Essayist: Many people are hypocritical

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

TopicsMost Supported

Keep going in LSAT Lab

Save & drill this skill — build targeted practice sets from questions like this one
Video walkthroughs — watch every question solved step by step
81 official LSATs — as questions, timed sections & full-length tests

Free to start

Full official LSAT questions are available through LawHub. This page provides LSAT Lab's explanation, strategy, and review tools without republishing the full official question.

Stimulus

Essayist: Many people are hypocritical in that they often pretend to be more morally upright than they really are. When hypocrisy is exposed, hypocrites are embarrassed by their moral lapse, which motivates them and others to try to become better people. On the other hand, when hypocrisy persists without fostered, which motivates most people to try to be good.

What this question is testing

Most Supported

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

16.

The essayist’s statements, if true, most strongly support which one of

Answer choices

Too Strong: the existence of2% picked this
The existence of hypocrisy encourages people to believe that no one
We could possibly say that the exposure of hypocrisy leads people to see that we all will have moral lapses. But when hypocrisy is not exposed, it fosters the belief that most people are good. We don't have any support for the idea that unexposed hypocrisy leads people to think "everyone has some moral faults". Thus, it's too strong to say that the mere existence of hypocrisy encourages people to think that none of us are morally perfect.
2%
Correct83% picked this
The existence of hypocrisy encourages people to make efforts to live
Why this is right
Whether hypocrisy is exposed or not, it leads to motivation (i.e. encouragement) to be better / to try to be good (i.e. to live by moral standards). We had binary triggers, so we know that one or the other will always be triggered, and their common denominator was motivating people to be better. Hypocrisy ? embarrassed ? motivates ppl exposed by moral lapse to be better Hypocrisy ? Fosters belief ? motivates ppl not exposed most ppl good to be good
Skill tested: Most Supported · how this choice captures the argument's function is the move to repeat next time.
83%
Out of Scope: encourages lapses6% picked this
The existence of hypocrisy in some people encourages others to fall
The only motivation / encouragement we talk about in the passage is encouraging people to be better people / to try to be good.
6%
Out of Scope: better way8% picked this
The hiding of hypocrisy is a better way of motivating people to try to be good than is
We have no way to rank which of these trigger ideas is the better one. Both of them lead to motivating people to do better. That's all we know.
8%
Too Strong: no stronger motivator1% picked this
There is no stronger motivator for people to try to be good than the
We have no way to rank which of these trigger ideas is the stronger motivator one. Both of them lead to motivating people to do better. That's all we know.
1%

Continue the review in LSAT Lab

Save this question, watch the video walkthrough, and drill similar questions in your LSAT Lab account.

Save and practice this skill

LSAT Lab

Turn this review into a targeted study plan.

Save this question, drill more like it, watch the video walkthrough, and track your progress in your LSAT Lab account.

Start practicing free