Logical ReasoningDifficulty: Hard

PT131 S1 Q18 Explanation

In a poll of a representative sample

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

TopicsFlaw

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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

In a poll of a representative sample of a province's residents, the provincial capital was the city most often selected as the best place to live in that province. Since the capital is also the largest of that province's many cities, the poll shows life in large cities to life in small cities.

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
18.

The argument is most vulnerable to the criticism

Answer choices

  1. Out of Scope4% picked this

    overlooks the possibility that what is true of the residents of the province may not be

    Other people are not relevant to the argument.

  2. Out of Scope3% picked this

    does not indicate whether most residents of other provinces also prefer life in large cities to

    People in other provinces are not relevant to the argument.

  3. Not a Flaw10% picked this

    takes for granted that when people are polled for their preferences among cities, they tend to vote for the city that they think

    One would expect people polled about their preferences to answer in a way that represents those preferences.

  4. Wrong Flaw16% picked this

    overlooks the possibility that the people who preferred small cities over the provincial capital did so not because of their general feelings about the

    This points out an alternative reason why people chose the city they did, but it does so for the wrong group. The issue is whether people who chose the capital city preferred that city because it’s a large city.

  5. Correct67% picked this

    overlooks the possibility that most people may have voted for small cities even though a large city received more votes

    Why this is right

    This answer points out the possibility that the people who voted for small cities could have totaled a majority of the province's residents.

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

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