LR Question 25 Explanation
QUESTION TEXT: Student: Before completing my research paper, I want…
QUESTION TYPE: Complete the Argument
CONCLUSION: The paper will be worse if the student can’t find the book.
Book ➞ Worse
REASONING: If they can’t find the book, they can’t make a citation, and therefore can’t use the quotation. The paper will be worse without the quotation.
Book ➞ Citation ➞ Worse
ANALYSIS: To finish this, you need to look carefully at what the student says. They are not saying the paper will be ruined without the quotation. They’re just saying the paper will be worse without the quotation.
The evidence already makes two conditional statements that can be connected. The conclusion just states the start and end of the conditional chain.
___________
- This doesn’t follow. The student says they can’t use the quotation without an accurate citation. So presumably there’s no point to an inaccurate citation.
- Look at the final sentence. The paper will be better with the quotation. That implies it’s still possible to write the paper without the quotation. The paper will be worse, but it won’t be impossible to finish.
Also, this answer leaves out “if I do not find the book”. - CORRECT. This really fits well with the final sentence. The final sentence says the paper will be worse without the quote. And we know the book is necessary for the quote. So it follows that the book is necessary for not making the paper worse.
- This contradicts the stimulus. The stimulus said that without the citation, the student can’t include the quote.
- Same as B. The student says their paper will be worse without the quotation. So presumably they still can finish the paper without it. The paper will just be lower quality.
More Resources for Complete the Argument Questions
- Intro Course lesson: This intro course lesson covers Complete the Argument questions.
- Mastery Seminar lesson: This LR Mastery seminar lesson covers complete the argument questions.
I understand that the paper will be better without the quotation than with, but isn’t there a third option here? Couldn’t the quality of paper also be unaffected by the inclusion or exclusion of the quotation? Why does exclusion of the quotation automatically result in a worse paper, rather than an unchanged paper?
For question 25, LSAT 73 section 1, The last sentence states that the completed paper will be much better with the quotation than without. This means that if it has the quotation, the paper will be better (Q–>Better). But it does not say that if the paper doesn’t have the quotation, it will suffer. This would be a mistaken negation logically (/Q–>/Better). This seems to be logically flawed to me. Any feedback would be great!
Think of it this way, there are two possible scenarios:
(1) Paper with quotation
(2) Paper without quotation
We know that (1) is technically a better paper than (2). So, the paper suffers without the quotation because it’s been debased from a more optimal state.
I don’t think worse should be crossed out.
Yes, that’s correct. Thanks for catching that, the page has been updated!