LSAT 150 | Section 3 | Logical Reasoning: Q14

LR Question 14 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: Most popular historical films are not documentaries; they are…

QUESTION TYPE: Principle – Justify

CONCLUSION: Uninformed viewers should not regard dramatic historic films as accurate portrayals of historic events.

REASONING: Dramatic presentations cannot present evidence to prove their accuracy.

ANALYSIS: We are missing a link here. We know that dramatic presentations give no evidence. But we don’t have anything to connect this to being inaccurate. The correct answer will tell us that evidence is needed before a portrayal can be considered accurate.

___________

1. This doesn’t justify the reasoning. This just says dramas should be made more distinct from the actual events.
2. This would mean documentaries should give evidence. It doesn’t posit that dramas need to. It’s important to keep these two concepts (dramas and documentaries) distinct.
3. This sounds nice, but causes another link issue. We don’t know that “better suited for educational purposes” means “can be regarded as more accurate”.
4. This doesn’t justify the argument’s reasoning. It doesn’t link evidence to accuracy.
5. CORRECT. This gives us the link. Dramatic presentations don’t give evidence, and evidence is needed before you can regard an account to be accurate.

Recap: The question begins with “Most popular historical films are not documentaries; they are”. It is a Principle Justify question. Learn more about LSAT Principle Justify questions in our guide to LSAT Logical Reasoning question types.