LR Question 14 Explanation
QUESTION TEXT: Professor: The most important function of epic poetry…
QUESTION TYPE: Must Be True
FACTS:
- Epic poetry’s main function is to transmit values.
- Epic poems do this by presenting heroes as role models.
- People get meaning in their lives from imitating these role models.
ANALYSIS: The most important thing on must be true questions is to have a clear idea of the facts. Usually the right answer will combine two or more of them.
___________
- The stimulus was about epic poetry. This answer is about all poetry. Maybe epic poetry is an unimportant part of poetry in general.
- CORRECT. This combines facts 1 and 2.
- Careful. The transmission of values is not done by explicit discussion, but that doesn’t mean values aren’t set forth explicitly. e.g. “The hero was brave, strong and noble”. In my example, I didn’t discuss the hero’s values, but they are set forth explicitly, for you to mimic. Be brave.
- This sounds good, but the problem is “many groups of people”. The stimulus doesn’t say whether many groups of people are exposed to epic poetry any more.
- This confuses sufficient for necessary. Yes, all epic poetry presents heroes as role models. But plenty of other things present heroes as role models too….Disney movies for instance.
More Resources for Must Be True Questions
- Conditional Reasoning Article: Learn about conditional statements on the LSAT.
- LR Diagrams Guide: Learn how to draw LR diagrams.
- Intro to Conditional Reasoning: This intro course lesson covers conditional reasoning basics.
- Intro Course lesson: This intro course lesson covers Must Be True questions.
- Mastery Seminar lesson: This LR Mastery seminar lesson covers must be true questions.
I was torn between B and D but my reason for ruling out D was actually because the stimulus says that IMITATING these figures gives people value in their lives, whereas the answer choice says the figures themselves give people value. Trap answer for careless readers!