Role of a Statement (Argument Part) Questions
Recap: One More Describe-Family Type Before the Gap Questions
Main Point (Day 11) asked "what is the argument's conclusion?" Role of a Statement asks something related but distinct: "what job does this specific sentence do in the argument?" Same close-reading skill, aimed at a single claim instead of the whole structure.
CS Bridge
Think of it as asking what role a single line plays in a function: is it the return statement (conclusion), an input (premise), a comment describing what a competing approach would do (opposing view), or a guard clause the rest depends on (sub-conclusion)? Role questions want you to name that role precisely.
1. The Standard Roles
A bolded/quoted statement in a Role question is almost always one of: the main conclusion, a premise supporting the main conclusion, a sub-conclusion, background/context, or a view the author is arguing against.
2. The Two-Statement Variant
Some stems ask about two bolded statements at once and their relationship to each other (e.g., "the first is a view the author rejects; the second is the author's own conclusion"). Handle each statement's role independently first, then check the relationship.
3. Answer Choices Describe Function, Not Content
Correct answers are abstract descriptions ("it is a premise offered in support of the main conclusion"), not restatements of the sentence's content. Wrong answers often correctly restate the content but mislabel the function.
4. Traps
The most common trap: calling a sub-conclusion "the main conclusion" or vice versa. Re-run the Day 2 "therefore test" on the specific statement in question before trusting your labeling.
Practice items on this page are curriculum-authored in LSAT style; they are not official LSAC questions. Real drilling happens on LawHub — see the assignment below.
Q1. In "Studies show remote workers report higher job satisfaction. Since satisfied employees have lower turnover, the company should expand its remote-work policy," what role does "Since satisfied employees have lower turnover" play?
Q2. In the same argument, what role does "the company should expand its remote-work policy" play?
LawHub drill-tier LR section, untimed. Scan for Role/argument-part stems only.
Tomorrow: finding assumptions directly — the gap between premises and conclusion that the argument silently depends on. This is the conceptual heart of the whole assumption-family, arriving next week.