LSAT Explanation PT 43, S2, Q21: Curator: A magazine recently ran a

LSAT Question Stem

Which one of the following principles most helps to justify the curator's argumentation? 

Logical Reasoning Question Type

This is a Principle question. 

Correct Answer

The correct answer to this question is E. 

LSAT Question Complete Explanation

First, let's analyze the argument in the passage. The curator claims that a magazine story is misleading because it quotes three local residents who express moral outrage about a controversial art exhibit, implying that most local residents oppose the exhibit. However, the curator points out that these three residents are close friends, which may make their opinions nonrepresentative of the general public. The structure of the argument is as follows:

Premise: The magazine quotes three residents who express moral outrage about the exhibit.

Premise: These three residents are close friends.

Conclusion: The magazine story is misleading because it suggests that most local residents oppose the exhibit.

Let's think of an "Evaluate" question for this argument: "Are the opinions of these three close friends representative of the majority of local residents?"

Now, let's discuss the question type and what it's asking us to do. This is a Principle question, which means we need to find a principle that helps justify the curator's argumentation.

Let's go through each answer choice:

a) This answer choice isn't relevant to the curator's argument, as the issue is not about presenting the opinions of non-experts as experts. The curator is concerned about the representativeness of the sample.

b) This answer choice would only be applicable if we knew that local residents were likely to be evenly divided on the issue. Since we don't have enough information to determine this, it doesn't strengthen the curator's argument.

c) While the curator does believe that it's misleading to present the opinions of a few as evidence of what the majority thinks, we don't know if the moral outrage expressed by the residents is widely held. Therefore, this choice doesn't necessarily strengthen the curator's conclusion.

d) This answer choice misses the point of the curator's argument. The issue is not that the magazine implies that the three friends must agree with each other, but rather that their agreement implies that most other local residents agree as well.

e) This is the correct answer choice. It strengthens the curator's argument by stating that it's misleading to present the opinions of a potentially nonrepresentative sample of people as if they represent public opinion. Since the three close friends may have similar opinions due to their friendship, their opinions might not be representative of the larger population. This principle supports the curator's claim that the magazine story is misleading.