LSAT Explanation PT 26, S2, Q18: Each child in a group of

LSAT Question Stem

Which one of the following, if true, most helps to explain why the order in which the tasks were performed was not significant for the beginning readers? 

Logical Reasoning Question Type

This is a Paradox question. 

Correct Answer

The correct answer to this question is C. 

LSAT Question Complete Explanation

First, let's understand the passage. It presents a group of young children who read aloud both a paragraph and a list of randomly ordered words from the paragraph. The more experienced readers made fewer pronunciation errors in the second task, regardless of whether it was the list or the paragraph. However, the order of the tasks didn't affect the performance of beginning readers, who consistently made fewer pronunciation errors when reading the paragraph than when reading the list.

Now, let's identify the question type and what it's asking us to do. This is a Paradox question, which means we need to find the answer choice that best helps to explain the discrepancy in the passage, specifically why the order in which the tasks were performed was not significant for the beginning readers.

Let's analyze each answer choice:

a) This answer choice suggests that the list was shorter than the paragraph. While this might explain why the paragraph could be more challenging, it doesn't address why the beginning readers consistently made fewer errors when reading the paragraph.

b) This answer choice explains that more experienced readers were better at using context to guess at difficult words than beginning readers. However, it doesn't explain why the beginning readers always made fewer pronunciation errors when reading the paragraph compared to the list.

c) This is the correct answer choice. It explains that the more experienced readers sounded out difficult words, while the beginning readers relied solely on context to guess at difficult words. This helps to explain the discrepancy because, if beginning readers rely on context, they would perform worse with the list of words since it lacks context.

d) This answer choice explains that both tasks used the same words, so the words would be recognized in the second task. While this explains why the more experienced readers improved on the second task, it doesn't explain why the beginning readers consistently struggled more with the list, even if it was the second task.

e) This answer choice merely confirms that beginning readers made more pronunciation errors than the more experienced readers in both tasks. It doesn't provide any explanation for why the beginning readers consistently made fewer errors when reading the paragraph compared to the list.

In conclusion, the correct answer is C, as it best explains the discrepancy in the passage by stating that beginning readers relied solely on context to guess at difficult words, which would make the list of words more challenging for them since it lacks context.