Logical ReasoningDifficulty: Medium

PT152 S2 Q9 Explanation

If the winner of a promotional

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

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Stimulus

If the winner of a promotional contest is selected by a lottery, the lottery must be fair, giving all entrants an equal chance of winning. Since 90 percent of the winners selected by the lottery in a recent promotional contest submitted their entry forms within the first 2 clear that this lottery did not meet the fairness requirement.

What this question is testing

Strengthen

Your task

Find the choice that makes the argument's conclusion more likely to be true.

Common trap

Answers that are consistent with the argument but add no real support, or that strengthen a claim the argument doesn't make.

Winning move

Locate the gap between evidence and conclusion, then pick the choice that closes it.

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The question
9.

Which one of the following, if true, most strengthens

Answer choices

  1. Weakens, if anything1% picked this

    The family members of the organizer of the contest were not permitted to participate

    This is very weak and tangential, but if anything it would weaken the idea that this was an unfair lottery.

  2. No Impact10% picked this

    The manner in which the contest winner would be selected was publicized prior to the

    This is so bland and generic that it doesn't change the conversation at all. If anything, the fact that the contest was transparent about how they would select the winner would make it seem more like a fair lottery.

  3. Correct73% picked this

    The contest entry forms were submitted at a consistent rate throughout

    Why this is right

    This rules out the big objection we had -- "what if 90% of the entries came in the first two days?"

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

  4. No Impact12% picked this

    The rules of the contest were posted conspicuously by those who

    This is just like (B). The fact that the contest was transparent about the rules and the winner-selection process doesn't help us evaluate the author's case at all. The author is just claiming that the lottery didn't meet the fairness requirement -- its winner-selection process might violate the fairness requirement, even if the contest was transparent about the rules and the selection process.

  5. No Impact4% picked this

    The number of people entering the contest far exceeded the expectations of

    Having a higher or lower than expected total number of contestants doesn't matter. We only care about whether 90% or way less than 90% of the entries were received in the first 2 days of the registration period.

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