Identify the question stem

[Chrismen30]

I am taking the PowerScore LSAT live course, and my question comes from the Lesson 1 HW 1-55. For number 1 "If the statements above are true, which one of the following conclusions can be properly drawn on the basis of them?" and number 15 "The argument is structured to lead to the conclusion that" I categorized both as Must Be True question stems. However, I then realized after reviewing the answer key that number 15 is actually a Main Point question stem. My issue is that for number 15 I was not able to differentiate a Must be True from a Main Point question stem. And after comparing the two, at least for me, they genuinely seem to be asking for the same thing (maybe because they are from the first family). So my question is: what language is in number 15 that sets it apart from a Must be True question, and makes it a Main Point?

[Lucas Moreau]

Hello, Chrismen30,

Must Be True and Main Point question stems can be difficult to tell apart, because Main Point is actually a subset of Must Be True. That is to say, all Main Point questions are also Must Be True questions, but not all Must Be True questions are Main Point questions. (Hmm, can that sentence be diagrammed? )

A Main Point question is just a more specific version of a Must Be True question. You're still trying to figure out what must be true about the stimulus, but not just that - you also have to find the main point. Question stems can vary from question to question, and look like each other, especially for such similar question types as MP and MBT.

So, in short, what separates MP from MBT is what specific true statement the question is asking you about.

Hope that helps,
Lucas Moreau

[Chrismen30]

Thank you for responding Lucas, however I am still a bit unclear as to why number 1 "If the statements above are true, which one of the following conclusions can be properly drawn on the basis of them?" is a Must Be True Question stem and number 15 "The argument is structured to lead to the conclusion that" is a Main Point Question stem. After reviewing it for 1k time I am starting to notice that number 1 states that the stimulus contains "statements" ("If the statements above...") while number 15 states that the stimulus contains an "argument" ("The argument is structured..."). So is it the subtle language from "statements" to "argument" in the stem is what causes it to be a different question stem? Because Must be True questions are usually "statements" while Main Point are usually "arguments"? Please correct me if I'm wrong, albeit its starting to seem like so.

[David Boyle]

Thank you for responding Lucas, however I am still a bit unclear as to why number 1 "If the statements above are true, which one of the following conclusions can be properly drawn on the basis of them?" is a Must Be True Question stem and number 15 "The argument is structured to lead to the conclusion that" is a Main Point Question stem. After reviewing it for 1k time I am starting to notice that number 1 states that the stimulus contains "statements" ("If the statements above...") while number 15 states that the stimulus contains an "argument" ("The argument is structured..."). So is it the subtle language from "statements" to "argument" in the stem is what causes it to be a different question stem? Because Must be True questions are usually "statements" while Main Point are usually "arguments"? Please correct me if I'm wrong, albeit its starting to seem like so.

Hello Chrismen30,

With number 1, "If the statements above are true, which one of the following conclusions can be properly drawn on the basis of them?" indicates a Must Be True Question stem because anything can be a conclusion: "Jane likes ice cream", "Moscow is in Russia", "My foot hurts". But only one of those can be the conclusion provable true from the stimulus. (The other four can be a conclusion that has nothing to do with the stimulus.)
Also, it says a conclusion can be properly drawn, not that it is the main conclusion of the stimulus. If the stimulus says, "Joe is going to go to Paris tomorrow, if it''s raining today. It's raining today", then "There is someone on Earth named Joe" is a true "conclusion" (statement), but it is obviously not the main point of the stimulus.
However, with number 15, "The argument is structured to lead to the conclusion that", that shows it's a Main Point Question stem, because it doesn't discuss just some conclusion, but the prime conclusion that is the whole point of the argument. From the example above, "Joe's going to Paris tomorrow" is the conclusion, even though "There's a dude named Joe" is one inferrable "conclusion" of that stimulus, just as "There's a place called Paris" is an inferrable "conclusion" of that stimulus--just not the main point.

Hope this helps,
David

[Chrismen30]

Got it! Thanks David!