Unplugged Practice Test: Logical Reasoning Set 3, Question 6 (Principle)
Taking the test? Finish it first. This page shows the answer.
- Principle questions ask which general rule fits the situation.
- Predict what a correct answer needs to do before you read the choices.
- 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
Columnist: Brogan Movers' brochure lifted one clause from a damage-claims study and dropped the sentences on either side of it. Brogan's sales office defended the brochure by saying that the passage, read whole, reflects even worse on the rival firm it discusses. Brogan's sales office plainly does not believe that. Over the 14 months since, it has had many openings to print the passage whole, and it has gone on printing the clause by itself.
6. Which one of the following principles, if established, most helps to support the columnist's reasoning?
- (A)A firm that runs down a rival stays away from tactics it would resent having used against itself.
- (B)Customers expect a firm that runs down a rival to reproduce in full any study it draws on.
- (C)A firm that runs down a rival steers clear of tactics that invite an effective reply.
- (D)A firm that runs down a rival picks whichever charge it takes to be the most damaging.
- (E)A firm that runs down a rival deserves no blame provided every word it cites really appears in the study.
DWhy (D) is correct
The columnist argues that Brogan's sales office doesn't really believe the full passage reflects worse on the rival, since it has had 14 months of chances to print the passage whole and instead keeps printing the lifted clause alone. That inference only works if a firm's choice of what to print reveals what it judges most damaging. (D) supplies exactly that link: a firm that runs down a rival picks whichever charge it takes to be most damaging, so Brogan's choice to keep the clause alone shows it believes the clause hits harder than the full passage.
Why the other answers are wrong
AWhy (A) is wrong
(A) ties behavior to what a firm would resent used against itself, which never connects to what the firm judges most damaging.
BWhy (B) is wrong
(B) is about what customers expect from a firm that cites a study, which speaks to audience expectations, not to what the choice reveals about belief.
CWhy (C) is wrong
(C) warns against tactics that invite a strong reply, a strategic concern that doesn't establish what Brogan thinks is most damaging.
EWhy (E) is wrong
(E) excuses a firm as long as its quoted words really appear in the source, which says nothing about which version the firm believes is more damaging.
Common questions
What type of question is this?
Principle. Principle questions ask which general rule fits the situation.
How do I get better at Principle questions?
Predict the answer before reading the choices. The free LSAT cheat sheet lists the wrong-answer patterns to watch for on every type.
