Logical ReasoningDifficulty: Easy

PT111 S4 Q2 Explanation

Bureaucratic mechanisms are engineered to

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

TopicsRole

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Stimulus

Bureaucratic mechanisms are engineered to resist change. Thus, despite growing dissatisfaction with complex bureaucratic systems, it is will be simplified.

What this question is testing

Role

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
2.

The claim that bureaucratic mechanisms are engineered to resist change plays which one of the following roles

Answer choices

  1. Correct81% picked this

    It is a premise offered in support of the claim that it is unlikely that

    Why this is right

    Claim 1 is our premise. It's supporting Claim 3, which is our conclusion, signified by Thus. Claim 2 is just a concession / an opposing point that the author doesn't think is enough to keep the conclusion from being true.

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

  2. Wrong Role3% picked this

    It is a conclusion for which the only support offered is the claim that dissatisfaction with complex

    It is not a conclusion. The only conclusion is claim 3, prefaced by "Thus".

  3. Bad Conclusion Match1% picked this

    It is cited as evidence that bureaucratic systems are becoming more

    It is cited as evidence, but the conclusion doesn't say "bureaucratic systems are becoming more complex"; it says "it's unlikely that bureaucracies will get any simpler". Those don't mean the same thing. Something could stay frozen at its current level of complexity and never be simplified. That doesn't mean that it's becoming more and more complex. It's just never becoming less complex. The conclusion is saying, "It's unlikely we'll go backwards" and this answer is saying "we're are constantly going forward".

  4. Opposite Role0% picked this

    It is used to weaken the claim that bureaucracies should

    Our claim is used to support, not weaken. And there is no claim anywhere in the argument that bureaucracies should be simplified.

  5. Wrong Role14% picked this

    It is a conclusion for which the claim that bureaucracies are unlikely to be simplified

    It is not a conclusion. The only conclusion is claim 3, prefaced by "Thus".

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