Would it be right for the government to abandon efforts to determine at what levels to allow toxic substances in our ...

Mehran March 31, 2018

It is important to remember that the correct answer choice on a Main Point question has two requirements: (1) it must be true and (2) it is the main point.

The author's conclusion here is the answer to the question posed at the beginning of the stimulus, i.e. "Would it be right for the government to abandon efforts to determine at what levels to allow toxic substances in our food supply?"

The answer? "Only if it can reasonably be argued that the only acceptable level of toxic substances in food is zero."

We know "only if" introduces a necessary condition so we would diagram this as follows:

RGAE ==> RAZ
not RAZ ==> not RGAE

Notice that the author then proceeds to invoke the sufficient condition of the contrapositive, i.e. it cannot be reasonably argued that the only acceptable level of toxic substances in food is zero.

Therefore, the conclusion here is that it would not be right for the government to abandon efforts to determine at what levels to allow toxic substances in our food supply.

Notice that this is exactly what (A) states, "the government should continue trying to determine acceptable levels for toxic substances in our food supply," so (A) would be the correct answer here.

While (D) is true, it is not the main point of the stimulus so (D) cannot be the correct answer here.

Hope this helps! Please let us know if you have any other questions.

jjohnson7435 April 4, 2018

Im sorry, but what does the letters in the diagram stand for? Guess I just do not understand the diagram.

Mehran April 6, 2018

Hey there, thanks for your post. No need to apologize! Getting used to diagramming is a skill that takes some time.

The statement "Only if it can reasonably be argued that the only acceptable level of toxic substances in food is zero" is diagrammed as a necessary condition: RAZ (Reasonably Argued acceptable level is Zero)

If this necessary condition is satisfied, then it would be OK for government to abandon efforts to determine at what levels to allow toxic substances in our food supply. This is a sufficient condition, that can be diagrammed as: RGAE (Right for Government to Abandon Efforts)

Put them together, and you get:
RGAE ==> RAZ

Hope this helps! Please let us know if you have any additional questions.

jjohnson7435 April 14, 2018

I saw June and July study schedule. When will Sept study schedule be posted?

Mehran April 15, 2018

September 2018 calendar is live. Please contact support if you are unable to locate it on LSATMax Online.