Reading ComprehensionDifficulty: Easy

PT157 S1 P1 Q1 Explanation

Civil Rights Movement

A free, expert breakdown of this official LSAT Reading Comprehension question.

TopicsPrimary PurposeSociety

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.

Passage

The late 1950s and early 1960s were a time of profound growth for the civil rights movement in the United States. Although racial segregation in the public schools had been outlawed in 1954, the ruling applied only to this one category of discriminatory practice in U.S. society. But it furthered within the ones, and generated support for the civil rights movement among many new segments of the populace.

Initiated by four students of the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical College, the first sit-in occurred at a lunch counter in February 1960. Sit-ins then spread rapidly through the southern U.S., involving over 70,000 participants by August 1961. The sit-ins provided an important model for nonviolent protest and showed students that they Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, and the birth of a second form of sit-ins called Freedom Rides.

The formation of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee followed the first sit-in by just a few months and not only solidified student involvement in the civil rights movement but also placed students in leadership roles for the first time. It operated independently of other civil rights organizations and relied on strong local their elders alike, examples of the methods they might use to achieve a more equal society.

What this question is testing

Primary Purpose

Anticipate

The passage basically says: students started sitting in the wrong seats, and everything changed. It traces a chain from sit-ins to SNCC to Freedom Rides to government action. The purpose is to show how a new tactic -- sit-ins -- transformed the civil rights movement.

Goal

Find "new tactic led to transformation." Reject anything that reverses the story, argues a position, or focuses on the wrong time period.

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

The question
1.

The primary purpose of the passage

Answer choices

  1. Correct82% picked this

    describe how the successful use in the early 1960s of a new tactic to combat discriminatory social practices led to the transformation

    Why this is right

    The passage describes how sit-in demonstrations -- a successful new tactic -- led to the formation of SNCC, the Freedom Rides, and ultimately government action, transforming the civil rights movement.

    Skill tested: Primary Purpose · how this choice captures the passage's function is the move to repeat next time.

  2. Wrong Emphasis7% picked this

    chronicle the activities of the U.S. civil rights movement during the late 1950s and early 1960s that led to the first use

    The passage does not chronicle activities that led to the first use of sit-ins. It starts with the sit-ins and traces what followed, not what preceded them.

  3. Unsupported5% picked this

    contrast various techniques and tactics used by U.S. civil rights organizations in the early 1960s to expose the injustice of racial segregation

    The passage does not contrast various techniques. It focuses on one technique -- sit-ins -- and traces its outgrowths. The Freedom Rides are presented as an extension, not a contrasting tactic.

  4. Too Strong2% picked this

    argue that confrontational sit-in tactics were necessary in order for the U.S. civil rights movement to make inroads against racial discrimination in

    The passage describes the sit-ins' impact but does not argue that confrontational tactics were "necessary." The author describes what happened, not what was required.

  5. Wrong Emphasis4% picked this

    provide information on the extent to which the activities of the U.S. civil rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s were rooted in

    The passage does not focus on how 1960s activities were rooted in earlier successes. The 1954 ruling is brief context; the passage's focus is on what the sit-ins produced, not their historical roots.

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