Weak. 13-2-1 anyone really good at elimination Forum

[ltowns1]

Alrighty, so the assumption is new books can serve the interests of the public. I have reviewed this question, and it's not that hard. I just wanted to know could we get rid of (b) and (c) because they don't necessarily have a tie to the idea of new books???

I know one problem with these two answers is that it does not address the service part of the conclusion, but I don't really see any connection to "new books" idea either for this two answers. I'm basically trying to figure out as many was to eliminate these answers as possible.

[ChillTomG]

Answer choice B actually strengthens the argument because it weakens the counterpremise given in the first clause. (I'm not sure if I am allowed to quote the LSAT questions on here). If an answer choice weakens a counterargument, then it certainly strengthens the argument. Here the counterpremise is that paperback books wear out more quickly (this goes against the argument's conclusion), and the answer choice weakens this by stating that it is near-trivial to counter this problem by reinforcing the covers.

Answer choice C is irrelevant to the argument. Note however that if the answer choice had swapped the words "paperback" and "hardcover", it would be correct. How does the fact that many books are only available as paperback backs affect the argument that the library should only purchase paperback books? If the library only buys paperback books, then it is irrelevant that many books are only available as paperback books.

Hope that helps.