The proper way to plan a scientific project is first to decide its goal and then to plan the best way to accomplish t...

Naz August 21, 2015

Conclusion: its is abundantly clear that the space station should not be built.

Why? We are told that the proper way to plan a scientific project is first to decide its goal and then to plan the best way to accomplish that goal. It is then explained that when the Cold War ended, the United States space station did not conform to this ideal.

What's the issue here? Well, just because the space station did not conform to this ideal in proper planning of a scientific project, must we necessarily not build the space station? We have not been given any information leading us to believe that I we have this one flaw, i.e. if we do not have the proper way to plan a scientific project, then that project should not be built at all.

This is exactly what answer choice (E) is illustrating: "concludes that a shortcoming," i.e. that the scientific project was not properly planned, "is fatal," i.e. the scientific project shouldn't occur at all, having produced evidence only of the existence of that shortcoming.

Answer choice (A) is incorrect because it describes an ad hominem flaw where the person making the argument is being attacked as opposed to the argument itself. We have no such flaw in this passage.

Hope that clears things up! Please let us know if you have any other questions.

Advaith November 7, 2015

Thanks Naz

bonelle July 14, 2020

Do you have any recommendations for how to interpret abstract answers such as this one. I excluded this answer because I could not understand what it was saying; however, as soon as I read your "translation" it became clear.

Thank you!

Victoria July 15, 2020

Hi @bonelle,

When I was studying for the LSAT, I also had a hard time with these abstract answer choices. It can be difficult to take a very concrete argument and then address it from such a high level. I have two pieces of advice for you moving forward that I found really helped me.

(1) Always make sure that you have a complete understanding of what the passage is concluding and how it draws this conclusion before you address the question stem. If you can pick out the flaw in your own words first, there is a better chance that you will be able to apply your knowledge to the abstract answer choices and select the right one.

(2) As you work your way through practice questions, keep a list of these sorts of abstract answer choices and their "translations," as you say. By ensuring that you understand each one of the options, what they mean, and why they are (in)correct, you can better prepare yourself for future abstract questions as you will begin to see similar language the more questions you do and you'll likely learn some new words along the way.

Hope this helps! Keep up the good work and please let us know if you have any further questions.