Logical ReasoningDifficulty: Medium

PT112 S1 Q3 Explanation

Finnish author Jaakko Mikkeli was

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

TopicsNecessary Assumption

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Stimulus

Finnish author Jaakko Mikkeli was accused by Norwegian author Kirsten Halden of plagiarizing a book that she had written and that had been published 20 years before Mikkeli’s. The two books, although set in different periods and regions, contain enough plot similarities to make coincidental resemblance unlikely. Mikkeli’s defense rests on his not understand, and because no reviews of Halden’s book have ever been published.

What this question is testing

Necessary Assumption

Your task

Find the assumption the argument requires in order for its conclusion to hold.

Common trap

Answers that would help the argument but aren't strictly required (sufficient, not necessary).

Winning move

Negate each choice — the right one breaks the argument when negated.

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

The question
3.

The argument in Mikkeli’s defense depends on the

Answer choices

  1. Trap1% picked this

    Mikkeli has never met

  2. Trap6% picked this

    Halden’s book did not become popular

  3. Correct80% picked this

    nobody related the plot of Halden’s book in detail to Mikkeli before Mikkeli

    Why this is right

    Answer C is correct.

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

  4. Trap1% picked this

    there is a common European myth to which both authors referred subconsciously in the

  5. Trap12% picked this

    Mikkeli is not familiar with Old Icelandic, an extinct language related to an earlier

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