LSAT 72, Logical Reasoning I, Q6, LSATHacks

LR Question 6 Explanation, by LSATHacks

QUESTION TEXT: The word “loophole” is a loaded, partisan word, one that…

QUESTION TYPE: Principle

CONCLUSION: News reporters shouldn’t use “loophole” unless they have evidence of wrongdoing.

REASONING: “Loophole” is a biased word that implies wrongdoing. News stories that use “loophole” sound like editorials. 

ANALYSIS: This already seems like a good argument. That’s because it likely matches your intuition for how news stories should be: unbiased.

But “unbiased” news stories are a particularly American concept. This only really emerged after the Second World War. In other places and other times, news stories often had a point of view.

You, if you are American, are applying a principle to this argument. You just have to ask yourself what this principle is. Some examples:

• News stories shouldn’t be like editorials.
• Journalists shouldn’t use biased words without evidence.

___________

1. This principle helps defend those who exploit loopholes. That doesn’t help. We’re trying to prove what newspaper reporters should do.
2. This contradicts the argument. The argument implies that news stories shouldn’t sound like editorials. 
3. CORRECT. The conclusion said that reporters should not use loaded words unless they have evidence of bad behavior. This answer supports that. Loaded words imply wrongdoing, and this tells reporters not to imply wrongdoing without evidence.
4. The argument wasn’t talking about what editorial writers should do. The conclusion is about what newspaper reporters should do. Proving editorials are right doesn’t prove reporters are wrong. That’s a false dichotomy. 
5. The stimulus never mentions the public interest. This is playing to your biases and assumptions as an American. You might think this answer is “true”, but that’s not what you’re looking for.

Hi, I'm Graeme Blake

Founder of LSAThacks; I scored a 177 on the LSAT.

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