Unplugged Practice Test: Logical Reasoning Set 2, Question 12 (Main Conclusion)
Taking the test? Finish it first. This page shows the answer.
- Main Conclusion questions ask for the single claim the rest of the argument is there to support.
- Ask which claim the other sentences back up. The conclusion often sits in the middle, and the last sentence is often just evidence.
- 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
Epidemiologist: The steep drop in reported cases of a tick-borne illness in Warrow County over the past 4 years most likely reflects a real decline in infections. Some analysts have instead proposed that residents who fell ill simply stopped seeking treatment, and they point to how evenly the drop was spread across the months of each year. That evenness, though, is better accounted for by the county's deer-culling program, which thinned the herds that carry the ticks at a steady pace all year long.
12. The overall conclusion of the epidemiologist's argument is stated by which one of the following?
- (A)Some analysts have proposed that Warrow County residents who fell ill with the tick-borne illness stopped seeking treatment.
- (B)Analysts who favor the underreporting proposal point to the even spread of the decline across the months of each year.
- (C)The even spread of the decline across the months of each year most likely stems from the county's deer-culling program.
- (D)The county's deer-culling program thinned the herds that carry the ticks at a steady pace throughout each year.
- (E)The steep drop in reported cases of the tick-borne illness in Warrow County most likely reflects a real decline in infections.
EWhy (E) is correct
(E) is the overall conclusion. Everything else in the stimulus, the analysts' alternative, the point about the even monthly spread, and the deer-culling explanation, exists to defend or push back against this one claim: that the steep drop in reported cases most likely reflects a real decline in infections.
Why the other answers are wrong
AWhy (A) is wrong
(A) that some analysts proposed residents stopped seeking treatment states the rival view the epidemiologist is answering, not the epidemiologist's own conclusion.
BWhy (B) is wrong
(B) that those analysts point to the even monthly spread fills in their case, and the epidemiologist isn't making that claim.
CWhy (C) is wrong
(C) that the even spread stems from the deer-culling program is a premise used to knock down the rival explanation, support for the main claim rather than the claim itself.
DWhy (D) is wrong
(D) that the culling program thinned herds at a steady pace year-round explains the even spread, a supporting detail rather than the overall conclusion.
Common questions
What type of question is this?
Main Conclusion. Main Conclusion questions ask for the single claim the rest of the argument is there to support.
How do I get better at Main Conclusion questions?
Ask which claim the other sentences back up. The conclusion often sits in the middle, and the last sentence is often just evidence. The free LSAT cheat sheet lists the wrong-answer patterns to watch for on every type.
