LSAT Explanation PT 44, S4, Q6: Doctors urge people to reduce their

LSAT Question Stem

The statement that moderate dietary changes often do not work to lower cholesterol levels plays which one of the following roles in the argument? 

Logical Reasoning Question Type

This is an Argument Part question. 

Correct Answer

The correct answer to this question is C. 

LSAT Question Complete Explanation

This LSAT problem is a Method of Reasoning - Argument Part question, which asks us to identify the role that a particular statement plays in the argument. In this case, we need to determine the role of the statement that "moderate dietary changes often do not work to lower cholesterol levels."

Let's break down the argument in the passage:

1. Premise: Doctors urge people to reduce their cholesterol levels through dietary changes.

2. Premise: Moderate dietary changes often do not work to lower cholesterol levels.

3. Conclusion: One may need to make more dramatic changes, such as switching to a vegetarian diet.

Now, let's evaluate each answer choice with respect to the role of the second premise in the argument:

a) This choice is incorrect. The second premise does not counter doctors' suggestions; rather, it highlights that moderate changes might not be enough to achieve the desired cholesterol reduction. The passage also mentions that moderate changes "often" do not work, leaving room for the possibility that they sometimes do.

b) This choice is also incorrect. The argument presents a vegetarian diet as an example of a more dramatic dietary change, not as a superior diet to any that contain meat. The claim that vegetarian diets are more healthful than any diets containing meat is not made in the passage.

c) This is the correct answer choice. The author's conclusion is that more significant dietary changes might be necessary to reduce cholesterol levels, and the second premise supports this conclusion by stating that moderate changes often do not work.

d) This choice is incorrect. The second premise is not offered as an explanation for the success of vegetarian diets in reducing cholesterol levels. Instead, it points out the potential insufficiency of moderate dietary changes in achieving cholesterol reduction.

e) This choice is also incorrect. After breaking down the argument into its components, it is clear that the second sentence is a premise, not a conclusion. Therefore, this answer choice does not accurately represent the role of the statement in the argument.