Logical ReasoningDifficulty: Easy

PT125 S2 Q6 Explanation

Manufacturers of writing paper

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

TopicsNecessary Assumption

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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

Manufacturers of writing paper need to add mineral "filler" to paper pulp if the paper made from the pulp is to look white. Without such filler, paper products look grayish. To make writing paper that looks white from recycled paper requires more filler than is required to make such paper from other types of writing paper, paper manufacturers will have to use more filler than they now use.

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
6.

Which one of the following is an assumption on which the

Answer choices

  1. Out of Scope - Opposite Group4% picked this

    Certain kinds of paper cannot be manufactured from

    Writing paper is the topic of this argument, so other kinds of paper are not relevant.

  2. Out of Scope1% picked this

    The fillers that are used to make paper white are harmful

    Whether or not the practice of adding fillers to whiten paper is harmful to the environment is not a concern of the argument's conclusion.

  3. Correct81% picked this

    Grayish writing paper will not be a universally acceptable alternative to

    Why this is right

    This rules out a possible scenario that would remove the need to use more filler. If we negate the answer, it says that "grayish writing paper will be a universally acceptable alternative to white writing paper. The first sentence of the argument is a conditional: If you want to make the paper look white, then you need to add filler. But if gray paper is universally accepted by consumers, then paper makers wouldn't feel much need to make the paper look white. So they won't necessarily have to use more filler than they now use.

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

  4. Weakens10% picked this

    Beyond a certain limit, increasing the amount of filler added to paper pulp does not increase the whiteness of the

    This might put a limit on the amount of filler needed in the future to whiten paper.

  5. Too Strong4% picked this

    The total amount of writing paper manufactured worldwide will increase significantly

    While this would support the argument's conclusion, it is not necessary. The amount of writing paper manufactured could remain the same and the conclusion might still be true.

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