LSAT Hacks

The Explanations That Should Have Come With The LSAT

LSAT Explanations » LSAT Preptest 74 » Logical Reasoning 2 » Question 2

LSAT 74, Logical Reasoning II, Q2

LSAT 74 Explanations

LR Question 2 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: Historian: During the Industrial Revolution, for…

QUESTION TYPE: Identify the Conclusion

CONCLUSION: We shouldn’t accept the “thrift and hard work” hypothesis for the success of the industrial revolution. We need historical evidence first.

REASONING: Successful explanations need to be based on facts.

ANALYSIS: Certain words indicate conclusions and premises. In the final sentence, “but” indicates that the author disagrees with what was said before. “So” introduces their conclusion.

For instance: John says we should buy the car. But it’s too expensive, so we should look for a better deal.

But = contrasting evidence.
So = conclusion.

(These definitions are generally true. But it’s possible for “so” not to be the conclusion in certain cases. Take the definitions above as rules of thumb.

___________

  1. The productivity growth of the economy is what we’re trying to explain. It’s not the conclusion. The point of the argument is that we don’t yet know how to explain this growth.
  2. This is just context. The fact that productivity growth raised living standards explains why we care about the industrial revolution in the first place.
  3. CORRECT. See the analysis above. The final sentence states this conclusion and the reason for it.
  4. The historian didn’t say that values were not the cause. The historian said that we don’t know if values were the cause. It’s possible they were – we just lack evidence.
  5. This is just like D. The historian didn’t say there was no shift in values. They said we don’t know if there was a shift in values. It’s possible that there was one.

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 

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.

>