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LSAT Conclusions

LSAT ConclusionsThis series of articles will demonstrate all you need to know about conclusions for the LSAT test. The series covers the following articles:

Introduction to LSAT Conclusions 

On the LSAT Test, the conclusion is the main point of the argument. The primary step in evaluating an argument is to identify the conclusion. The conclusion is so important that some Logical Reasoning questions simply ask you to identify the conclusion. For example:

  • Which of the following best summarizes the main point of the argument?
  • The author hopes to prove which of the following?
  • The argument seems to lead up to which of the following?
  • Which of the following is the author’s conclusion?

In addition to these questions, you cannot answer any other Logical Reasoning question correctly if you don’t understand the main point of the argument. If you misunderstand the conclusion, how can you successfully weaken or strengthen it? Furthermore, the premises and assumptions in an argument will only make sense in terms of the argument’s main idea.

After completing this lesson series you will be able to identify conclusions and easily handle conclusion questions.

Locating LSAT Conclusions
 
Any sentence in an argument stimulus could be the conclusion. The conclusion does not necessarily have to be the first or the last sentence, although it often is. Because of this, it’s a good idea to underline the conclusion in the sentence after you read the stimulus. This helps keep the conclusion in mind as you build a paraphrase, and keeps you from having to reread the entire argument to find the conclusion. Compare the following three arguments. They all say the same thing, even though the conclusion statement is in a different position in each one.

All pastries from the Smith Bakery have chocolate. Since this éclair is from the Smith Bakery, it must have chocolate in it.
 
This éclair must have chocolate in it. It’s from the Smith Bakery, and all pastries from the Smith Bakery have chocolate.
 
Since this éclair comes from the Smith Bakery, it must have chocolate in it. All pastries from the Smith Bakery have chocolate.

LSAT Conclusion Clue Words
 
Certain words can signal a conclusion. The following is a list of words and phrases that signal conclusions:

  • Therefore
  • Thus
  • In conclusion
  • It must follow
  • Accordingly
  • Consequently
  • Hence
  • For that reason
  • So
  • Ergo
  • Then
  • Thereupon

Of course, there are many more signals to a conclusion that you will learn as you practice. Sometimes the author doesn’t use a clue word. Sometimes the author doesn’t even state the conclusion. For example, here is an argument that features an unstated conclusion.

All pastries from the Smith Bakery have chocolate. This éclair is from the Smith Bakery.

The main idea the author is trying to make is that the éclair contains chocolate, even though that conclusion is not explicitly stated. The conclusion is an inference.

LSAT Conclusions Often Involve a Call To Action
 
Since not every LSAT stimulus contains convenient clue words to point out conclusions, you will often have to summarize the main point on your own. If you could pick one sentence — or better yet, create a simple phrase of your own — that summarized the entire argument, that would be the conclusion.
 
Often the conclusion is a call to action. Ask yourself “what does the author want me to do or understand?” That can help you separate the conclusion from the rest of the argument. Consider the following argument:

The government should reduce the amount of money it spends on drug-related law enforcement. Our nation is in the midst of an educational crisis that is unrivaled in our history. We need to spend that money on new schools and more teachers, not in locking up an occasional drug addict.

What does the author want you to do right now? Lock up fewer drug addicts? Not necessarily. Spend money on new schools? Eventually. But right now, the author wants you to reduce the amount of money spent on drug-related law enforcement. That is the call to action.

In the next article in the series, we will look at advanced techniques for Finding Conclusions on the LSAT Test.