Logical ReasoningDifficulty: Medium

PT125 S4 Q18 Explanation

Teresa: If their goal

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

TopicsNecessary Assumption

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Stimulus

Teresa: If their goal is to maximize profits, film studios should concentrate on producing big­ budget films rather than small-budget ones. For, unlike big-budget films, small-budget films never attract mass audiences. While small-budget films are less expensive to produce and, hence, involve less costs do not guarantee the highest possible profits.

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
18.

Which one of the following is an assumption required by

Answer choices

  1. Negation15% picked this

    Each big-budget film is guaranteed to attract a

    This negates the argument’s premise.

  2. Unsupported3% picked this

    A film studio cannot make both big-budget films and

    The conclusion of the argument advocates concentrating on big budget films, but that doesn’t mean work exclusively on big budget films.

  3. Correct78% picked this

    A film studio will not maximize its profits unless at least some of its films

    Why this is right

    This bridges the gap between MP → MA maximizing profits and attracting mass audiences.

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

  4. Weaken1% picked this

    It is impossible to produce a big-budget film in a financially

    This makes it less likely that big budget films will help film studios maximize profits.

  5. Out of Scope3% picked this

    A film studio's primary goal should be to

    The argument’s conclusion is a hypothetical about the case that film studios want to maximize profits. Whether a film studio’s goal should actually be to maximize profits is another story.

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