LSAT 73 Section 1 (LR) Question 1 (Spoil Alert) Forum

[h3jk5h]

Today an internal source from LSAC secretly revealed to me the first Logical Reasoning question on the September 2014 LSAT Exam. Due to my unconditional love of the TLS community, and based on the eternal principle, "Sharing is caring", I have decided to spoil this question to those who are willing to take shortcuts to realize their law school ambitions (which is undoubtedly justified). Enjoy:

1. Economist: The World Cup has illuminated a key reason for South America's relative economic stagnation compared to its northern counterpart in the 20th century. Even a casual observer would note that South American countries are, by and large, more successful at competitive soccer than United States or Canada throughout the history of the tournament. One can reasonably infer that an average person in South America plays more soccer than an average person in North America. This conclusively shows the distraction of soccer as a national obsession has lead to the economic ills that have plagued South American countries since their inception.

The economist's argument is vulnerable on the grounds that it,

A) Assumes what it seeks to propose.
B) Mistakes a necessary condition with a sufficient condition.
C) Makes an illegitimate appeal to authority, in this case, an economist whom his/her credibility has not yet been established.
D) Elevates the status of United States and Canada and attacks the character of South American citizens and the integrity of South American nations without warrant.
E) Invokes the judgement of a casual observer to confirm, an otherwise valid conclusion.

Note: This question is exceedingly difficult, and a wrong answer would result in an one-point deduction (new rule imposed by the LSAC as of 2014).

[jk148706]

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[rbrown0824]

C) What does the world cup know about the economy