Free LSAT resources
Free law school admissions resources

Lack of support v. false conclusion

(LSvFC)

Stimuli that reason from premises saying "X has not been proven" to a conclusion saying "X must be false."

Avg. 0.25 per section
13%
13%
38%
31%
5%

Avg. difficulty: 3.0

Key tactics

  • Here's an example of a flawed argument of this type:
  • Gladis thinks the website we are on right now is called 7sage.com. She claims to know this because she cast her soul into the astral plane and communed with a goatman on Ganymede, who told her this website is called 7sage.com. Obviously Gladis is a crazy person, so this website must not be 7sage.com
  • Just because the evidence offered FOR a claim does not hold up, that absence or weakness of evidence does NOT count as evidence AGAINST the claim.

Answer choice tips

  • Example answer choices that point to this flaw:
  • rejects the possibility that what has not been proven is nevertheless true.
  • infers that there is no extraterrestrial intelligence in neighboring star systems from the lack of proof that there is.
  • reasons that since Smith never disproved the claim that he threatened Lopez, he did in fact threaten her.

Looking for more?

7Sage offers a full course of video lessons that cover each question type in depth, targeted drills, and performance analytics.

Logical reasoning question types

Alternate explanation Analogy (LR) Argument part Bad authority Causal chain Causal mechanism Causal reasoning Circular reasoning Conditional reasoning Confusing sufficiency and necessity Correlation Diagram? Directionally wrong Eliminating options Equivocation Evaluate Except (LR) Failed alternate explanation False dichotomy Fighting the hypothetical Fill in the blank Flaw or descriptive weakening Illusory inconsistency Inference Internal contradiction Irrelevant corroboration Kick it up Lack of support v. false conclusion Link assumption Main conclusion or main point Math Mental state v. reality Method of reasoning or descriptive Miscellaneous (LR) Misdirected response Most strongly supported Must be false Must be true Necessary assumption Parallel flawed method of reasoning Parallel method of reasoning Part v. whole Phenomenon-hypothesis (LR) Plausibility Point at issue: agree Point at issue: disagree Principle PSA - find or complete the application PSA - find the rule Quantifier Relative v. absolute Resolve reconcile or explain Rule-application Sampling Source attack Strengthen Sufficient assumption Time Unwarranted assumption Value judgment Weaken Weighing factors

Reading comprehension question types

Analogy (RC) Application Art Author’s attitude Author’s perspective Comparative Critique or debate Describe approach Describe organization Describe relationship Except (RC) Humanities Implied Law Logical continuation Main point Meaning in context (of word, phrase, or idea) Miscellaneous (RC) Other’s perspective Phenomenon-hypothesis (RC) Principle or generalization Problem-analysis Purpose in context (of word, phrase, or idea) Purpose of paragraph Purpose of passage Science Single position Spotlight Stated Structure WSE (RC)

Confirm action

Are you sure?