#2 - Must Be True, Purpose

[Administrator]

Complete Question Explanation
(See the complete passage discussion here: lsat/viewtopic.php?t=10821)

The correct answer choice is (A)

This question asks for the purpose of the author’s reference to Tucker’s memorabilia collection; the author says that this collection adds to Tucker’s personal recollections to create a biography of Tucker and to study an area of US entertainment history that has previously been insufficiently studied.

Answer choice (A): This is the correct answer choice. The memorabilia collection was one of several sources used by the author in the creation of the biographical study discussed in the passage.

Answer choice (B): Tucker’s collection is not mentioned to counter any claim, so this choice fails the Fact Test and thus cannot be the right answer to this Must Be True question.

Answer choice (C): The author mentioned having used both Tucker’s personal memories and his memorabilia collection in creating the biographical study, but the use of the collection was not used to justify the author’s reliance on Tucker’s personal memories, so this choice should be ruled out of contention.

Answer choice (D): Although the author does provide an extensive list of Tucker’s various roles on both sides of the camera, the memorabilia collection is not used as evidence of such.

Answer choice (E): The author does not mention whether or not Tucker’s memorabilia collection was typical of the material available to scholars who study entertainers; this choice does not describe the purpose of the author’s reference to Tucker’s collection.

[BostonLawGuy]

My great confusion with questions like these is that I must be taking the words too literally in looking for textual evidence.

I do not see that the author states he used Tucker's memorabilia in his study. As a matter of fact, the author takes up an entire paragraph to list what he used in the study and Tucker's memorabilia was completely omitted. So can someone explain how A is the right answer? Additionally, I did not read anywhere that the memorabilia was used to make a biography. The passage does, however state that the memorabilia help shed light on the US entertainment industry, which is why I chose E.

I realize that inferring or assuming this to be true is the path to the correct answer. But my problem was that I was sure not to select the answer as there was nothing in the passage where this was stated.

[BostonLawGuy]

As I had no response, I will respond to myself. Having had time to ruminate on this question, which is sometimes the best way to learn, I can employ my usual tough-love approach with which, I learn best. So, here's what I now can reply to myself.

Dear BostonLawGuy.

You pose an interesting question, which highlights the need to read critically on these questions. As the LSAC expressly states (The Official LSAT SuperPrep) any complex piece of writing conveys much more to the attentive reader than what it explicitly states. You are right that answer choice A was not explicitly stated, but it surely is supported by the information in the passage. Did you read critically?

As a future lawyer you must be able to supply relevant presuppositions and the LSAT frequently tests this skill during the RC. This question is one such case. Did you notice that the author stated that Lawrence Tucker had not been extensively studied until the author's own study? If you did, then did you notice that author mentioned that Lawrence Tucker's memorabilia has not shed new light with sufficient scholarship UNTIL NOW. What did you think the author was referring to? What has happened NOW is that the author has completed his study. So, of course when the author mentions Tucker's collection of memorabilia which is helping with sufficient scholarship, whose scholarship do you think he's referring to? HIS OWN, of course! Tucker had not even studied until the author's study, so who else could have used that memorabilia? THE AUTHOR! This is why A is correct.

Please remember that (according to the Official LSAC Prep) there are questions in which the connection between the correct answer and the supporting text is not close. Sometimes a large inference is required.

[James Finch]

Hi Boston Law Guy,

Purpose questions are asking for an inference, based on the main point of whatever is being referenced. Here, we are given a very specific reference to memorabilia, and o the question to ask and answer becomes, "why mention this memoribilia?" What point does it serve in the author's broader argument?

The answer is, not much, it's simply there as part of a list to show how exhaustively the author researched Tucker's life. So (A) is the only answer choice that accurately represents this very narrow purpose. Other questions will require the larger inferences you mention, especially when asked about the primary purpose of an entire passage.

Hope this helps!