Strengthen questions reward a specific instinct: the ability to see exactly where an argument is vulnerable and then reinforce that spot. If you're good at Flaw and Assumption questions, Strengthen is the natural payoff — it's the same gap-hunting skill turned into a construction project instead of a demolition job. This set is built to sharpen that instinct on original arguments written in the LSAT's voice.

A Quick Method Refresher Before You Drill

Don't touch the answer choices until you've done three things:

1. Isolate the conclusion. What is the author actually trying to get you to believe? Everything else is evidence.
2. Find the gap. Ask: "What has to be true for this evidence to actually support this conclusion?" That unstated bridge is almost always where the credited answer lives.
3. Prephrase the support. Before reading choices, predict roughly what would help — "an answer that rules out other causes" or "an answer confirming the sample is representative." You'll then recognize the right answer instead of getting talked into a wrong one.

The Three Mechanisms You'll See Over and Over

1. Affirm the assumption. Most LSAT arguments rely on one load-bearing assumption. An answer that states that assumption — or a piece of it — as true will strengthen. This is the most common mechanism.

2. Eliminate an alternative explanation. Extremely common in causal arguments ("X caused Y"). If the author concludes a cause, the argument is weak as long as some other cause could explain the result. An answer that shuts down a rival explanation strengthens by leaving the author's cause standing.

3. Supply the missing link. The evidence is about A and the conclusion is about B; the credited answer connects A to B. Bridge-building.

The Traps to Refuse

• Strengthens a premise you already believe. Adding support to a fact the author already stated doesn't help the reasoning. You need support for the leap, not the launchpad.
• Relevant-sounding but off the gap. The topic matches, but it doesn't touch the specific logical vulnerability. Match to the gap, not the subject.
• Actually weakens (or is neutral). Under time pressure, students grab an answer that mentions the right nouns without checking direction. Always ask: "Does this make the conclusion more likely or less?"
• Too strong / out of scope. An answer can be tempting because it's dramatic, but if it introduces a new element the argument never dealt with, it may not connect at all.

How to Take This Set

Give yourself about 1:20 per question. For each one: name the conclusion, name the gap, prephrase, then attack the choices. When you miss one, don't just read the explanation — re-derive why the wrong answer felt right and what signal would have saved you. That diagnosis is where the score points come from.

The Practice Set

Below are six original Strengthen questions in LSAT style, each with the full answer and explanation in the practice items. Work them cold first, then review. Notice how often the credited answer either kills an alternative explanation or confirms the assumption — that pattern recognition is the goal.

Question 1

Argument: Since the city installed brighter streetlights in the downtown district last year, the number of reported nighttime thefts downtown has dropped by 30 percent. City officials conclude that the brighter lighting deterred theft. Which one of the following, if true, most strengthens the officials' argument?

(A) The city also increased police patrols in several residential neighborhoods last year.
(B) Nighttime theft rates in comparable districts with no lighting changes remained steady over the same period.
(C) Some downtown business owners had requested the brighter lighting for aesthetic reasons.
(D) The brighter streetlights consume more electricity than the ones they replaced.
(E) Reported daytime thefts downtown also declined slightly last year.

Question 2

Argument: A new fertilizer was applied to one of two adjacent wheat fields owned by a farm. That field produced a larger harvest than the untreated field. The farm's manager concludes that the fertilizer increased the yield. Which one of the following, if true, most strengthens the argument?

(A) The treated field received the same amount of rainfall as the untreated field.
(B) The fertilizer is more expensive than the brand the farm previously used.
(C) The treated field is slightly larger in acreage than the untreated field.
(D) Wheat prices rose during the harvest season.
(E) The farm plans to use the new fertilizer on all its fields next year.

Question 3

Argument: The editorial board argues that the newspaper should switch entirely to digital publication. They note that digital subscriptions have grown steadily for five years while print subscriptions have declined. Therefore, they conclude, abandoning print will maximize the paper's total revenue. Which one of the following, if true, most strengthens the board's conclusion?

(A) Most of the paper's advertising revenue now comes from digital ads.
(B) Print production and delivery costs currently consume a large share of the paper's budget, and few remaining print subscribers would refuse to switch to digital.
(C) A rival newspaper recently increased its print circulation.
(D) Digital subscribers tend to be younger than print subscribers.
(E) The paper's editors prefer working in a digital-only format.

Question 4

Argument: A study found that office workers who took a 20-minute walk at midday reported higher afternoon productivity than those who did not. A consultant concludes that the walk itself boosts productivity. Which one of the following, if true, most strengthens the consultant's conclusion?

(A) The walkers and non-walkers were assigned to their groups at random and were similar in age, workload, and prior productivity.
(B) Productivity was measured by self-report at the end of the day.
(C) Some walkers reported feeling more tired after their walk.
(D) The study was conducted during pleasant spring weather.
(E) Walking is widely believed to have health benefits.

Question 5

Argument: The council should reject the proposed downtown parking garage. Studies of similar cities show that adding parking increases the number of cars entering downtown, which worsens congestion. Since our goal is to reduce downtown congestion, building the garage would be counterproductive. Which one of the following, if true, most strengthens the argument?

(A) The proposed garage would be more expensive than the council initially estimated.
(B) In the cities studied, the increase in downtown cars persisted for years after new parking was added, and those cities are comparable to ours in size and transit options.
(C) Some residents support the garage because it would create construction jobs.
(D) The garage would be located near a public transit station.
(E) Downtown congestion is worse on weekdays than on weekends.

Question 6

Argument: A textbook author claims that students who annotate their reading remember more of the material. As support, she cites a survey in which students who annotate scored higher on comprehension tests than students who do not. Therefore, she concludes, teaching annotation will improve comprehension for students who currently don't annotate. Which one of the following, if true, most strengthens the author's conclusion?

(A) Annotating requires pens or highlighters, which some students find distracting.
(B) When a group of non-annotating students were taught to annotate, their subsequent comprehension scores rose to match those of long-time annotators.
(C) The comprehension tests were administered under identical conditions for all students.
(D) Students who annotate tend to spend more total time reading.
(E) Some high-scoring students in the survey did not annotate at all.

How to Review This Set

Score yourself, but score the process harder than the outcome. For every question — right or wrong — write one sentence naming the gap and one sentence naming the mechanism that closed it. If you got a question right but couldn't articulate the gap, treat it as a miss; you got lucky and luck doesn't repeat on test day. Then take at least one wrong answer per question and label its trap type (strengthens a premise, off-gap, wrong direction, out of scope). Building that trap-recognition vocabulary is what makes you faster.

Where to Get Official Practice

These are original Lovare practice questions written to mirror LSAT logic and difficulty. For scored, official questions — the real thing, released by the test maker — subscribe to LSAC's LawHub, which hosts genuine PrepTests. Use original practice like this to drill a specific skill in volume, then confirm your gains on official material under timed conditions.