LSAT 148 – Section 1 – Question 19

LSAT 148 - Section 1 - Question 19

December 2016

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Question
QuickView		 Type Tags Answer
Choices		 Curve Question
Difficulty		 Psg/Game/S
Difficulty		 Explanation
PT148 S1 Q19
+LR
Weaken +Weak
Link Assumption +LinkA
Value Judgment +ValJudg
Fact v. Belief v. Knowledge +FvBvK
A
50%
164
B
38%
160
C
9%
162
D
3%
154
E
0%
153
149
162
176
 +Hardest 142.771 +SubsectionEasier

Politician: Of the candidates running, Thompson is the best person to lead this nation. For one thing, Thompson opposes higher taxes whereas the other candidates support them. Many would agree that anyone who opposes higher taxes will make a better leader than someone who supports them.

Summarize Argument
The author concludes that Thompson is the best person to lead the nation out of the candidates running. This is based on the fact that Thompson is the only candidate who opposes higher taxes, whereas the others support them. And, many people agree that those who oppose higher taxes are better leaders than those who support them.

Notable Assumptions
The author assumes that because many people believe something, it’s actually true. This overlooks the possibility that, even though many people think one who opposes higher taxes makes for a better leader than one who supports them, these people are just wrong. Opposition to higher taxes might not make one a better leader than one who supports them.

A
Opposing higher taxes is not a factor contributing to good leadership.
This directly undermines the assumption that what “many people agree” about is correct. If opposition to higher taxes doesn’t contribute to good leadership, then it’s not a relevant to a determination of which candidate would make for a better leader than another candidate.
B
Being opposed to higher taxes is not a sufficient condition for good leadership.
The author never assumed that opposition is enough to guarantee good leadership; only that opposition to higher taxes makes one a better leader than those who support higher taxes. Even if opposition isn’t sufficient, it can still be a factor increasing one’s quality as a leader.
C
Thompson has questionable opinions concerning important issues other than taxes.
The author cites to what many people agree about as support for a rule that those who oppose higher taxes are better leaders than those who support them. So, other factors relating to other issues don’t affect the reasoning used by the author.
D
All of the past leaders who supported higher taxes performed their jobs adequately.
The author concludes that Thompson is the best person to lead out of the remaining candidates. This is a relative claim. Even if people who support higher taxes can perform adequately, the author can still prove that Thompson will be better.
E
All of the past leaders who supported higher taxes were hardworking.
The author cites to what many people agree about as support for a rule that those who oppose higher taxes are better leaders than those who support them. Other qualities of the candidates, such as potentially being hardworking, are not relevant to application of this rule.

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LSAT PrepTest 148 Explanations

Section 1 - Logical Reasoning

Section 2 - Reading Comprehension

Section 3 - Logical Reasoning

Section 4 - Logical Reasoning

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