Logical ReasoningDifficulty: Medium

PT16 S3 Q20 Explanation

Maria: Calling any state totalitarian

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

TopicsMethod

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Stimulus

Maria: Calling any state totalitarian is misleading: it implies total state control of all aspects of life. The real world contains no political entity exercising literally total control over even one such aspect. This is because and, therefore, its degree of control is partial.

James: A one-party state that has tried to exercise control over most aspects of a society and that has, broadly speaking, managed to do so is totalitarian. Such a system's practical inefficiencies do not limit the aptness of the term, which does not describe as it describes the nature of a state's ambitions.

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.

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

The question
20.

James responds to Maria’s argument

Answer choices

  1. Trap5% picked this

    pointing out a logical inconsistency between two statements she makes in support

  2. Trap12% picked this

    offering an alternative explanation for political conditions

  3. Trap5% picked this

    rejecting some of the evidence she presents without challenging what she

  4. Correct73% picked this

    disputing the conditions under which a key term of her argument can

    Why this is right

    Answer D is correct.

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

  5. Trap5% picked this

    demonstrating that her own premises lead to a conclusion different

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