LR Drill Set 12, Question 2
In a typical university class in calculus, only(58 more words not shown)
Which one of the following,(6 more words not shown)
- ASome students who(19 more words not shown)
- BStudents who attend(22 more words not shown)
- CStudents who attend(16 more words not shown)
- DStudents who do(21 more words not shown)
- EStudents who skip(24 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Maybe these are the students who do everything: the homework, the extra practice, perhaps even work with a tutor. Their grades could be better because of those other efforts. We can't give the practice sessions all the credit just because the students who attend them do well.
Accept the comparison we're given. In a typical class, the students who regularly attend these sessions get better grades on average. That doesn't mean every attendee beats every nonattendee, or that the same percentage attends in every university class. It also concerns sessions for standard calculus problems, not every possible kind of extra help.
The conclusion goes further than that comparison. It says the sessions help students learn to solve problems more effectively. They might.
But imagine the sessions add nothing and the students who attend already practice diligently at home. We'd still expect those students to do well.
What we’re looking for
For a weakener, I'd look for that difference between the people in the two groups. Give us a reason to suspect that something besides these sessions helps explain their grades.
Working the answers
- A
Solving a problem effectively needn't mean solving it quickly. A student might take longer and reach the right answer, which could be all that matters on an exam with enough time. Also, A concerns only some attendees; it doesn't undo the stated average difference. We'd have to add a connection between speed and performance that the answer doesn't supply.
- B
Taking more math courses later doesn't explain the present grade difference by itself. Perhaps those students already like math, or perhaps the sessions encourage their interest. B doesn't settle that. It therefore doesn't give us a clear reason to deny that the sessions help in this course.
- C
Wanting high grades isn't the contrast we need. The students who skip the sessions might want high grades just as much. C tells us about one group without establishing that this desire distinguishes it from the other group, or that students act on the desire in different ways.
- DCorrect
The students who regularly do their homework are more likely to attend the practice sessions. Now the groups differ in another activity that could help them learn calculus. Maybe doing the homework accounts for their better performance, while the sessions contribute little or nothing.
We don't have to prove that homework is the whole explanation. The point is that the grade comparison no longer gives the sessions such clear credit: the students who attend are also more likely to do something else useful.
- E
This removes one possible difference between the groups: attendance at other class sessions. If both groups are equally likely to attend those, skipping ordinary class becomes a less promising explanation of the grade gap. That helps the argument somewhat rather than weakening it. Other differences could remain, so E still wouldn't prove that the practice sessions cause the improvement.
More Weaken questions
Learn the LSAT our way
Our platform drills Weaken questions at your level and adjusts as you improve.