Logical Reasoning

PT2 · S2 · Q6 As symbols of the freedom

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

  • 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

As symbols of the freedom of the wilderness, bald eagles have the unique capacity to inspire people and foster in them a sympathetic attitude toward the needs of other threatened species.

Implicit Conclusion

We should prioritize conservation of the bald eagle.

Evidence

They have the unique capacity to inspire people and make them more sympathetic to other threatened species, and we need that inspiration to save the needs of more obscure species.

Evaluate

Older tests have this Main Point variation on Main Conclusion questions, on which we often see Implicit Conclusion answers or "holistic answers" that combine conclusion and evidence.

The opinionated word "Clearly" on the second sentence might make us think that it's the conclusion, but the author doesn't offer any support for that claim, so it's just an unsupported opinion.

Meanwhile, the first two sentences combine to support the last sentence.

The author says that obscure species need X and that the bald eagle is uniquely capable of providing X, so we arrive at the conclusion that obscure species will need the help of the bald eagle.

Goal

Let's look for something resembling the last sentence. It should sound something like "we should prioritize conservation of the bald eagle".

6.

Which one of the following is the main point of the passage as a whole?

  1. Because bald eagles symbolize freedom,

    Bad Evidence Match

    The author wants to concentrate conservation efforts on the bald eagle because it engenders the public sympathy that will then help the more obscure species survive. The fact that bald eagles symbolize freedom of the wilderness is how they inspire public sympathy, but the freedom-symbolization isn't the primary reason the author wants to prioritize saving them.

    4% picked this

  2. Correct

    The conservation of bald eagles

    Why this is right

    This is our closest match for the last sentence and for "we should prioritize conserving the bald eagle". The first necessary step = the first priority. How is this supported? Why should we believe that conserving bald eagles is the required first step to conserving other endangered species? because without engendering public sympathy for other species, we can't muster the political will to meet the needs of other species and the bald eagle is uniquely capable of engendering that public sympathy (because it's a symbol of freedom of the wilderness).

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

    75% picked this

  3. Without increased public sympathy for

    Premise

    This is the second sentence. We're looking to match the final sentence. This idea was not supported, so it can't be the main point.

    17% picked this

  4. People’s love of the wilderness

    Inference Bait

    If it's not mentioning the bald eagle, it's clearly not our answer. This claim is implied by the passage but not stated and not supported. We've got ourselves a conclusion in the final sentence, so we're just trying to match that, not invent some new idea. Main Conclusion questions aren't asking us for the hidden ideas implied, or the likely inference you could derive next. We're just supposed to be reiterating the conclusion that was said, which was about bald eagles.

    0% picked this

  5. Other threatened species do not

    Inference Bait / Premise

    This is essentially restating the first premise, or otherwise deriving an inference from the first premise. It's definitely not matching the 3rd sentence. If bald eagles are unique in inspiring sympathy, then clearly they foster more sympathy than any other species. But the author wasn't trying to convince us of the first sentence. She was trying to convince us to make the bald eagle our #1 conservation priority, and this answer is one of the reasons why she holds that view.

    3% picked 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