#3 - Professor: The best users of a language are its great

[Administrator]

Complete Question Explanation

Must Be True. The correct answer choice is (C)

The stimulus contains a Fact Set: while the best users of a language are its great authors, they are less respectful of proper language usage than the rest of us are. The correct answer should be a statement of fact that is directly supported by the information contained in the stimulus.

Answer choice (A): This answer choice contains an opinion, not a fact (“people who want to become great writers should not imitate…”). Since opinions, judgments, or advice cannot be inferred from a mere assertion of facts, this answer choice is incorrect.

Answer choice (B): Since we have no reason to suspect that the majority of writers who do not observe proper language usage are great authors, it is unreasonable to conclude that they risk developing a peculiar or idiosyncratic style. Furthermore, even if they did, identifying such a possibility as a “risk” is too negative and inconsistent with the information we are given.

Answer choice (C): This is the correct answer choice. See discussion above.

Answer choice (D): Whether people who use an innovative or idiosyncratic writing style incur criticism of their language usage is beyond the scope of the fact set presented in the stimulus. This answer choice is incorrect.

Answer choice (E): This answer choice contains an opinion, not a fact (“the standard for proper language usage should be set…”). Since opinions, judgments, or advice cannot be inferred from a mere assertion of facts, this answer choice is incorrect.

[a.lsat]

Hello PowerScore

I have just finished my first timed PT after reading al three bibles and the workbook, yet met some problem. Can you kindly help me with them?

==LR Section 3==

#3:
I stuck with answer choice (A). In my opinion, it can be properly inferred that one should not imitate the great author's use of language if they want to learn the language. As the stimulus mentioned, the great author of a language tend to use the language in a rather abnormal way, thus one should not take their works as example when learning. It can be properly inferred from the stimulus, right? Is there anything I missed? One of the forum mentioned that this answer choice is incorrect since "become a great writer is not an equivalent of learning the language." This choice is thus out of scope. Do PowerScore agree with this?

[Dave Killoran]

Hi A,

Thanks for the questions! As I messaged you earlier, I split up your original post into five separate threads. Our answers are sometimes quite long (see below!) and splitting them up makes it much easier for us to answer and for you and others to read.

Ok, let's take a look at answer choice (A) and see where the problem lies with it. I noticed you didn't object to answer choice (C), so I'm thinking that you may have gotten down to answers (A) and (C), and then you unfortunately chose incorrectly. Reducing a problem to two remaining answers is something that happens to every LSAT taker, and it's incredibly frustrating when you choose the wrong one! So, talking about situations like this is often quite helpful for anyone studying for this test

Ok, that said, let's go back to your very helpful explanation of what you were thinking when you were looking at (A) (thank you for your explanation—it makes our life much easier when we know what you were thinking when you chose an answer!). You mentioned that, "In my opinion, it can be properly inferred that one should not imitate the great author's use of language if they want to learn the language." Although I think this requires a narrow definition of "learning," in general I can agree that this is something that follows from what the author said. So, if that's the case, why is (A) still wrong? It's because we've moved to a different topic (or really, a different group of people) than what (A) is talking about. Answer choice (A) is specific about, "People who want to become great writers..." whereas the inference you proposed is about people who "want to learn the language." These are very different groups, and whereas someone learning the language might not want to imitate innovative and idiosyncratic usages, someone who is trying to be a great writer might be served well by imitating that type of usage. So, when (A) says that people who want to become great writers should not imitate great writers, I'm not sure I agree with that. If anything, it would seem more likely to be false than true, in my opinion.

In looking at your comments, I think that you understood what was going on in the stimulus (which is a good sign), but while you were analyzing (A) you started to think about people learning the language as opposed to the group that was actually being discussed, which was people who want to become great writers. When you are analyzing an answer, always make sure it says what you think it says—that can save you a lot of grief. In this case, equating (or really, conflating) the groups caused you to incorrectly select (A).

You also mentioned that, "One of the forum mentioned that this answer choice is incorrect since "become a great writer is not an equivalent of learning the language." This choice is thus out of scope. Do PowerScore agree with this?" I'm always hesitant to comment on what other writers say about a problem, namely because I can't see their entire explanation, and sometimes the comments they've made are isolated to specific portions of the stimulus, or are being taken out of context. I'm also not a big fan of reading other forums in general since I don't always agree with their methods and techniques That aside, I do agree that the two things mentioned here are not equivalent, but again, I'm not sure why that would even come up since problem this was never about "learning the language." Answer choice (A) is immediately suspicious to me because of the phrase "want to become great writers." While the stimulus talked about great writers, it didn't talk about the process of becoming one, or what was required. Thus, this answer fails the Fact Test for me—there's no proof for it, and as I mentioned above, it's more likely to be false than true, in my opinion.

Please let me know if that helps. Thanks!

[a.lsat]

Dear Dave

Wow! You really read everything in my mind when I was approaching this question!

Thanks for the in-depth explanation. It helps A LOT!

[saharsh]

I went down to A & C. I liked how C was structured, but I did not select it because it says observe. Nowhere in the prompt it is written that they are unable to observe the proper usage. It is just written that they chose to use language in certain way. So there is a possibility that they can observe the proper usage, but they just ignore it to be more innovative.

It would be great if someone can explain the flaw in my reasoning.
Thank you.

[Adam Tyson]

Thanks for the question, saharsh, and welcome to the Forum! Happy to see more new blood in here, always!

The issue here appears to me to be one of vocabulary. While the more commonly used meaning of "observe" is to notice or perceive something, there is another meaning that is in play here. Observe also means to comply with something, like a set of standards or a religious doctrine. When in public I try to observe the rules of common courtesy (unlike when I'm at home - then I'm horrible). At a solemn occasion we might observe a moment of silence - that is, we comply with the request, join in the practice, or follow the protocol that's expected in that situation. That's the type of observation with which answers B and C are both dealing. Our author is talking about following the rules of proper language usage, not just seeing them.

Vocabulary issues can be a real issue on the LSAT. Our authors have set a high bar, and they expect us to hurdle it over and over again. They expect us to know the difference between direct and inverse proportions, to figure out what it means to undulate, to know that compromise also means to weaken or undermine, to know that increased virulence is a bad thing, and many, many more. It's up to us to use context clues when we are unsure of a word's intended meaning, especially when it appears to be a less-commonly-used meaning. If a word makes no sense in context - why would we be talking about looking at or seeing the rules of language? - then we have to stretch ourselves to search for something that makes more sense. When all else fails and we simply don't understand, we have to allow that answer to be a contender, because our lack of understanding means we cannot be sure it's wrong, and if the others are all losers then we should pick the one we are unsure of. Sometimes, we just have to guess, or take our lumps on a wrong answer, and move on.

As you practice, use the opportunity to expand your vocabulary. Don't be afraid to crack open a dictionary! If the authors use an unfamiliar word, or a familiar word in an unfamiliar way, one time, they will probably do so with the same word again. Prepare yourself by adding to your storehouse of knowledge, and the test will get easier for you in the long run.

Keep up the good work, ask questions, challenge yourself, and keep that score climbing! See you again!

[saharsh]

Thanks for the question, saharsh, and welcome to the Forum! Happy to see more new blood in here, always!

The issue here appears to me to be one of vocabulary. While the more commonly used meaning of "observe" is to notice or perceive something, there is another meaning that is in play here. Observe also means to comply with something, like a set of standards or a religious doctrine. When in public I try to observe the rules of common courtesy (unlike when I'm at home - then I'm horrible). At a solemn occasion we might observe a moment of silence - that is, we comply with the request, join in the practice, or follow the protocol that's expected in that situation. That's the type of observation with which answers B and C are both dealing. Our author is talking about following the rules of proper language usage, not just seeing them.

Vocabulary issues can be a real issue on the LSAT. Our authors have set a high bar, and they expect us to hurdle it over and over again. They expect us to know the difference between direct and inverse proportions, to figure out what it means to undulate, to know that compromise also means to weaken or undermine, to know that increased virulence is a bad thing, and many, many more. It's up to us to use context clues when we are unsure of a word's intended meaning, especially when it appears to be a less-commonly-used meaning. If a word makes no sense in context - why would we be talking about looking at or seeing the rules of language? - then we have to stretch ourselves to search for something that makes more sense. When all else fails and we simply don't understand, we have to allow that answer to be a contender, because our lack of understanding means we cannot be sure it's wrong, and if the others are all losers then we should pick the one we are unsure of. Sometimes, we just have to guess, or take our lumps on a wrong answer, and move on.

As you practice, use the opportunity to expand your vocabulary. Don't be afraid to crack open a dictionary! If the authors use an unfamiliar word, or a familiar word in an unfamiliar way, one time, they will probably do so with the same word again. Prepare yourself by adding to your storehouse of knowledge, and the test will get easier for you in the long run.

Keep up the good work, ask questions, challenge yourself, and keep that score climbing! See you again!

Thank you so much for your reply. I think I was also not able to figure it out because I am non-native, so I get to hear native english very less, generally through tv-shows and movies. I will start making vocabulary list.

[lsatstudying11]

Hello!

I originally picked B, which I can now see is incorrect. However, I had a question about C. I originally eliminated C because it used the language of 'most talented,' which was not something included in the text. As I was reviewing the answer, I thought to myself that while being talented and being the best or great at something are definitely related, I just wasn't sure if the 'most talented' people are necessarily the best or the greatest of them. I wanted to ask how we can know that it is ultimately valid to equate the 'best users' or 'great authors' to the 'most talented?' Thank you for your help!

[KelseyWoods]

Hi lsatstudying11!

Glad you're paying such careful attention to these MBT answer choices! Answer choice (C) doesn't just say "most talented," though. It says "most talented at using a language." That seems pretty equivalent to the stimulus phrase "best users of a language." Being the best at something specific is generally accepted to be equivalent to being the most talent at that specific thing.

Notice that saying "the best at activity X" is different than just broadly saying "the best." If I just say that someone is "the best" it's unclear exactly what criteria I'm using to classify them as the best and maybe it has nothing to do with being particularly talented at anything specific. But if I say they are the best at using language, then you can reasonably assume that I think they are the most talented at using language.

Hope this helps!

Best,
Kelsey