LSAT 142 – Section 1 – Question 16

LSAT 142 - Section 1 - Question 16

December 2014

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Question QuickView	Type	Tags	Answer Choices	Curve	Question Difficulty	Psg/Game/S Difficulty	Explanation
PT142 S1 Q16	+LR	Flaw or descriptive weakening +Flaw	A 2% 159 B 4% 156 C 1% 153 D 85% 165 E 7% 159	134 145 155	+Medium	145.991 +SubsectionMedium

Debater: As a pedagogical practice, lecturing embodies hierarchy, since the lecturer is superior to the student in mastery of the subject. But people learn best from peer interaction. Thus, the hierarchy in lecturing is a great weakness.

Respondent: By definition, all teaching and learning are hierarchical, for all teaching and learning must proceed from simple to complex. In teaching mathematics, for example, arithmetic must precede calculus. Thus, the hierarchy in lecturing is a strength.

Summarize Argument: Counter-Position

The respondent concludes that hierarchy in lecturing is a strength. He supports this by saying that all teaching and learning involve hierarchy since they move from simple to complex concepts. As an example, he notes that arithmetic must be taught before calculus.

Identify and Describe Flaw

This is the cookie-cutter flaw of equivocation, where the author uses a key term in different ways. The respondent uses "hierarchy" to refer to the order of concepts from simple to complex. But the debater used "hierarchy" to describe power dynamics between lecturers being above students.

Since the respondent applies "hierarchy" differently than the debater, he sidesteps the debater’s whole argument. Simple concepts may need to be taught before complex ones, but this doesn’t address whether those concepts should be taught by a peer or by an authority figure.

concedes one of the major assumptions on which the debater’s argument depends

By saying that all teaching is hierarchical, the respondent does concede that lecturing is hierarchical, but this is a premise, not a major assumption. Regardless, (A) isn’t a flaw in the respondent’s argument; he can concede a claim and still disagree with the conclusion.

takes for granted that teaching methods that are effective in mathematics are also effective in other academic disciplines

Like (E), the respondent doesn’t assume that moving from simple to complex concepts is effective in other academic disciplines; he explicitly states it. He says that “all teaching and learning must proceed from simple to complex,” and just uses math as an example.

fails to consider the possibility that some characteristics of lecturing other than hierarchy are weaknesses

The respondent is only addressing whether hierarchy is a weakness or a strength of lecturing. Any other potential weaknesses of lecturing are irrelevant.

applies a key concept to a different aspect of education than the aspect to which the debater applied it

The respondent uses "hierarchy" to refer to the difficulty of concepts, while the debater uses it to describe the power difference between teachers and students. The respondent never addresses whether the teacher-student hierarchy is a strength because he misapplies the term.

takes for granted that the conceptual structure of mathematics is sufficiently representative of the conceptual structure of at least some other academic disciplines

Like (B), the respondent doesn’t assume that moving from simple to complex concepts in math is representative of other disciplines; he explicitly states it. Regardless, he still never addresses whether the teacher-student hierarchy is a strength or a weakness.

LSAT 142 – Section 1 – Question 16

LSAT 142 - Section 1 - Question 16

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LSAT PrepTest 142 Explanations

Section 1 - Logical Reasoning

Section 2 - Logical Reasoning

Section 3 - Reading Comprehension

Section 4 - Logical Reasoning

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