LSAT 8, Logical Reasoning I, Q6, LSATHacks

LR Question 6 Explanation, by LSATHacks

QUESTION TEXT: Harry Trevalga: You and your publication have unfairly…

QUESTION TYPE: Necessary Assumption

CONCLUSION: The publisher concludes that the poetry editor did not discriminate against Trevalga.

REASONING: The poetry editor judges the poems without ever seeing the names of the poets.

ANALYSIS: The publisher is assuming that the editor will have to be impartial even if they do bear a grudge against Trevalga. Why? Because the names of the poets aren’t given.

The publisher is assuming that names are the only way to identify a poet. But it’s often the case that we can recognize a writer by their style.

___________

1. The publisher’s argument is that the editor could not discriminate against Trevalga even if the editor did bear a grudge: the editor doesn’t get to see the names of the poets.
2. It’s possible it is unusual that Trevalga was never published. But that doesn’t hurt the publisher’s argument as long as Trevalga wasn’t being excluded because the editor recognized his work.
3. CORRECT. If the editor could recognize Trevalga’s work another way (perhaps his writing style) then the editor could discriminate against Trevalga’s poems even though Trevalga’s name isn’t on the poem.
4. The opposite of this assumption is: the editor’s decisions were based strictly on artistic merit. That actually helps the publisher’s argument.
5. This is irrelevant since the editor doesn’t see any of the names.

Recap: The question begins with “Harry Trevalga: You and your publication have unfairly”. It is a Necessary Assumption question. Learn more about LSAT Necessary questions in our guide to LSAT Logical Reasoning question types.

Hi, I'm Graeme Blake

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

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