Logical ReasoningDifficulty: Easy

PT131 S2 Q17 Explanation

Teachers should not do anything

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

TopicsSufficient 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

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

Teachers should not do anything to cause their students to lose respect for them. And students can sense when someone is trying to hide his or her ignorance. Therefore, a teacher who does not know the answer should not pretend to know the answer.

What this question is testing

Sufficient Assumption

Your task

Find the assumption that, if added, guarantees the conclusion follows.

Common trap

Answers that only partly bridge the gap, leaving the conclusion unproven.

Winning move

Identify the new term in the conclusion and pick the choice that links it to the evidence.

Reading along? Open the full official question in LawHub — we show a fragment here and keep the reasoning in our own words.

The question
17.

The conclusion is properly drawn if which one of the following

Answer choices

  1. Out of Scope3% picked this

    A teacher cannot be effective unless he or she retains the

    A teacher’s effectiveness is out of scope for this argument.

  2. Too Weak3% picked this

    Students respect honesty above all

    This connects student respect with teacher action, but does so loosely and does not ensure that students lose respect when teachers hide their ignorance.

  3. Weakens4% picked this

    Students' respect for a teacher is independent of the amount of knowledge they attribute

    This weakens the argument because the argument assumes that student’s respect for a teacher depends both on the teacher’s knowledge and whether the teacher tries to pretend they know something they don’t.

  4. Out of Scope1% picked this

    Teachers are able to tell when students

    The issue doesn't include how teachers perceive students, but rather how students perceive teachers.

  5. Correct89% picked this

    Students lose respect for teachers whenever they sense that the teachers are trying to

    Why this is right

    This provides the link PTK + ~KA ? SLR between teachers hiding their ignorance and students losing respect for those teachers.

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

Continue the review in LSAT Lab

Save this question, watch the video walkthrough, and drill similar questions in your LSAT Lab account.

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