LSAT 142 | Section 3 | Reading Comprehension: Q4

RC Question 4 Explanation

DISCUSSION: There’s nothing you can do to prepare for this type of question, since it gives you no prompt.

Instead, just keep an open mind as you look over the answers. Don’t get stuck on one answer before you’ve looked at all of them.

And try to justify the right answer using the passage. If you’ve got a clear idea of the structure of the passage, you should be able to find the relevant line in 3-5 seconds. Finding lines is a skill you can improve if you practice it.

Note that three of the wrong answers are extreme general statements. They would be crazy statements if you applied them to real life. If you choose an incredibly extreme answer that seems to contradict reality, you need very clear backing from the passage. Extreme statements must be taken literally. If an answer says “all art” then that includes every art form on earth, past and present, large and small.

___________

1. CORRECT. Lines 37-43 say this directly.
2. Notice that this says any work of art. That’s a very extreme view. There may be some type of art (wood engraving?) that doesn’t produce small sensations combined harmoniously.
3. Like B, this is an extreme example. It says it’s utterly impossible to make good art if you do it for commercial reasons. That’s ridiculous. Much great art was created for commercial patrons. The passage would never suggest something that so blatantly contradicts reality.
4. The author didn’t say this either. The author did say that oil paintings changes over time (lines 25-28), but they didn’t say that oil paintings necessarily improve. Further, this question talks about all art. That’s an extreme statement, and the passage makes no such general statements about all art forms.
5. The author doesn’t say this. All they say is that perfume is a valid art form and deserves as much attention as the others. The author doesn’t get into the business of ranking art beyond that.