PrepTest 141, Section 2, 16. The top prize in architecture…

How will the right answer fit in terms of support and conclusion?

Only the right answer will accurately describe the support and conclusions.

Highlight the main conclusion in the passage, if there is one:

it would be better if the top prize in architecture were awarded to the best building rather than the best architect.

[BACKGROUND]. But [SUPPORT]. [SUPPORT]. Thus, [CONCLUSION].

Did you catch the comparison? The conclusion is that we should give awards in architecture like we give awards in movies, because buildings are “like movies”. The right answer will absolutely have that in it.

Map the wording of the answers to the wording of the passage:

(A) …on the basis of comparisons…

Boom! The plural comparisons is cool since the author also said buildings are “not like scientific discoveries”. This is perfect. And the other answers are so wordy, I’d love to see you just pick (A) and keep going.

(B) …to conclude that one has more inherent value than the other.

The author’s conclusion doesn’t say that.

(C) …criticisms of one practice can rightly be applied to the other.

Okay, the author took a shot at architecture awards. That could be a criticism, but the criticism doesn’t get applied to another practice.

(D) …not relevant to justifying a conclusion…

I like this up to the comma, since “disanalogous” could map to architecture and “scientific discoveries”. But the author doesn’t say anything is “not relevant” to a conclusion.

(E) contending that an action is inappropriate…

The conclusion has nothing in it that sounds like inappropriate. Don’t assume that just because the author said something else “would be better”.

(A) is the correct answer.

Common pattern/s in this question: Comparisons are all over the place on the LSAT. And pretty much every time you see an author use one, the right answer has the same comparison in it.