LSAT 154 | Section 1 | Logical Reasoning: Q10

LR Question 10 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: If Thompson appeals to moderates, his most ardent supporters…

QUESTION TYPE: Parallel Reasoning

CONCLUSION: Thompson will lose the election whether or not he appeals to moderates.

REASONING: If Thompson does appeal to moderates, his supporters will desert him. If Thompson doesn’t appeal to moderates, they’ll vote for his opponent.

ANALYSIS: Thompson is damned either way. You should look for a situation where someone is in trouble no matter what they do.

Note that this is binary: Thompson can appeal to moderates, or he can not appeal to them. There is no third option.

___________

1. This is different. To match the stimulus this should have said “either way, the art centre won’t get built”. Here, Chen actually has the power to achieve the goal, whereas Thompson has no power to win.
2. CORRECT. This matches. A company can only move, or not move. There is no third option. So it will lose employees either way.
3. I stopped reading this at “and if”. That line shows the answer is linking two conditional together, like so: no money ➞ potholes ➞ councillors replaced
   The original instead had an either or situation, with no conditional linkage.
4. This argument ignored a third option: the council could approve of no increase at all, and there wouldn’t be enough money. Whereas Thompson had no choice: appealing to moderates, or not appealing to them: either way he would fail to please someone and lose.
5. This just shows Madsen has no power to sway things. But it doesn’t show the paradox Thompson faced: any way he gained supporters, he would also lose them. So Madsen’s lack of power isn’t the same as Thompson’s.
   To be right, this should have said something like “If Madsen opposes the shopping mall, her contract nonetheless specifies she must act as an effective spokesperson, so she’ll be an effective spokesperson either way.”

Recap: The question begins with “If Thompson appeals to moderates, his most ardent supporters”. It is a Parallel Reasoning question. Learn more about LSAT Parallel questions in our guide to LSAT Logical Reasoning question types.