LSAT 143 – Section 4 – Question 02

LSAT 143 - Section 4 - Question 02

June 2015

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Question
QuickView		 Type Tags Answer
Choices		 Curve Question
Difficulty		 Psg/Game/S
Difficulty		 Explanation
PT143 S4 Q02
+LR
+Exp
Evaluate +Eval
Sampling +Smpl
Math +Math
A
1%
152
B
94%
164
C
4%
158
D
0%
150
E
1%
151
122
133
143
 +Easiest 146.108 +SubsectionMedium

Programmer: We computer programmers at Mytheco are demanding raises to make our average salary comparable with that of the technical writers here who receive, on average, 20 percent more in salary and benefits than we do. This pay difference is unfair and intolerable.

Mytheco executive: But many of the technical writers have worked for Mytheco longer than have many of the programmers. Since salary and benefits at Mytheco are directly tied to seniority, the 20 percent pay difference you mention is perfectly acceptable.

Summarize Argument
The executive concludes that the pay difference between programmers and technical writers at Mytheco is acceptable. This is because pay is tied to seniority, and many technical writers have worked at Mytheco longer than many programmers.

Notable Assumptions
The executive assumes that “many” technical writers having greater seniority than “many” programmers means that the average technical writer has greater seniority than the average programmer.

A
whether any of the technical writers at Mytheco once worked as programmers at the company
Irrelevant. We don’t care if some programmers became technical writers. We care if the pay difference is in fact tied to seniority.
B
how the average seniority of programmers compares with the average seniority of technical writers
If the average technical writer has seniority resulting in 20% more pay than the average programmer, the executive’s argument is strengthened. If the average technical writer has seniority resulting in less than 20% more pay, something else must explain the pay difference.
C
whether the sorts of benefits an employee of Mytheco receives are tied to the salary of that employee
We don’t care about the sorts of benefits. We care about pay difference, which we have no reason to believe is tied to the sorts of benefits employees receive.
D
whether the Mytheco executive was at one time a technical writer employed by Mytheco
How would this affect the executive’s argument? This doesn’t point to any meaningful difference or similarity between technical writers and programmers, which is what we need to evaluate the executive’s argument.
E
how the Mytheco executive’s salary compares with that of the programmers
We’re not comparing between executives and programmers. We’re comparing between programmers and technical writers.

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LSAT PrepTest 143 Explanations

Section 1 - Logical Reasoning

Section 2 - Reading Comprehension

Section 3 - Logical Reasoning

Section 4 - Logical Reasoning

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