LSAT 111 | Section 4 | Logical Reasoning: Q19

LR Question 19 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: Several critics have claimed that any contemporary poet who…

QUESTION TYPE: Sufficient Assumption

CONCLUSION: It is false to say that writing formal poetry is a politically conservative act.

REASONING: Some progressive feminists write formal poetry.

ANALYSIS: Just because someone is a progressive feminist does not mean that none of their actions are conservative. The two poets mentioned could be progressive except when they write formal poetry. They would be committing a conservative act when writing poetry.

It’s similar to the idea that a pacifist is capable of committing a violent act, or a villain is capable of committing a kind act. The nature of the act doesn’t necessarily affect who they are.

All of the wrong answers ignore the fact that the conclusion is about whether the act of writing a formal poem is politically conservative.

___________

1. This talks about being a political conservative. The stimulus talks about committing a politically conservative act. Different things.
2. Same as A. You can commit an act that is politically conservative even if you aren’t a political conservative.
3. CORRECT. Because the two poets are progressive, then none of their acts are politically conservative. Therefore, writing formal poetry can’t be a conservative act. 
4. The stimulus didn’t say if formal poetry had to be politically conservative. Writing formal poetry was claimed to be a politically conservative act, even if the poems themselves weren’t really conservative. 
5. The stimulus did not talk about the consequences of poems. It was addressing the question of whether a writing a formal poem necessarily had to be a politically conservative act.