Unplugged Practice Test: Logical Reasoning Set 1, Question 18 (Sufficient Assumption)
Taking the test? Finish it first. This page shows the answer.
- Sufficient Assumption questions ask for a premise that would guarantee the conclusion.
- Look for the choice that, once added, forces the conclusion. It often connects a term in the evidence to a term in the conclusion.
- 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
Reviewer: Every restaurant in this city lives or dies by its crowds. The more a restaurant's menu flatters popular taste, the larger the crowds its chef will draw. However, since any ambitious chef cares about technique, no ambitious chef is guided mainly by the aim of drawing large crowds.
18. The reviewer's conclusion follows logically if which one of the following is assumed?
- (A)No restaurant run by an ambitious chef in fact draws large crowds.
- (B)Any chef guided mainly by the aim of drawing large crowds designs a menu that flatters popular taste.
- (C)Any restaurant that in fact draws large crowds is run by a chef guided mainly by the aim of drawing large crowds.
- (D)No chef who cares about technique is guided mainly by the aim of drawing large crowds.
- (E)No chef whose dishes display excellent technique is guided mainly by the aim of drawing large crowds.
DWhy (D) is correct
The reviewer needs to get from caring about technique to not being motivated mainly by crowds. The premise says any ambitious chef cares about technique. (D) supplies the missing link: no chef who cares about technique is guided mainly by drawing crowds. Combine that with the premise and no ambitious chef is guided mainly by crowds, exactly the conclusion, and nothing else closes the gap this cleanly.
Why the other answers are wrong
AWhy (A) is wrong
(A) claims no ambitious chef's restaurant actually draws big crowds, but the argument is about a chef's aim, not the crowd size that results, so it never reaches the conclusion.
BWhy (B) is wrong
(B) says a chef aiming mainly for crowds flatters popular taste, which just restates the reviewer's first premise and never mentions technique at all.
CWhy (C) is wrong
(C) runs the crowd relationship backward, tying big crowds to crowd-seeking chefs, again leaving technique untouched.
EWhy (E) is wrong
(E) swaps caring about technique for dishes that display excellent technique, a different term the premise never uses, so it can't complete the chain.
Common questions
What type of question is this?
Sufficient Assumption. Sufficient Assumption questions ask for a premise that would guarantee the conclusion.
How do I get better at Sufficient Assumption questions?
Look for the choice that, once added, forces the conclusion. It often connects a term in the evidence to a term in the conclusion. The free LSAT cheat sheet lists the wrong-answer patterns to watch for on every type.
