LSAT 120 – Section 4 – Question 12

LSAT 120 - Section 4 - Question 12

October 2005

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Question
QuickView		 Type Tags Answer
Choices		 Curve Question
Difficulty		 Psg/Game/S
Difficulty		 Explanation
PT120 S4 Q12
+LR
+Exp
Flaw or descriptive weakening +Flaw
Conditional Reasoning +CondR
Eliminating Options +ElimOpt
A
2%
153
B
8%
156
C
2%
155
D
8%
154
E
79%
163
141
149
158
 +Medium 146.628 +SubsectionMedium

Novelist: Any author who thinks a sentence is ungrammatical will not write it down in the first place, and thus will have no need to use a grammar book. On the other hand, any author who is sure a sentence she or he has written is grammatical will not feel a need to consult a grammar book. Thus, grammar books are useless as reference sources for authors.

Summarize Argument
The novelist concludes that grammar books are useless as references for authors. He argues in support that sentences fall into two categories: those writers believe to be grammatical and those they believe to be ungrammatical. In either case, he claims, authors have no reason to consult a grammar book.

Identify and Describe Flaw
The novelist suggests there are only two options: being sure that a sentence is grammatical or being sure that it’s ungrammatical. This is the cookie-cutter flaw of creating a false dichotomy. What if you’re unsure whether a sentence is grammatical? Perhaps you’d find a grammar book useful in that case.

A
infers, from the claim that authors should not consult grammar books, that they will not in fact do so
This is the cookie-cutter flaw of confusing "is" for "ought;" it’s not applicable here, because the novelist never indicates that authors should not consult grammar books.
B
infers, from the claim that an author does not mistakenly think that a sentence is ungrammatical, that the author will feel sure that it is grammatical
The word "mistakenly" implies a judgment about a sentence's true grammatical status. But the novelist doesn't say anything about what sentences are truly grammatical or ungrammatical—only what authors believe to be grammatical.
C
overlooks the possibility that grammar books are useful as reference sources for people who are not authors
The novelist’s conclusion is about the use of grammar books by authors specifically. So their use by non-authors is irrelevant.
D
presumes, without providing justification, that grammar books cannot have any use except as reference sources
The novelist’s conclusion is about using grammar books as reference sources—whether they have other uses is irrelevant.
E
ignores the possibility that there is a middle ground between being sure that a sentence is grammatical and thinking that it is ungrammatical
This is the cookie-cutter flaw of creating a false dichotomy. The novelist commits this by overlooking a third option: instead of being certain that a sentence is grammatical or ungrammatical, one can simply be unsure.

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LSAT PrepTest 120 Explanations

Section 1 - Logical Reasoning

Section 2 - Reading Comprehension

Section 3 - Logical Reasoning

Section 4 - Logical Reasoning

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