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Course: LSAT > Unit 1

Lesson 6: Logical Reasoning – Articles

Identify the conclusion | Learn more

How do we identify the main conclusion of an argument?

Some questions present you with an argument and ask you to identify its main conclusion. How do you go about finding it?

Let's first establish a few definitions:

The basics

Support: A claim that acts as evidence for another claim.
Conclusion: A claim that is backed by support.
Background: A statement that provides contextual information but doesn’t play a role in the argument.

Some specifics

There are actually two different kinds of conclusions:

Main conclusion:

The claim that is backed by the rest of the argument as a whole
Backed by support, but does not itself support any other claim
The claim that the argument as a whole is trying to establish

Sub-conclusion:

Also called intermediate or subsidiary conclusions
Claims that function as both conclusion and support
A conclusion that supports a further conclusion (or conclusions)
Backed by support, and simultaneously support a different claim

Every argument has one and only one main conclusion. Not all arguments have sub-conclusions, but many do. So it’s not enough on this question type to know that a statement expresses a conclusion. We have to go one step further and figure out if it’s the main conclusion or just a sub-conclusion.

The Task: Differentiate the main conclusion from support, background information, and sub-conclusions.

Example

Some paleontologists have suggested that Apatosaurus, a huge dinosaur, was able to gallop. This, however, is unlikely, because galloping would probably have broken Apatosaurus’s legs. Experiments with modern bones show how much strain they can withstand before breaking. By taking into account the diameter and density of Apatosaurus leg bones, it is possible to calculate that those bones could not have withstood the strains of galloping.

Which one of the following most accurately expresses the conclusion drawn by the argument as a whole?

(A) Galloping would probably have broken the legs of Apatosaurus.

(B) It is possible to calculate that Apatosaurus leg bones could not have withstood the strain of galloping.

(C) The claim of paleontologists that Apatosaurus was able to gallop is likely to be incorrect.

(D) If galloping would have broken the legs of Apatosaurus, then Apatosaurus was probably unable to gallop.

(E) Modern bones are quite similar in structure and physical properties to the bones of Apatosaurus.

How should we tackle this question?

✓ Paraphrase the overall idea or "point" of the stimulus in your own words.

The main conclusion is the statement that the arguer is trying to prove, and everything else is in its service. It's usually a broad claim. It’s often a prediction, value judgment, recommendation, interpretation, or theory, but it can also be a simple statement of something the arguer believes to be true.

In this case, what’s the overall idea or takeaway of the argument? What is the main thing it’s trying to convince us to believe? Something like:

Some paleontologists think the Apatosaurus could gallop, but they’re wrong.

This is a common structure: the arguer introduces a theory, claims that the theory is wrong, and then provides evidence supporting that claim. The conclusion can be rephrased as simply:

The galloping Apatosaurus theory is wrong.

or even more simply,

Apatosaurus couldn’t gallop.

We have a very strong prediction, and on Test Day, we would be able to go directly to the choices at this point to find the match for our prediction. But first, let's look at a few more approaches that you could take for this question type.

✓ Use conclusion and support indicator words to help identify the role of each claim in the overall argument.

To understand how the statements in an argument relate to each other, and to help identify the role of any given statement, it’s usually useful to look for indicator words, which help reveal an argument’s structure.

Statements that include conclusion-indicator words are likely conclusions (though it’s still up to you to figure out if a given statement is the main conclusion). Statements that begin with support-indicator words such as “since” and “because” are acting as evidence for other claims, so they can’t be the main conclusion–you can eliminate those statements if they appear in choices.

For more help on conclusion and support indicators, you can consult the article Intro to Logical Reasoning arguments

But indicator words are not always present, so we don’t want to rely on them exclusively. Even without indicator words, it’s possible to infer whether each claim is the main conclusion, a sub-conclusion, support, or background.

(A) Galloping would probably have broken the legs of Apatosaurus.

This doesn't match our prediction, and it's also signaled in the argument by the word "because", which is a support indicator. It helps explain why the paleontologists were probably wrong.

(B) It is possible to calculate that Apatosaurus leg bones could not have withstood the strain of galloping.

This doesn't match our prediction, and it's part of the argument that shows why the Apatosaurus probably couldn't gallop.

This choices matches our prediction—every other claim in the argument serves to support this claim, and this claim does not, in turn, support anything else.

(D) If galloping would have broken the legs of Apatosaurus, then Apatosaurus was probably unable to gallop.

This might have been tempting, since it does include the main conclusion that Apatosaurus probably couldn't gallop, but it's phrased conditionally, whereas the argument isn't structured conditionally.

(E) Modern bones are quite similar in structure and physical properties to the bones of Apatosaurus.

This doesn't match our prediction, because it's not what the arguer is trying to prove. It's somewhat implied because of the inclusion of the experiments with modern bones, but it's not what the arguer sets out to persuade us of, so it can't be the main conclusion.

The answer is (C).

Summary

✓ Paraphrase the overall idea or "point" of the stimulus in your own words.
✓ Use conclusion and support indicator words to help identify the role of each claim in the overall argument.

Common incorrect choices

Wrong element: These incorrect choices include statements from the stimulus that act as support, background, and sub-conclusions. Sub-conclusions can be particularly hard to differentiate from the main conclusion because they're often signaled by the same keywords (thus, therefore, hence, etc.).

Valid inferences: Other incorrect choices may state something that can be inferred from statements in the argument but that isn't the argument’s main conclusion.

Not quite/too strong: Finally, some of the incorrect choices may be only slightly inaccurate misstatements of the main conclusion. For example, if the actual conclusion is that something is likely to be true, an incorrect choice may say that it is definitely true. This choice is incorrect because it's stronger than the actual conclusion.

Your turn!

Practice Question 1

Florist: Some people like to have green carnations on St. Patrick's Day. But flowers that are naturally green are extremely rare. Thus, it is very difficult for plant breeders to produce green carnations. Before St. Patrick's Day, then, it is wise for florists to stock up on white carnations, which are fairly inexpensive and quite easy to dye green.

Which one of the following most accurately expresses the overall conclusion of the florist's argument?

(Choice A)
It is a good idea for florists to stock up on white carnations before St. Patrick's Day.
(Choice B)
Flowers that are naturally green are very rare.
(Choice C)
There are some people who like to have green carnations on St. Patrick's Day.
(Choice D)
White carnations are fairly inexpensive and can easily be dyed green.
(Choice E)
It is very difficult to breed green carnations.

Remember to paraphrase the argument and distill a simple takeaway. Then, you can break the argument down into individual claims:

Some people like to have green carnations on St. Patrick's Day.
But flowers that are naturally green are extremely rare.
Thus, it is very difficult for plant breeders to produce green carnations.
Before St. Patrick's Day, then, it is wise for florists to stock up on white carnations,
White carnations are fairly inexpensive and quite easy to dye green.

The indicators words “Thus” and “then” suggest that Claims 3 and 4 are conclusions. But which is the main conclusion?

Some final thoughts about identifying conclusions

Don't use conclusion indicator words as an automatic shortcut! It's very possible to see the word "thus" towards the end of a passage and have that claim not be the main conclusion.
If you're having trouble, use process of elimination—start with what you know to be evidence, and eliminate the choices with those claims.
To become familiar with specific types of conclusions so that you can gain speed in your argument analysis, check out our article about Types of conclusions.

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Amber-Leigh Polowich
Posted 3 years ago. Direct link to Amber-Leigh Polowich's post “In hint 3 "Does the fact ...”
In hint 3 "Does the fact that it’s HARD TO DYE flowers green support any further conclusion?" The passage does not say it is "hard" to dye flowers. It states, "which are fairly inexpensive and quite easy to dye green." How do you make that leap from the example to hint 3 that they are hard to dye flowers, when the passage says, "it is very difficult for plant breeders to PRODUCE green carnations."
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(9 votes)
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Thamara Jean
Posted 3 months ago. Direct link to Thamara Jean's post “The way I see it is to id...”
The way I see it is to identify the keywords first, let's say you find 3, thus, therefore, so, and ask the question WHY before the statement that follows each keyword; if the answer is supported by every other statement, then it is your main conclusion.
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(2 votes)
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