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I thought I knew this, but I just took PT 54 and in LR2 #17, I debated between B and D.

The question is asking what role a certain sentence plays in the argument. B called it an illustration of a claim, and D called it a premise offered in support of a claim. I chose B, but the credited answer was D.

So...in LSATland, a premise is a statement the author makes that he presumes to be true, in order to draw his conclusion, and an illustration is...what? An example of something? If that's true, I don't get this particular question, but I want to know in general for future test Qs.

An Illustration is an example and will not be found among the terms of an argument's structure: Premise (Evidence), Assumption (which isn't given anyway), and Conclusion.

PhiloLogicGames wrote:An Illustration is an example and will not be found among the terms of an argument's structure: Premise (Evidence), Assumption (which isn't given anyway), and Conclusion.

Couldn't an illustration serve as evidence (eg a premise)?

Unshake wrote:

PhiloLogicGames wrote:An Illustration is an example and will not be found among the terms of an argument's structure: Premise (Evidence), Assumption (which isn't given anyway), and Conclusion.

Couldn't an illustration serve as evidence (eg a premise)?

Exactly. This is where I'm confused.

You're confusing the wrong things. In this case, it doesn't matter if illustration and premise are treated interchangeably.

B says the claim that "the criteria of legal responsibility for an action include but are not the same as those for moral responsibility." The argument never directly makes this claim. Hence, the sentence can't serve as an illustration to a claim that was never made.

In other words, the first part "It is offered as an illustration" is correct. However, the sentence isn't offered as an illustration for what the rest of B states. That's where the answer is wrong.

Hope this helps.

KevinP wrote:You're confusing the wrong things. In this case, it doesn't matter if illustration and premise are treated interchangeably.

B says the claim that "the criteria of legal responsibility for an action include but are not the same as those for moral responsibility." The argument never directly makes this claim. Hence, the sentence can't serve as an illustration to a claim that was never made.

In other words, the first part "It is offered as an illustration" is correct. However, the sentence isn't offered as an illustration for what the rest of B states. That's where the answer is wrong.

Hope this helps.

Thanks, KevinP. You're right, I was focusing on the wrong thing in this question.