#3 pg 221 Powerscore Lsat Workbook (From Weekend Course)

[kgalaraga93]

"The Powerscore LSAT Course" workbook pg 221 #3 (homework question)

Hi there, I did not understand why the answer for this question was B. I answered choice D.

According to the answer key, you have to use conditional reasoning. I did not even recognize that it was a conditional reasoning type problem, which is an issue I have with a lot of questions actually. Anyway, I tried applying conditional reasoning to the passage and here is what I have so far:

PC (public criticism) ---> RA (regulation of activity)
RA (regulation of activity) ----> ME (more expensive)

And that's honestly as far as I got. I can see the connection of PC ---> ME which is answer choice b, the correct answer, but what about the rest of the paragraph after that? Do you put those into conditional statements? Do they matter? I was very confused by this problem and many others like it so if I could get some help on this I would greatly appreciate it.

[David Boyle]

"The Powerscore LSAT Course" workbook pg 221 #3 (homework question)

Hi there, I did not understand why the answer for this question was B. I answered choice D.

According to the answer key, you have to use conditional reasoning. I did not even recognize that it was a conditional reasoning type problem, which is an issue I have with a lot of questions actually. Anyway, I tried applying conditional reasoning to the passage and here is what I have so far:

PC (public criticism) ---> RA (regulation of activity)
RA (regulation of activity) ----> ME (more expensive)

And that's honestly as far as I got. I can see the connection of PC ---> ME which is answer choice b, the correct answer, but what about the rest of the paragraph after that? Do you put those into conditional statements? Do they matter? I was very confused by this problem and many others like it so if I could get some help on this I would greatly appreciate it.

Hello kgalaraga93,

It's good to know when conditional reasoning is present. "Governments have only one response to public criticism of socially necessary services: regulation of the activity of providing those services. But governments inevitably make the activity more expensive by regulating it" can be read as two if-then or conditional statements, like you have above. "Only" and "inevitably" are some tip-off words that you have conditional reasoning here.
As for the rest of the paragraph, you may not have to diagram it. (And if something doesn't need to be diagrammed, then it may waste time to do so.) The last sentence can be read in shorthand to say, "The government will respond." Since you already know what that leads to, with the chain above (ending in "more expensive"), there's your answer, answer B.
Answer D is wrong since "voiced" isn't mentioned in the stimulus, and the government may not be certain to respond: IF they respond, it's by regulation, but what if they don't, or can't, respond at all? (Maybe their computers are down and they can't regulate even if they want to.)

Hope this helps,
David