a well-functioning democracy as a place where bills favored by the majority will be passed, but only if the people who are opposed to it are not influential. In the stimulus, the bill will not be passed because the people opposed to it ARE influential – these two statements could be describing the same place. (C) would lead us to the conclusion that the country IS a well-functioning democracy, which is the opposite of what the columnist is saying.

    (E) does justify the columnist’s reasoning. According to (E), in a well-functioning democracy, any bill favored by the majority that doesn’t violate basic human rights (just like the first line of the stimulus) will be passed promptly into law. This won’t happen in the country presented in the stimulus, and this justifies the columnist’s conclusion that it is NOT a well-functioning democracy.

    I hope that helps!

    Reply
  3. Thanusha says

    January 24, 2015 at 11:54 pm

    Hey Greame,

    I’m having trouble understanding why in Preptest 70 Section I Q: 23 the answer is E. I’m following your explanation and break down of the stimulus but I am at a loss for why that answer choice is correct and why C is wrong. The explanation for answer E seems a bit contradictory.

    Thank you!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Free LSAT Email Course

My best LSAT tips, straight to your inbox


New! LSATHacks Pro: Get every course on LSATHacks for $49.99/month

LSATHacks Pro

Get a higher score with LSATHacks Pro

LSAT Course, LSAT Mastery seminars, and 3,000 extra explanations. All for $49.99/month, satisfaction guaranteed, no minimum commitment. Sign up here: https://lsathacks.com/lsathacks-pro/

Testimonials

Your emails are tremendously helpful. - Matt

Thanks for the tips! They were very helpful, and even make you feel like you studied a bit. Great insight and would love more! - Haj

Dear Graeme: MUCH MORE PLEASE!! Your explanations are very clear, and you give equal importance to why answers are WRONG, as well as why THE ANSWER is right!! Very well done. Thank you for all your efforts - Tom

These have been awesome. More please!!! - Caillie

The course was immensely helpful and has eased my nerves a lot. - Lovlean

© Copyright 2022 LSAT Hacks. All Rights Reserved. | FAQ/Legal

Disclaimer: Use of this site requires official LSAT preptests; the explanations are of no use without the preptests. If you do not have the accompanying preptests, you can find them here: LSAT preptests
LSAT is copyright of LSAC. LSAC does not review or endorse specific test preparation materials or services and has not reviewed this site.
×
Item Added to your Cart!
There are no products
Continue Shopping