Logical ReasoningDifficulty: Medium

PT10 S4 Q12 Explanation

The foreign minister of Zeria

A free, expert breakdown of this official LSAT Logical Reasoning question.

TopicsParallel

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Stimulus

The foreign minister of Zeria announced today that her country was severing diplomatic relations with Nandalo because of Nandalo’s flagrant violations of human rights. But Zeria continues to maintain diplomatic relations with many countries that the minister knows to have far worse human-rights records than Nandalo does. Therefore, despite be explained exclusively by Zeria’s commitment to upholding human rights.

What this question is testing

Parallel

Your task

Break the argument into its conclusion and evidence, then do exactly what the question stem asks with that structure.

Common trap

Answers that sound relevant to the topic but don't connect to the argument's actual reasoning.

Winning move

Predict what a right answer must do, then test each choice against the conclusion-evidence gap.

Reading along? Open the full official question in LawHub — we show a fragment here and keep the reasoning in our own words.

The question
12.

The argumentative structure of which one of the following most closely parallels that of the argument

Answer choices

  1. Trap8% picked this

    Henry’s parents insist that he eat breakfast before leaving for school because not doing so would be bad for his health. But his parents

  2. Trap4% picked this

    Professor Walsh says that only typed term papers will be accepted because most handwriting is difficult to read. But since she lectures from handwritten

  3. Trap5% picked this

    James claims that he stole only because he was hungry. But although hunger could account for stealing if food could not be readily obtained

  4. Correct79% picked this

    Armand declined Helen’s invitation to dinner on the grounds that socializing with coworkers is imprudent. But since Armand went to a movie with another

    Why this is right

    Answer D is correct.

    Skill tested: Parallel · how this choice captures the argument's function is the move to repeat next time.

  5. Trap4% picked this

    It is often asserted that there are fewer good teachers than there used to be because teachers’ salaries have reached a new low. But

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