LSAT 156 – Section 2 – Question 11

LSAT 156 - Section 2 - Question 11

July 2020

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Question
QuickView		 Type Tags Answer
Choices		 Curve Question
Difficulty		 Psg/Game/S
Difficulty		 Explanation
PT156 S2 Q11
+LR
Flaw or descriptive weakening +Flaw
A
6%
150
B
5%
153
C
3%
146
D
82%
158
E
5%
151
120
132
149
 +Easiest 145.275 +SubsectionEasier

Professor Williams: Professor Thomas’s report characterizes our colleague Professor York as too flamboyant and confrontational in the classroom. But the argument given in this report sounds so much like the classic argument of the self-serving academic that one has to wonder if Professor Thomas simply is not the orator and entertainer Thomas would like to be, and so vents frustrations by condemning others—Professor York in particular.

Summarize Argument: Counter-Position
Professor Thomas says Professor York is too flamboyant and confrontational in the classroom. The author implicitly calls this claim into question by citing the fact that Thomas’s claim is self-serving. Thomas is not as good a presenter as York, so Thomas’s criticism of York may simply be a result of envy.

Identify and Describe Flaw
The author attacks Professor Thomas’s motivation rather than the merits of his claim. Whether Thomas is venting his frustration or otherwise making comments due to envy or out of self-interest has nothing to do with the truth of whether Professor York is actually too flamboyant or confrontational in the classroom.

A
confuses the distinction between being overly confrontational and engaging students by entertaining them
The author doesn’t mistake being too confrontational with being entertaining. There’s no sign that the author thinks one type of behavior is the same as the other.
B
presupposes the point it is attempting to establish
(B) describes circular reasoning. The author’s conclusion, which is an implicit questioning of Professor Thomas’s claim about Professor York, does not restate a premise.
C
mistakes Professor Thomas’s characterization of a view for an endorsement of that view
The author does not think Thomas endorsed anything that York did or said.
D
attacks Professor Thomas personally rather than addressing Professor Thomas’s argument
The author attacked Professor Thomas’s motivations rather than addressing the substance of Professor’s Thomas’s argument. We care about whether York is too flamboyant and confrontational. Thomas’s motive is irrelevant.
E
rejects the possibility that Professor York is in fact too confrontational
There’s a difference between rejecting Thomas’s conclusion that York is too confrontational and criticizing Thomas’s argument in favor of that conclusion. The author does the latter.

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LSAT PrepTest 156 Explanations

Section 1 - Reading Comprehension

Section 2 - Logical Reasoning

Section 3 - Reading Comprehension

Section 4 - Logical Reasoning

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