LSAT 149 | Section 3 | Logical Reasoning: Q20

LR Question 20 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: Michele: In my professional experience, it’s usually…

QUESTION TYPE: Point at Issue

ARGUMENTS: Michele says that companies shouldn’t overhaul their databases. The rewards are smaller than the problems.

Alvaro says that the problems are caused by not recoding the database the right way. So….just do it the right way!

ANALYSIS: Great advice Alvaro. Hey you, LSAT student: have you considered that your problems with this test are caused by doing things the wrong way? Just do things the right way, and you won’t have trouble any more.

Problem solved! (To be clear, I’m being sarcastic. Alvaro’s advice is not helpful)

As the the disagreement: both people give advice to companies considering overhauling their databases:

• Michele says: think twice before overhauling.
• Alvaro says: If you’re considering a database overhaul, then do it right.

This is their only true point of disagreement. Alvaro might agree that most overhauls don’t do it right. And Michele might agree with Alvaro that failed recodes are the source of most problems. They only disagree about what advice to give to a company: to overhaul, or not.

___________

1. Neither person says why a company might overhaul a database. Michele mentions benefits, but we don’t know what these are.
2. “Ever” is a tough word to disagree with. All you need is one situation. I doubt either person would say that no database overhaul ever worked well.
    
   Besides, even Michele says rewards “rarely” are better than problems, which implies the rewards are sometimes better.
3. Who knows? Nobody talked about different kinds of database overhauls.
4. CORRECT. If you look carefully, each person has different advice for companies considering an overhaul. Michele says: think twice. Alvaro says: do it right!
5. This answer randomly takes Michelle’s first words (“In my professional experience“) and merges them with Alvaro’s first line (saying problems are caused by failure to recode).
    
   This is the sort of gibberish answer LSAC uses to distract you with familiar words. There was no link between these terms made in either argument.

Recap: The question begins with “Michele: In my professional experience, it’s usually”. It is a Point at Issue question. Learn more about LSAT Point at Issue questions in our guide to LSAT Logical Reasoning question types.