Unplugged Practice Test: Logical Reasoning Set 3, Question 7 (Point at Issue)
Taking the test? Finish it first. This page shows the answer.
- Point at Issue questions ask what 2 speakers actually disagree about. The right answer is something both have an opinion on, and those opinions conflict.
- Find a claim both speakers actually address, then check that their opinions on it conflict. Wrong answers usually raise something only 1 speaker mentioned.
- 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
Ferris: The tires on a delivery bicycle tell you which surface its rider works on. Wide knobbed tires are a sign of gravel routes and narrow smooth ones a sign of paved streets, and the test is just as reliable read the other way. Whitcomb: But which tires a rider fits is settled mainly by what the shop nearest that rider's depot happens to stock. From a rider's tires you learn which shop supplies the depot, not which surface the rider covers.
7. The dialogue most strongly supports the claim that Ferris and Whitcomb disagree over whether
- (A)a rider with narrow smooth tires can reasonably be judged to work on paved streets
- (B)the line Ferris draws between two sorts of riders is an improper one
- (C)evidence apart from tire type can settle beyond doubt which of the two sorts of rider someone is
- (D)the line Ferris draws between sorts of riders matters as much as researchers have generally held
- (E)a rider's tires are worth examining by anyone who wants to learn about that rider
AWhy (A) is correct
Ferris claims tire type reliably signals which surface a rider works, wide knobbed tires for gravel routes and narrow smooth ones for paved streets, and says the test 'is just as reliable read the other way.' Whitcomb counters that tire choice comes mainly from what the nearest shop stocks, so tires reveal the shop's supply, not the surface a rider covers. That leaves them split on exactly (A): whether a rider with narrow smooth tires can reasonably be judged to work on paved streets.
Why the other answers are wrong
BWhy (B) is wrong
(B) is off. Whitcomb never calls Ferris's underlying split between two sorts of riders improper, only the inference drawn from tires.
CWhy (C) is wrong
(C) goes unaddressed since neither speaker discusses whether some other evidence could settle a rider's category for certain.
DWhy (D) is wrong
(D) never comes up: no researchers or their views enter the dialogue at all.
EWhy (E) is wrong
(E) isn't a split, since Whitcomb still finds tires worth examining, just for what they reveal about the shop rather than the surface.
Common questions
What type of question is this?
Point at Issue. Point at Issue questions ask what 2 speakers actually disagree about. The right answer is something both have an opinion on, and those opinions conflict.
How do I get better at Point at Issue questions?
Find a claim both speakers actually address, then check that their opinions on it conflict. Wrong answers usually raise something only 1 speaker mentioned. The free LSAT cheat sheet lists the wrong-answer patterns to watch for on every type.
