Hello! I have a more general question: in terms of making inferences from the passage that are then conducive to choosing the correct answer, how do we know what kind of inferences we CAN make without taking it too far and incorrectly drawing a conclusion? Because these types of questions are dealing with the strength of the support and not absolute validity, there is seemingly some level of inferring needed, and I just wanted to get some clarity/tips about when it’s taken too far. I understand that what we are inferring needs to be rooted in the stimulus, but sometimes, the examples given seem to reach from beyond that.For example, in Lesson 2 (Cable TV Stations) in the MSS section, JY talks through the answer choices and explains how there is some level of inference being made so that we can weed out the one answer that is least supported (this question in particular was an except-type Q). (D) doesn’t seem like a BAD answer choice as a statement that is not really supported, but when JY explained how we need to combine the last sentence with the final claim, that kind of lost me because I’m not sure when to apply this method versus when to not.
Tutor Response
Of all the questions I get as an LSAT tutor, this is by far the most common one. It's really hard to understand what kinds of assumptions/inferences are okay and what kinds are not, and I wish I had a blanket rule for you to make it easier. Really, the answer is that it depends. It depends on a couple things. Firstly, what kind of question are you dealing with? In a question that deals with absolute validity (MBT, MBF, SA, a lot of PSA/Principle), you really aren't able to make any assumptions at all. In a question that doesn't deal with absolute validity (MSS, most weaken/strengthen), then you do have to deal in the world of assumptions. Secondly, it depends on what the other answer choices look like. The one blanket rule I can tell you that is true 100% of the time is that you are looking for the best answer choice. For an MSS question, you aren't looking for the answer choice that you couldn't possibly poke holes in if you tried; you're looking for the answer choice that has the fewest holes in it of the ones available. That's true for every single question on the LSAT—even the ones that are a lot more concrete (like a MBT). There will always be one answer choice that is significantly stronger than the other four. Remember that, if you can identify 4 wrong answer choices, it doesn't matter whether you can identify the one correct one—that's got to be your answer, so pick it and move on.
As far as combining claims to reach a conclusion goes, that strategy comes up a ton on the LSAT. Multiple premises will often need to be read together in order to understand how they might support a conclusion. That's a really important tool in your toolbox!
I just am having a hard time understanding when it's okay to make inferences.
I don't fully understand how by saying that "cable can also offer lower advertising rates than any broadcast network can, because it is subsidized by viewers through subscriber fees" means that we can infer that broadcasts are not subsidized?
We have always been taught not to make assumptions (especially in the Foundations module), so this just doesn't make sense to me.
A. Correct: Only mentions "Many cable stations have expanded worldwide with multinational programming." There isn't any mention to multinational programming of broadcast networks.
B. Could be true bc uses cable networks as an example for attracting more ads because they can subsidize costs bc of subscriber fees. It could be support to show that the broadcast networks don't rely on subscriber fees.
C. Could be true bc cable stations & broadcast stations are compared on which is able to attract more advertisers & cable won the comparison. Therefore, many of the examples with lower costs relate to cable networks.
D. Explained in the last sentence.
E. Cable stations are able to target particular audiences with 24-hr news, etc.
I highly suggest taking a stab at answering the question on your own before even watching the video by using the quickview feature. It has helped me drastically and shows me how much I'm understanding the lessons without being walked through
I did not know what cable and broadcast were I'm ngl. I googled them and it made the question a lot easier--- I think this is fair because the LSAT would normally explain things we aren't familiar with.
#feedback How do you do all of this on test day under time constraints or is it more so just a best practice to do during the learning phase? I find some of the questions come to me intuitively or are pretty straightforward to understand but could see where questions with more dense or obscure information could cause me to slow down and work out some of these steps such as grammar parsing.
I guess I’m still a bit confused by the concept of “hunting” versus POE, which is where i thought it was important to read all. I’ve run out of time on practice tests so working on figuring out time - saving tips :)
I was able to narrow it down between choices A and B, but I was ultimately stuck there. I know he goes on to explain each choices, but I was a bit daunted of making an assumption and I felt like A and B both had some level of assumption. As he was explaining the text, he referred to it as 'suggested/suggestion', which made me all the more confused.
Would appreciate any feedback how to go jump over this hurdle. Thanks!
I got A when I first read over and just wanted to be sure my reasoning was correct so I read the written break down of this question. I could be very wrong but I believe that question A is anti-supported because the passage simply did not discuss viewership in other countries for broadcast networking. The written explanation does not follow what was said in the video.
One moment, why is B an incorrect choice? The claim that cable providers don’t rely on subscribers fees is incorrect if assume that all the claims in the premise are correct. It was told that cable broadcasters can offer lower costs because they are subsidized by their viewers. Doesn’t that mean that they DO rely on subscribers fees? Please, correct me if I am wrong, because I am just a student, not an expert, and, if possible, explain why I am wrong, but it seems to me that B is correct answer choice, not A.
Initially when reading through the answer choices- I immediately crossed out A as an option. I found myself in the weeds trying to rank the levels of support for the remaining options when I realized that I misread the last line of the stimulus! While skimming the options, my brain filled in "cable Tv station" for "Broadcast networks". Upon rereading option A, I realized my mistake and that the right answer was staring me in the face
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39 comments
Student Question
Hello! I have a more general question: in terms of making inferences from the passage that are then conducive to choosing the correct answer, how do we know what kind of inferences we CAN make without taking it too far and incorrectly drawing a conclusion? Because these types of questions are dealing with the strength of the support and not absolute validity, there is seemingly some level of inferring needed, and I just wanted to get some clarity/tips about when it’s taken too far. I understand that what we are inferring needs to be rooted in the stimulus, but sometimes, the examples given seem to reach from beyond that.For example, in Lesson 2 (Cable TV Stations) in the MSS section, JY talks through the answer choices and explains how there is some level of inference being made so that we can weed out the one answer that is least supported (this question in particular was an except-type Q). (D) doesn’t seem like a BAD answer choice as a statement that is not really supported, but when JY explained how we need to combine the last sentence with the final claim, that kind of lost me because I’m not sure when to apply this method versus when to not.
Tutor Response
Of all the questions I get as an LSAT tutor, this is by far the most common one. It's really hard to understand what kinds of assumptions/inferences are okay and what kinds are not, and I wish I had a blanket rule for you to make it easier. Really, the answer is that it depends. It depends on a couple things. Firstly, what kind of question are you dealing with? In a question that deals with absolute validity (MBT, MBF, SA, a lot of PSA/Principle), you really aren't able to make any assumptions at all. In a question that doesn't deal with absolute validity (MSS, most weaken/strengthen), then you do have to deal in the world of assumptions. Secondly, it depends on what the other answer choices look like. The one blanket rule I can tell you that is true 100% of the time is that you are looking for the best answer choice. For an MSS question, you aren't looking for the answer choice that you couldn't possibly poke holes in if you tried; you're looking for the answer choice that has the fewest holes in it of the ones available. That's true for every single question on the LSAT—even the ones that are a lot more concrete (like a MBT). There will always be one answer choice that is significantly stronger than the other four. Remember that, if you can identify 4 wrong answer choices, it doesn't matter whether you can identify the one correct one—that's got to be your answer, so pick it and move on.
As far as combining claims to reach a conclusion goes, that strategy comes up a ton on the LSAT. Multiple premises will often need to be read together in order to understand how they might support a conclusion. That's a really important tool in your toolbox!
I just am having a hard time understanding when it's okay to make inferences.
I don't fully understand how by saying that "cable can also offer lower advertising rates than any broadcast network can, because it is subsidized by viewers through subscriber fees" means that we can infer that broadcasts are not subsidized?
We have always been taught not to make assumptions (especially in the Foundations module), so this just doesn't make sense to me.
My blind review:
A. Correct: Only mentions "Many cable stations have expanded worldwide with multinational programming." There isn't any mention to multinational programming of broadcast networks.
B. Could be true bc uses cable networks as an example for attracting more ads because they can subsidize costs bc of subscriber fees. It could be support to show that the broadcast networks don't rely on subscriber fees.
C. Could be true bc cable stations & broadcast stations are compared on which is able to attract more advertisers & cable won the comparison. Therefore, many of the examples with lower costs relate to cable networks.
D. Explained in the last sentence.
E. Cable stations are able to target particular audiences with 24-hr news, etc.
I always get down to the last two answers (A & B) and get it wrong. I keep reading the answer choices wrong.
I highly suggest taking a stab at answering the question on your own before even watching the video by using the quickview feature. It has helped me drastically and shows me how much I'm understanding the lessons without being walked through
Since this is a Exception MSS. Would treating it as a Merely Consistent/Weaken be a quicker approach?
Since I know we will have 4 "right/supporting" answers then I can simply hunt for a MC/Weaken instead which in turn would shorten my time.
Unless I'm making some serious flaw in my reasoning. #feedback
lowkey had the biggest brain fart answering this question
So basically find the one that is not supported by the premises
I did not know what cable and broadcast were I'm ngl. I googled them and it made the question a lot easier--- I think this is fair because the LSAT would normally explain things we aren't familiar with.
#feedback How do you do all of this on test day under time constraints or is it more so just a best practice to do during the learning phase? I find some of the questions come to me intuitively or are pretty straightforward to understand but could see where questions with more dense or obscure information could cause me to slow down and work out some of these steps such as grammar parsing.
I was left with answer choice E and A and I made the executive decision to get it wrong Unfreaken real dawg!
I guess I’m still a bit confused by the concept of “hunting” versus POE, which is where i thought it was important to read all. I’ve run out of time on practice tests so working on figuring out time - saving tips :)
With MSS you must read all answers? Whereas with MC and fill in blank can hunt for right? Thanks!
I pause the lesson then try to answer the question and when I get it right I could run through a wall like the Kool Aid man
#help
I was able to narrow it down between choices A and B, but I was ultimately stuck there. I know he goes on to explain each choices, but I was a bit daunted of making an assumption and I felt like A and B both had some level of assumption. As he was explaining the text, he referred to it as 'suggested/suggestion', which made me all the more confused.
Would appreciate any feedback how to go jump over this hurdle. Thanks!
I got A when I first read over and just wanted to be sure my reasoning was correct so I read the written break down of this question. I could be very wrong but I believe that question A is anti-supported because the passage simply did not discuss viewership in other countries for broadcast networking. The written explanation does not follow what was said in the video.
One moment, why is B an incorrect choice? The claim that cable providers don’t rely on subscribers fees is incorrect if assume that all the claims in the premise are correct. It was told that cable broadcasters can offer lower costs because they are subsidized by their viewers. Doesn’t that mean that they DO rely on subscribers fees? Please, correct me if I am wrong, because I am just a student, not an expert, and, if possible, explain why I am wrong, but it seems to me that B is correct answer choice, not A.
This lesson was really well-done!
.
Initially when reading through the answer choices- I immediately crossed out A as an option. I found myself in the weeds trying to rank the levels of support for the remaining options when I realized that I misread the last line of the stimulus! While skimming the options, my brain filled in "cable Tv station" for "Broadcast networks". Upon rereading option A, I realized my mistake and that the right answer was staring me in the face
Loving these new lessons!