June 2004 LSAT Section 3 Question 12

Some argue that because attaining governmental power in democracies requires building majority coalitions, it is a ne...

andreaskormusis on January 6, 2021

Can this be better explained than just no answer?

This is a lot of complicated wording and premises, it would be helpful to have an explanation on why this answer is correct. I got it right, but it took me a bit too long to get to that answer, so can someone explain what I'm looking for here so that I can start to recognize patterns and maybe speed up my times?

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shunhe on January 9, 2021

Hi @andreaskormusis,

Thanks for the question! So this is a strengthen with necessary premise question. First, identify the conclusion. The conclusion is that “[policymakers shifting policies] is more a benefit than an evil.” The first sentence sets forth an argument that the author then argues against in the second sentence. The premise the author uses the support her conclusion is that this shifting lets democracies adapt more easily to serve public interests.

Now take a look at (C), which says that the author assumes that when making government policy, adaptability is more important than strictly adhering to principle. Use the negation test. If (C) is negated, it means that adaptability is less important. Well, that means that shifting policies would be more an evil than a benefit. That would completely destroy the argument, and so (C) is the necessary assumption.

Hope this helps! Feel free to ask any other questions that you might have.

andreaskormusis on January 11, 2021

Thanks! I hope you guys can get onto putting these breakdowns into your answers ASAP. Those breakdowns are half the reason I'm able to improve and when we are left in the dark it's equivalent to telling us students were wrong and walking away. In the moment being able to read a breakdown of why I'm wrong is what truly helps me get the next questions right more frequently and I know most students are the same way.

shunhe on January 21, 2021

Glad I was able to help! We are working on putting up the breakdowns, but thank you for the feedback!