Main Point Questions
One sentence is the point. The rest is scaffolding.
Two tools pair with this method. The miss-pattern analyzer shows which question types cost you the most points, and the blind review worksheet gives you a second pass at every miss.
What the question asks
The question asks for the argument’s conclusion. The stem says "The main point of the argument is..." or "Which one of the following most accurately expresses the main conclusion?"
The conclusion is the claim the author wants you to accept. Everything else in the passage exists to support it. Your job is to tell the point apart from the scaffolding.
Step-by-step method
- Ignore the evidence at first. Facts and examples are support, not the point. Set them aside and look for the claim they serve.
- Ask what is being sold. What does the author want you to believe or do? Recommendations, predictions, and judgments are classic conclusions.
- Listen for signal words. "Therefore," "thus," "so," "should," and "must" often mark the conclusion. But signals can lie, so always run the next test.
- Run the support test. Take each candidate sentence and ask: does the rest of the passage support this? The conclusion is the one everything else points to.
- Watch the placement. The conclusion is often first or last, but not always. Authors bury conclusions in the middle to test whether you are really reading.
Worked examples
Both examples are original. They are not real LSAT questions.
Example 1
Jury trials are slow and costly. Some say panels of judges should replace them. But juries carry the community’s judgment, and that legitimacy is worth more than speed.
The main point of the argument is that...
The answer: jury trials should be kept.
Why: The middle sentences are objections and supporting claims. The final sentence is what the author defends. Everything else serves it, so it is the main point.
Example 2
The city has a budget surplus, and the riverside park needs repairs. Fixing the park would serve thousands of residents each week.
Which one of the following most accurately expresses the main conclusion?
The answer: the city should spend its surplus on the park repairs.
Why: The first two facts are evidence. The recommendation is the point. The author is not merely describing the surplus. The author is arguing for a use of it.
The main point is a claim, not a topic
Every main point question has the same trap: a choice that names the topic instead of the claim. If the paragraph is about electric cars, the topic choice says something like "electric cars are becoming more common." True, but that is not what the author is arguing. The claim is what the author wants you to believe: "cities should invest in charging stations." Topic is what the paragraph is about. Claim is what the author is selling.
Background sentences are the second trap. Authors often open with facts everyone accepts, then turn: "but," "however," "yet." The main point lives after the turn. When you read, mark the pivot words. The sentence the author is driving toward usually sits at the end of the pivot, not the beginning of the paragraph.
Also watch for intermediate conclusions. Some arguments build in steps: evidence, then a smaller claim, then the final claim. The main point is the final destination, the claim everything else serves. Ask: if I removed this sentence, would the rest still make sense as support for something bigger? If yes, keep looking.
Common traps
- A premise restated as the answer. Evidence is not the point, even when it is true.
- A claim the author mentions only to reject. Opponents’ views are not the main point.
- An intermediate conclusion treated as final. Ask whether the passage goes one step further.
- A true background statement. Background sets the scene. It is not the argument.
Practice the method
The free diagnostic scores every LR question type and shows exactly where you are losing points.