LSAT Main Point and Primary Purpose 2 â Questions and Answers
Question 1: A passage argues that urban heat islands are worsening due to reduced green space, then proposes mandatory tree-planting ordinances as a remedy. What is the primary purpose of this passage?
- To explain the history of urban planning
- To advocate for a policy solution to a documented environmental problem (Correct answer)
- To compare temperatures across different cities
- To critique existing environmental regulations
Correct answer: To advocate for a policy solution to a documented environmental problem
The passage identifies a problem (urban heat islands) and argues for a specific policy remedy (tree-planting ordinances), making advocacy for that solution its primary purpose.
Question 2: When a Reading Comprehension passage presents multiple viewpoints on a controversy and then explicitly endorses one, the main point is most likely:
- A neutral summary of all viewpoints presented
- The author's preferred position among those debated (Correct answer)
- The most extreme position in the debate
- The historical background of the controversy
Correct answer: The author's preferred position among those debated
When an author presents competing views and then endorses one, that endorsed position constitutes the main point of the passage.
Question 3: A Logical Reasoning argument concludes: 'Therefore, the city should not build the new stadium.' This conclusion is best described as:
- A piece of background information
- The main point the argument is designed to establish (Correct answer)
- A premise supporting a broader claim
- An example illustrating a general principle
Correct answer: The main point the argument is designed to establish
In Logical Reasoning, the conclusionâsignaled by 'therefore'âis the main point the argument's premises are intended to support.
Question 4: An author spends the first paragraph describing a scientific puzzle, the second presenting two competing hypotheses, and the final paragraph explaining why one hypothesis better fits the data. The primary purpose is to:
- Summarize the history of a scientific field
- Argue that one hypothesis better explains the available evidence (Correct answer)
- Describe experimental methods used by researchers
- Identify flaws in both competing hypotheses
Correct answer: Argue that one hypothesis better explains the available evidence
The structureâpuzzle, competing explanations, evaluationâculminates in the author arguing that one hypothesis is superior, which is the primary purpose.
Question 5: Which of the following most accurately expresses the main point of an argument that states: 'Since all mammals are warm-blooded and dolphins are mammals, dolphins must be warm-blooded'?
- All warm-blooded animals are mammals
- Dolphins share characteristics with other marine animals
- Dolphins are warm-blooded because they are mammals (Correct answer)
- Mammals are defined by their aquatic habitat
Correct answer: Dolphins are warm-blooded because they are mammals
The conclusion drawn from the premisesâthat dolphins are warm-bloodedâis the main point of this syllogistic argument.
Question 6: A passage criticizes a popular diet trend by examining its scientific basis, surveying contrary studies, and concluding that its benefits are overstated. The primary purpose is to:
- Recommend an alternative diet to readers
- Challenge the scientific credibility of a popular dietary claim (Correct answer)
- Explain the nutritional needs of the average person
- Praise researchers who studied the diet trend
Correct answer: Challenge the scientific credibility of a popular dietary claim
The passage systematically dismantles the scientific basis of the diet trend, making its primary purpose one of critical challenge.
Question 7: On the LSAT, a question asks: 'Which one of the following most accurately expresses the main point of the argument?' The best answer will:
- Restate a premise verbatim from the stimulus
- Capture the conclusion the premises are meant to support (Correct answer)
- Introduce new information not found in the stimulus
- Describe the method of reasoning used in the argument
Correct answer: Capture the conclusion the premises are meant to support
Main point questions require identifying the conclusionâthe claim the premises supportânot restating premises or adding new information.
LSAT Main Point and Primary Purpose 2
A passage argues that urban heat islands are worsening due to reduced green space, then proposes mandatory tree-planting ordinances as a remedy.
What is the primary purpose of this passage?