LSAT 145 | Section 2 | Logical Reasoning: Q17

LR Question 17 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: The radio station claims that its new format is…

QUESTION TYPE: Method of Argument

CONCLUSION: The radio station’s survey isn’t very persuasive.

REASONING: The author makes an analogy: the radio station’s poll is like asking only a political candidate’s supporters whether they like the candidate.

ANALYSIS: This is an argument by analogy. It describes a similar situation in order to show why the radio station’s reasoning is wrong.

i.e. This is a biased sample. If you hate the format, you probably don’t listen to the radio show (or call in to it). So if you poll callers you’ll mostly only poll people who like the show.

___________

1. The problem isn’t that the party doing the survey is biased. It’s that the group being surveyed is unrepresentative/biased.
   Example of flaw: This survey says the company’s products are safe. But we should be wary of it – the survey was commissioned and conducted by the company.
2. CORRECT. The political candidate’s situation matches the radio station’s situation. It should be fairly obvious that the political candidates survey will be biased.
3. This is a different tactic.
   Example: John says that it’s cloudy and windy, so there will be a hurricane. But maybe there will just be a small rainstorm.
4. This is a different tactic.
   Example: John says that no Americans like beans. But I like beans, and I’m American. So John is wrong.
5. This is a different tactic. It’s showing that an argument’s evidence literally contradicts itself. That didn’t happen in the stimulus.