Exam LSAT Section 1 Logical Reasoning topic 1 question 57 discussion

Actual exam question from Test Prep's LSAT Section 1 Logical Reasoning

Question #: 57
Topic #: 1

[All LSAT Section 1 Logical Reasoning Questions]

The top priority of the school administration should be student attendance. No matter how good the teachers, texts, and facilities are, none of these does any good if few students come to school.
The pattern of reasoning in the argument above is LEAST similar to that in which one of the following?

A. The top priority of a salesperson should be not to alienate customers. Honesty and a good knowledge of the product line are useful to a salesperson only if the customer feels at ease.
B. The top priority of a person lost in the wilderness should be food-gathering. Knowing how to find one's way back or how to build a comfortable shelter does one no good if one does not have enough food to survive.
C. The top priority of a detective should be to gather physical evidence. High-tech crime lab equipment and the most sophisticated criminological analysis are of no use if crucial clues are not gathered.
D. The top priority of a library should be to maintain its collection of books. A knowledgeable staff and beautiful facilities are of no value if there is an inadequate supply of books to lend.
E. The top priority of a criminal defense lawyer should be to ensure that innocent clients are found not guilty. Such clients can justly be released from jail and resume their normal lives if they are found not guilty.

Show Suggested Answer

Suggested Answer: E 🗳️
The "should be" in the first sentence alerts you that that’s the conclusion. It’s a policy recommendation: Schools should make student attendance Job One. How come? Because no other education issues matter if there are no kids around to benefit from em. Essentially what the argument proposes is a necessary condition of running a school (i.e. that students be there). And so a parallel argument will similarly feature a policy recommendation based upon a condition necessary for some result. Of course, a scan of the choices reveals that all five contain "Job One" policy recommendations, so we need to delve deeper.

by [deleted] at March 9, 2025, 1:22 p.m.

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