Unplugged Practice Test: Logical Reasoning Set 1, Question 6 (Weaken)
Taking the test? Finish it first. This page shows the answer.
- Weaken questions ask which new fact most undermines the argument.
- Find the gap the argument leaves open, then look for the choice that widens it.
- Every question on this test is original, written to the same logical skeletons as real questions, and Steve checked every one himself before release.
The question
Some musicologists hold that the improvised variations played by traditional fiddlers are a form of composition. Having observed that fiddlers with no formal training invent elaborate new settings of old tunes on the spot, these musicologists conclude that composing begins outside the conservatory. Other musicologists deny that improvising is by itself composing, holding that music making counts as composition only when it rests on a deliberate command of harmonic structure. Pointing to the crude answers fiddlers gave on a written test of notated harmonic exercises, these dissenters conclude that fiddlers lack the command of harmonic structure that composing requires.
6. Which one of the following, if true, most weakens the reasoning of the dissenting musicologists?
- (A)On the written test, fiddlers did marginally better in the morning than they did late at night.
- (B)When fiddlers perform live, the command of harmonic structure they display far exceeds what fiddlers given only the written test show.
- (C)On the written test, fiddlers did marginally better on exercises in major keys than on exercises in minor keys.
- (D)Conservatory-trained composers who take the written test do far better on it than the fiddlers who take that same test do.
- (E)A few conservatory-trained composers do no better on the written test than the fiddlers who take that same test do.
BWhy (B) is correct
The dissenters say fiddlers lack a command of harmonic structure because they gave crude answers on a written test of notated harmonic exercises. That claim only stands if the written test accurately captures what fiddlers can actually do with harmony. If fiddlers show a command of harmonic structure in live performance that far exceeds what the written test picked up, the test was measuring something narrower than real command, and the dissenters' conclusion falls apart. (B) does exactly that. The written test undersold what fiddlers can do.
Why the other answers are wrong
AWhy (A) is wrong
(A) is a small timing effect that leaves the overall verdict on fiddlers' harmonic command untouched.
CWhy (C) is wrong
(C) is a marginal difference between major and minor key exercises, too small to challenge the conclusion.
DWhy (D) is wrong
(D) shows trained composers outscoring fiddlers on the written test, which fits the dissenters' claim rather than undercutting it.
EWhy (E) is wrong
(E) has a few composers scoring no better than fiddlers, and that says nothing about whether fiddlers actually command harmonic structure.
Common questions
What type of question is this?
Weaken. Weaken questions ask which new fact most undermines the argument.
How do I get better at Weaken questions?
Find the gap the argument leaves open, then look for the choice that widens it. The free LSAT cheat sheet lists the wrong-answer patterns to watch for on every type.
