Looking for the most opinionated statements. Use the phrase "so what" to help you find the conclusion.
RaviDecember 27, 2018
Hey there,
Great question. In identifying the conclusion, the key is to look for the statement that the stimulus as a whole is working to support. if there is a statement or sentence in the stimulus that is supported by the rest of the contents of the stimulus, then that is precisely what we're looking for.
In this question, we know that some legislators refuse to commit public funds for new scientific research if they cannot be assured that the research will contribute to the public welfare. In stating that "some legislators" refuse to commit public funds in the beginning of the argument, the author is most likely preparing to make a counterargument to what these people are purported to think. The next sentence reveals her conclusion, which is, "Such a position ignores the lessons of experience." In other words, the author believes that public funding for scientific research should not be contingent upon the guarantee that such research will contribute to the public welfare. We know this is the conclusion of the argument because the rest of the stimulus provides support for this statement.
Now that we've identified the conclusion of the argument and have a strong grasp of it, it's our job to find the answer that paraphrases our prediction.
Answer E says, "Lack of guarantees that new scientific research will contribute to the public welfare is not sufficient reason for legislators to refuse to commit public funds to new scientific research." This answer does a great job in paraphrasing what we've identified the conclusion as, and it's our answer choice.
As noted above, we were able to find the conclusion of the argument by analyzing each sentence and seeing how it fit into the rest of the stimulus. Was it providing support for another statement, or were other statements supporting it?
It's also important to note that some LSAT passages contain multiple conclusions. In these passages, there is still only one main conclusion. Any other conclusions within the passage are subsidiary conclusions, which are conclusions that are supported by their own premises but are also used as support for another conclusion.
Does this help? Let us know if you have more questions!
