Logical ReasoningDifficulty: Easy

PT155 S4 Q4 Explanation

Leona: Thompson’s article on

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

TopicsMethod

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Stimulus

Leona: Thompson’s article on the novel Emily’s Trials is intriguing but ultimately puzzling. In discussing one scene, Thompson says that a character’s “furrowed brow” and grim expression indicate deep inner turmoil and anxiety. Later, however, Thompson refers to the same scene and describes this character as the “self-identified agent” of an action. that a “self-identified agent” is fundamentally incapable of having misgivings or anxiety.

What this question is testing

Method

Your task

Describe how the argument proceeds — the technique it uses to reach its conclusion.

Common trap

Answers that describe a method the argument doesn't actually use.

Winning move

Track the role each statement plays, then match that to the choice describing the same moves.

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The question
4.

The argumentative strategy Leona uses in discussing the article is to criticize Thompson’s comments on

Answer choices

  1. Out of Scope: circular reasoning1% picked this

    some of Thompson’s reasoning is

    We're looking for something like Self-Contradiction (one of the 10 Famous Flaws), so this answer seems to be trying to entice us by naming one of the other 10 Famous Flaws, Circular Reasoning. Circular arguments have a premise that essentially restates the conclusion or requires the conclusion to be true. This didn't have anything like that.

  2. Contradicted1% picked this

    Thompson provides no definition of the concept of a

    It says that Thompson "begins the article" by defining "self-identified agent" as someone who is fundamentally incapable of having misgivings or anxiety.

  3. Out of Scope: insufficiently supported2% picked this

    the analysis of character offered by Thompson is insufficiently supported by

    The author's complaint is that Thompson's article is puzzling (since she contradicts herself). This answer makes it sound like the complaint is that the article was insufficiently supported by evidence from the novel. We can't find anything in this paragraph that matches up with "insufficiently supported by the text".

  4. Out of Scope0% picked this

    it is unlikely that any character could qualify as a

    Out of Scope: unlikely any could qualify Nothing in the passage sounds like, "there probably isn't anyone who qualifies as a self-identified agent". The author does say that "ascribing the label self-identified agent to the furrowed brow character is challenging in its own right", but that doesn't mean the author is saying "because that label probably describes no one".

  5. Correct97% picked this

    some of Thompson’s claims contradict each

    Why this is right

    Thompson claimed this one character was feeling deep inner turmoil and anxiety. But Thompson later claims that this character is someone who is incapable of having misgivings or anxiety.

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

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