Logical ReasoningDifficulty: Easy

PT148 S1 Q6 Explanation

Citizen: Our government has a large budget

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

TopicsMain Conclusion

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

Citizen: Our government has a large budget surplus, which our leaders wish to use to pay down the national debt. This makes no sense. Because of underfunding, our military is inadequate, the infrastructures of our cities are decaying, and our highways are in disrepair. If homeowners used all their money to pay them better off financially. The same goes for the country as a whole.

What this question is testing

Main Conclusion

Your task

Break the argument into its conclusion and evidence, then do exactly what the question stem asks with that structure.

Common trap

Answers that sound relevant to the topic but don't connect to the argument's actual reasoning.

Winning move

Predict what a right answer must do, then test each choice against the conclusion-evidence 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
6.

Which one of the following most accurately expresses the conclusion drawn in

Answer choices

  1. Premise0% picked this

    Homeowners should not pay off their mortgages early if they must neglect upkeep of their homes in

    This idea is part of the analogy that is used as a premise/evidence in the argument. This answer technically describes an assumption inherent in the analogy, not something that's explicitly stated, but in any event this is directly related to the evidence and is not the conclusion of the argument.

  2. Correct96% picked this

    It does not make sense for the government to use the budget surplus to pay

    Why this is right

    This the conclusion of the argument. This answer is worded in a somewhat different way, but conveys the same meaning.

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

  3. Assumption Bait2% picked this

    A homeowner's personal financial situation is analogous in relevant ways to the financial situation of

    This is an assumption that supports the argument, but it was never actually stated and is not the conclusion of the argument.

  4. Premise1% picked this

    Because of underfunding, the government does not maintain adequate standards in the

    This is a summary of one of the premises used as evidence. It's not the conclusion.

  5. Opposing Idea0% picked this

    Government leaders want to use the country's large budget surplus to pay down

    This is the opposing idea from the first sentence of the stimulus. The conclusion is a rebuttal to this.

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