Logical ReasoningDifficulty: Hard

PT126 S3 Q24 Explanation

It is popularly believed

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

TopicsNecessary Assumption

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

Start practicing free

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

It is popularly believed that a poem has whatever meaning is assigned to it by the reader. But objective evaluation of poetry is possible only if this popular belief is false; for the aesthetic value of a poem cannot be discussed unless it agree on the correct interpretation of the poem.

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
24.

Which one of the following is an assumption required by

Answer choices

  1. Wrong Trigger8% picked this

    Only if they find the same meaning in a poem can two people each judge that

    Judging the aesthetic value of JAV → ~MR a poem is not the same as discussing its aesthetic value.

  2. Reversal18% picked this

    If two readers agree about the meaning of a given poem, that ensures that an objective evaluation of

    This reverses the relationship ~MR → OE between objective evaluation and the meaning of a work not coming from the reader.

  3. Wrong Trigger9% picked this

    Discussion of a poem is possible only if it is false that a poem has whatever meaning is assigned

    Discussing a poem is not the same as discussing the aesthetic value of a poem.

  4. Correct65% picked this

    A given poem can be objectively evaluated only if the poem's aesthetic value

    Why this is right

    This bridges the gap between OE → DAV objective evaluation and discussing the poem’s aesthetic value.

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

  5. Too Strong1% picked this

    Aesthetic evaluation of literature is best accomplished through discussion by more

    Discussing the aesthetic value of poem plays a role in the argument, but the best way to accomplish such evaluation does not.

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