October 2010 LSAT Section 3 Question 2

Since there is no survival value in an animal's having an organ that is able to function when all its other organs ha...

Shirnel on January 10, 2020

Nevertheless indicator

When I first read question 3, I thought the first sentence was the conclusion because the following sentence seemed like a counter premise. What is a helpful tip that I can use to not get tripped up by this?

Create a free account to read and take part in forum discussions.

Already have an account? log in

SamA on January 16, 2020

Hello @Shirnel,

I think it is great that you are paying attention to conclusion indicators. Nevertheless, it seems that you misunderstood the indicator in this case.

Do you see how I just used "nevertheless" to introduce my conclusion? This is very similar to what was done in the stimulus. First the author concedes that budget cuts must be made. This is the counter-premise that you were referring to. Words like "nevertheless" and "however" indicate a change of direction, usually leading to the conclusion. I'll give a few examples.

I understand that football is a violent sport. Nevertheless, it should continue to be played.

It is true that earth is the only inhabitable planet that we know of. However, we will probably find another one in the near future.

(concession - however/nevertheless - conclusion) is a format that you will become familiar with as you see more examples.