Basic Flashcards
7 cards from real LNAT practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Basic flashcards as text
A passage argues that capital punishment deters crime by citing a drop in murder rates after executions are publicised. The most significant methodological flaw in this evidence is:
Answer: Correlation between execution publicity and murder rates does not establish causation.
Without controlling for other variables that affect murder rates, a correlation between publicised executions and reduced homicide cannot establish that executions caused the change.
Which of the following best illustrates an argument 'by analogy'?
Answer: 'Since torturing animals is wrong, and factory farming involves similar suffering, factory farming is also wrong.'
Analogical argument draws on the similarities between two cases to transfer a moral or logical judgment from one to the other.
When an LNAT question asks for the 'main conclusion' of a passage, you should select the statement that:
Answer: All the other key points in the passage are designed to support.
The main conclusion is the claim that the entire argument is structured to establish; the supporting points (premises) all point toward it.
A passage defends affirmative action in university admissions. Which argument would be most effective in rebutting the defence?
Answer: Selecting applicants on group membership rather than individual merit may disadvantage equally qualified candidates from non-targeted groups.
The strongest rebuttal targets the tension between group-based selection and the principle of individual merit, raising a fairness concern that directly challenges the policy's justification.
What does it mean for an argument to be 'valid' in formal logic?
Answer: If all the premises are true, the conclusion must necessarily follow.
Validity is a structural property: a valid argument guarantees the conclusion follows from the premises, regardless of whether the premises are actually true.
A passage claims that because a proposed law would be difficult to enforce, it should not be enacted. This argument rests on which underlying assumption?
Answer: Unenforced laws undermine the rule of law and should therefore not be created.
The argument assumes that practical enforceability is a sufficient reason to reject legislation because unenforceable laws erode legal authority and compliance norms.
In an LNAT essay response, which of the following strategies best demonstrates sophisticated legal reasoning?
Answer: Stating a clear position, acknowledging the strongest opposing argument, and explaining why your view nonetheless prevails.
Strong LNAT essays take a clear position, engage seriously with counterarguments, and explain why those counterarguments do not defeat the thesis—demonstrating genuine analytical depth.