June 1991 LSAT Section 3 Question 19

Train service suffers when a railroad combines commuter and freight service. By dividing its attention between its fr...

NicoleBL on April 15 at 01:45PM

Confused why Choice D is not the answer?

Hi, so I was stuck between Choice D and C. I went with choice D. The reason why is because the stimulus stated in the first premise, that you must concentrate exclusively on one of the two markets. So I thought it strengthened the conclusions. Then, when you negate it, it weakens one side of the argument. So, is that why it is not the answer because it doesn't FULLY weaken both sides of the argument?

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Emil-Kunkin on April 19 at 09:36PM

The first sentence tells us that you must focus on one or the other in order to have good service. This is not the same as having a successful business. It might be possible to be successful in rail without good service (e.g. Amtrak outside the northeast corridor).

If we negate D we are left with the idea that concentrating on one side does not guarantee success. This doesn't weaken the argument, let alone destroy it. The argument is not predicated on the idea that focusing on one is a sufficient condition, rather, it is predicated on the idea that it's necessary.

NicoleBL on April 22 at 05:58PM

Thank you!