#6 - Must Be True

[rameday]

Hello,

So I just finished:

Passage 1 June 2005 Questions 1-7

I got question 6 wrong. My two contenders were C & D and I ultimately chose C. The correct answer was D.

I would love some explanation as to where I went wrong.

A

[BethRibet]

Hi Rameday,

Thanks for writing.

For question 6, the support for answer choice D is pretty explicitly indicated between lines 32-34. The author does cite this claim (made by the "critics"). C sounds a bit like some things that are stated in the passage, but it isn't actually stated anywhere. The words "income" and "value" are used, but not in the way that C states, for instance.

Hope this helps!
Beth

[andriana.caban]

I chose E. While I was doing the problem, I knew that E was wrong (because the author didn't talk about most nations) But I was unsure of what the question was asking me in the first place?

Can you just explain why E is the correct answer choice?

[Francis O'Rourke]

Hi Andriana,

The correct answer for this question was answer choice (D). The author states in lines 32-34 that without limitations on the timber harvest, the land would be seriously damaged. This is evidence that limits are needed to save one area (i.e. the area described in the passage) from environmental (i.e. land) damage.

Answer choice (E) states that most nations define their own prosperity in terms beyond mere monetary value. This is a position that the critics want to establish, but nowhere does the author state that most nations currently take such a position.

[LearntheLSAT]

Hi, brining this back because I'm a little confused by the template of the question stem. Is it asking us to see where the author inserts his opinion? I was looking for an answer that neither took the critics side or claims nor the economist's side. Can you expand for future questions like this if this was a correct way of logic thinking.

[Claire Horan]

Hi LearntheLSAT,

No wonder you had trouble you really overthought the question stem! Its asks which claim the author cites. That just means which of the answer choices is mentioned in the passage. It's a must be true.

Also, to clarify, it doesn't matter what the author's opinion is, whether he or she agrees or disagrees with the claim. "Cites" just means "refers to".

As far as avoiding this confusion on future questions, most question stems will fit easily within one of the question types you will learn during your preparation. It's possible to see an unfamiliar question type, but first consider whether its one of the usual ones in disguise.

Thanks for the question!

[g_lawyered]

Hi Claire,
I too make the same mistake Learnthe LSAT posted about the question stem. I understood the question to ask what the author cited meaning what's the author's opinion on the debate/issue of defining prosperity. For this reason, I eliminated all answers except C and got it wrong. I now see that the author states what the critics believe as you explained in Lines 32-34. For similar question to these, what's a good strategy to remain focus on what the question means. Because I though the question stem was out of the ordinary. Any tips will help!
Thanks,
Gabriela

[Frank Peter]

Hi Gabriela,

If a question stem is asking specifically about the author's opinion or perspective, the language of the question stem would be a little more straightforward in that regard. This question stem doesn't really ask directly about the author's perspective or any arguments being made. This is really just a straightforward must be true-style question - meaning that we need to be able to confirm that the content of the answer choice that we choose actually appears somewhere in the passage.

Must be true questions aren't too out of the ordinary in the reading comp section, although the question stems can be worded in a variety of ways. The most important thing to keep in mind is you have to make sure that the answer choice that you choose is confirmed in the passage.

[ellenolmore]

Hi,

I was vacillating between B and D but got this one wrong in the end. Why is it not B? Looking at the passage it seems that environmental protection measures are indeed unpopular and rejected my the community (the timber example). The statement from the passage that confuses me, and made me not choose D is the one that says that “without the harvest limitations, they say, the land on which the community depends would be seriously damaged.” Maybe I was thinking in terms of conditional statements and trying to diagram that in my head but that made me believe that environmental focuses were not the main concern, but rather the concern was prosperity. Hopefully my question makes sense.

Best,
Ellen

[Luke Haqq]

Hi ellenolmore!

For a question like this, it's important to find a specific line reference to justify one's selection of an answer choice over others.

Here, one can find direct support for answer choice (D) at lines 32 to 34. Answer (D) states "that timber harvest limits are needed to save one area from environmental damage." Those lines of the passage, which you note in your comment, state that "Without the harvest limitations, they say, the land on which the community depends would be seriously damaged." This is specifically the situation "of one rural community" (lines 21-22). The locals protest the harvest limits because they'd lower wages, but if there are no limits, their land will be damaged.

In contrast, there are a couple problems with (B). First, the timber example doesn't clearly show that environmental protection measures are unpopular, as it only concerns "one rural community." There'd need to be broader support, or at least indication that this one community is representative of many others. Second, the language of (B) refers to what is "often" rejected by "communities" in the plural. Again, this isn't supported by the limited example of one rural community.