LSAT Question Stem

Which one of the following is most strongly supported by the information above? 

Logical Reasoning Question Type

This is a Most Strongly supported question. 

Correct Answer

The correct answer to this question is C. 

LSAT Question Complete Explanation

This LSAT problem presents a passage discussing mystery stories and the roles of a brilliant detective and their dull companion. The passage explains that the dull companion incorrectly solves the mystery using the same clues the detective uses to deduce the correct solution. This strategy allows readers to have a chance to solve the mystery while also diverting them from the correct solution. The question type is "Most Strongly Supported" (MSS), and we need to determine which of the answer choices is most strongly supported by the information in the passage.

To help understand the passage, imagine a mystery novel where Sherlock Holmes (the brilliant detective) and Dr. Watson (the dull companion) are presented with the same set of clues. Dr. Watson comes up with an incorrect solution, while Sherlock Holmes deduces the correct one. The author's strategy of including Dr. Watson's incorrect solution helps the reader engage with the story and try to solve the mystery themselves.

Now, let's analyze the answer choices:

a) Most mystery stories feature a brilliant detective who solves the mystery presented in the story.

- The passage states that mystery stories "often" feature a brilliant detective, but "often" is not the same as "most." Therefore, this answer choice is not strongly supported by the passage.

b) Mystery readers often solve the mystery in a story simply by spotting the mistakes in the reasoning of the detective's dull companion in that story.

- The passage does not provide enough information to determine if readers solve the mystery by spotting the dull companion's mistakes. We cannot conclude this from the given information.

c) Some mystery stories give readers enough clues to infer the correct solution to the mystery.

- This answer choice is supported by the passage. It states that clues are presented in the story and that the author's strategy gives readers a chance to solve the mystery. This means that some mystery stories provide enough clues for readers to infer the correct solution.

d) The actions of the brilliant detective in a mystery story rarely divert readers from the actions of the detective's dull companion.

- The passage does not provide enough information to determine if the brilliant detective's actions rarely divert readers from the dull companion's actions. We cannot conclude this from the given information.

e) The detective's dull companion in a mystery story generally uncovers the misleading clues that divert readers from the mystery's correct solution.

- This answer choice is not supported by the passage. The passage states that the dull companion infers an incorrect solution from the same clues the detective uses to solve the mystery. It does not say that the dull companion uncovers misleading clues; rather, it is their interpretation of the clues that is misleading.

Based on our analysis, the correct answer choice is (c): Some mystery stories give readers enough clues to infer the correct solution to the mystery. This is most strongly supported by the information provided in the passage.