Practice Quiz

LSAT - Question List

Select how would you like to study

Study Mode Free Daily Question Test Mode
26. Doctoral programs have low graduation rates, and by some estimates, as many as 50% of entrants fail to complete their doctorates. This is one of the reasons why doctoral programs need to shorten their time to completion. In the humanities, a Ph.D. can take nine or ten years to complete, meaning that students spend a long time earning little money. It is next to impossible for students to focus on their field for ten years on meager salaries when they have financial and familial obligations that can distract them from their ultimate goal. Doctoral programs are only valuable if they can produce future successful academics, and they are currently failing to meet this goal.

The claim that doctoral programs need to shorten their time to completion fulfills which of the following roles of the argument?
  1. It is what the argument tries to establish.
  2. It provides essential support for the main point.
  3. It provides evidence that Ph.D. programs are not valuable.
  4. It is background information not relevant to the main point of the passage.
  5. It is an example of how humanities Ph.D. programs are failing their students.
See answer
27. Letter writer: “In a recent op-ed piece, your newspaper asserted that the United States government is justified in requiring that academic researchers only receive public funding if they are not conducting research whose results may be harmful to the United States. Many researchers have proposed researching the effects of drone strikes on civilian populations in the Middle East, but have been denied any kind of federal funding to do so. Your newspaper justified this by stating that the United States needs to restrict research in order to ‘ensure fundamental freedoms.’ But isn’t one of those fundamental freedoms the freedom to conduct research without fear of the government? I don’t understand how your newspaper can put forth this opinion.”

The letter writer criticizes the op-ed by:
  1. Disputing the facts upon which the op-ed was based.
  2. Describing an exception to the general rule described in the op-ed.
  3. Pointing out an inconsistency in the op-ed.
  4. Refuting an assumption upon which the op-ed was based.
  5. Using an ad hominem attack on the author.
See answer
28. A student organization planned to partially fund an upcoming trip by having a bake sale on campus everyday. The organization was unable to go on the trip because the bake sale revenues were lower than expected.

If the statements above are true, which one of the following must also be true?
  1. The organization did not charge enough for the products in the bake sale.
  2. The trip’s cost was greater than the revenue raised from funding sources other than the bake sale.
  3. The organization solely relied on the bake sale to fund the trip.
  4. The organization exhibited poor planning in choosing the time, place, or products for the bake sale.
  5. Students on campus were unwilling to buy baked goods and support the organization.
See answer
29. Bus passenger: “Cutting off bus routes to the most distant suburbs is short sighted and hurts our citizens. Those routes may not have been the most profitable, but they were vital for residents in those suburbs to get to work and to school. Now, many citizens have no affordable way to commute.”

City councilman: “Cutting off the bus routes was the only way to protect our citizens. The unprofitable bus routes were causing the bus fares to increase at exorbitant rates, making it difficult for all citizens to afford the bus. Cutting off the unprofitable routes allows most citizens to still utilize the bus services at a reasonable price. Keeping the unprofitable routes would have meant raising the cost to where residents in the distant suburbs could not afford the bus anyway.”

The city councilman’s claim disputes which aspect of the bus passenger’s argument?
  1. Whether the bus routes to distant suburbs were profitable.
  2. Whether citizens in the distant suburbs have other ways to commute.
  3. Whether cutting off the bus routes was good for residents in distant suburbs.
  4. Whether cutting off the bus routes hurts citizens.
  5. Whether the unprofitable bus routes were difficult to maintain.
See answer
30. Bus passenger: “Cutting off bus routes to the most distant suburbs is short sighted and hurts our citizens. Those routes may not have been the most profitable, but they were vital for residents in those suburbs to get to work and to school. Now, many citizens have no affordable way to commute.”

City councilman: “Cutting off the bus routes was the only way to protect our citizens. The unprofitable bus routes were causing the bus fares to increase at exorbitant rates, making it difficult for all citizens to afford the bus. Cutting off the unprofitable routes allows most citizens to still utilize the bus services at a reasonable price. Keeping the unprofitable routes would have meant raising the cost to where residents in the distant suburbs could not afford the bus anyway.”

Pointing out that unprofitable bus routes were causing bus fares to increase plays what role in the city councilman’s argument?
  1. It is the main point of the argument.
  2. It is a principle that justifies the councilman’s argument.
  3. It is evidence in support of the councilman’s main point.
  4. It is an ad hominem attack against the bus passenger.
  5. It responds to a specific question raised by the bus passenger’s claim
See answer

Select how would you like to study

Study Mode Free Daily Question Test Mode