Logical ReasoningDifficulty: Medium

PT127 S3 Q9 Explanation

There are far fewer independent

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

TopicsNecessary Assumption

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Stimulus

There are far fewer independent bookstores than there were 20 years ago, largely because chain bookstores prospered and multiplied during that time. Thus, chain bookstores' success has been to the detriment of book consumers, for the shortage of independent bookstores has prevented growing as much as it otherwise would have.

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
9.

Which one of the following is an assumption on which the

Answer choices

  1. Correct73% picked this

    Book consumers would be better off if there were a greater variety of readily available books

    Why this is right

    This links a reduction in ↓VB -cause→ ↓BC the variety of books available to consumers and something to the detriment of those [book] consumers.

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

  2. Weakens26% picked this

    Independent bookstores typically do not sell the kinds of books that are available

    This makes it less likely that chain bookstores' success has been to the detriment of book consumers.

  3. Weakens0% picked this

    The average bookstore today is larger than the average bookstore of

    While the impact of this answer is very weak, it does make it less likely that chain bookstores' success has been to the detriment of book consumers.

  4. Too Strong1% picked this

    The average bookstore today is smaller than the average bookstore of

    While this might support the argument, it is not necessary to it. It could be true that there is less variety of books, even though the average bookstore is larger then it was 20 years ago.

  5. Out of Scope0% picked this

    Some book consumers value low prices more highly than

    Low prices are not discussed in the argument and it doesn't appear obvious whether low prices are more common in independent bookstores or chain bookstores.

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