Logical ReasoningDifficulty: Easy

PT121 S1 Q2 Explanation

Publishing executive: Our company must

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

TopicsFlaw

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Stimulus

Publishing executive: Our company must sell at least 100,000 books to make a profit this year. However, it is unlikely that we will sell that many, since of the twelve titles we will sell, the one with the to sell as many as 100,000 copies.

What this question is testing

Flaw

Your task

Describe the reasoning error the argument actually commits.

Common trap

Answers that name a real logical flaw the argument doesn't actually make.

Winning move

Articulate the gap in the reasoning yourself, then match it to the choice that describes that 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 publishing executive’s argument is most vulnerable to criticism because it overlooks

Answer choices

  1. Opposite Direction1% picked this

    the publishing company will sell considerably fewer than 100,000 copies of

    This wouldn't weaken. If the #1 book is going to sell way less than 100,000, that strengthens the idea that the company won't sell 100,000 copies overall.

  2. Irrelevant Distinction: profit2% picked this

    the publishing company will not make a profit even if it sells more

    The conclusion is only about whether we do or don't sell at least 100,000 copies, not about whether the company does or doesn't make a profit.

  3. Irrelevant Distinction: profit2% picked this

    what is true of the overall profitability of a publishing company is not true of its profitability

    The conclusion is only about whether we do or don't sell at least 100,000 copies, not about whether the company does or doesn't make a profit. This answer is designed as Whole vs. Part bait. We'd be into this sort of language if it was saying, "what is true of the sales numbers for the best prospect book is not true of overall sales numbers".

  4. Correct94% picked this

    what is true of the sales prospects of the publishing company’s individual titles is not true of the sales prospects of the

    Why this is right

    This describes the famous Part to Whole flaw. What is true of the sales prospects of the publishing company's individual titles - the evidence establishes that what is true of individual titles (each of them will sell fewer than 100,000 copies) is not true of the sales prospects of the group of titles - the group of books together might still be likely to sell more than 100,000 copies

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

  5. Opposite Direction0% picked this

    the publishing company will sell even fewer books if it does not advertise

    By speaking to a scenario where the company sells even fewer books, this answer is going farther away from our goal of arguing that we're going to sell at least 100,000 books.

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