When using a manufactured pattern to make clothing, a tailor alters

Question

When using a manufactured pattern to make clothing, a tailor alters the pattern to accommodate any future distortion of the fabric. Also, unless the clothing is to be worn by a person whose measurements precisely match the pattern size, the tailor alters the pattern to fit the wearer exactly. Thus, a professional tailor never blindly follows a pattern, but always adjusts the pattern to fit the wearer exactly.

The conclusion follows logically if which one of the following is assumed?

(A) Most manufactured patterns do not already accommodate the future distortion of fabrics that shrink or stretch.

(B) At least some tailors who adjust patterns to the wearer and to the fabrics used are professional tailors.

(C) The best tailors are those most able to alter patterns to fit the wearer exactly.

(D) All professional tailors sew only for people whose measurements do not exactly match their chosen patterns.

(E) A professional tailor can always estimate exactly how much a fabric will shrink or stretch.

Sans8 · Answer

IMHO:D

Premise: 
1. manufactured pattern= alters to accommodate future distortion of fabric
2. the tailor alters the pattern to fit the wearer exactly, if it doesn't match the wearer size

Conclusion:

a professional tailor   always   adjusts the pattern to fit the wearer exactly

Pre Thinking: 
In what scenarios does the Pro Tailor always adjusts the size to fit the wearer exactly?
"If the size of people that comes to him is always a mismatch"
ALWAYS is a key term in the conclusion.

Only D goes inline with our pre thinking.
E: Out of scope doesn't tell why he fits it to the wearer exactly? We don't know what will be the future distortions in fabric no where it is mentioned in the argument that future distortion = shrink or stretch.

So D is the correct answer.

oliboy333 · Answer

The answer does not make sense to me. Is this really an official LSAT question? If so, I would be glad to know from which exam.

The reason it doesn't make sense to me: A tailor may sew for reasons other than adjusting clothing to fit certain patterns. For example, they may sew to repair a piece of clothing.

To jump to the conclusion that all professional tailors only sew for people whose clothing doesn't fit perfectly is way too strong. It implies that the tailors do nothing else than fit clothes in order to match pattern and body type.

Posted from my mobile device

gmatophobia · Answer

oliboy333

PrepTest 89 (November 2019) - Section 4 - Question 11

mbaprepavi · Answer

Ill try to chime in here.

If we assume (D) is true, then it logically follows that a professional tailor would always need to adjust the pattern, since the wearer's measurements would never match the pattern size exactly. This assumption makes it necessary for the tailor to adjust the pattern every time, which supports the conclusion that a professional tailor never blindly follows a pattern\

Why (E) is not the correct answer.

"A professional tailor can always estimate exactly how much a fabric will shrink or stretch."

This assumption focuses on the tailor's ability to estimate fabric distortion. However, while this skill may help a tailor make adjustments for fabric, it does not address the primary reason given in the argument for adjusting the pattern: tailoring the fit to the wearer's measurements if they do not precisely match the pattern size.

The argument’s conclusion—that a professional tailor never blindly follows a pattern—depends on both possible adjustments:
1. Adjusting for fabric distortion, and
2. Adjusting to fit the specific measurements of the wearer.

Option (E) only addresses one part of the equation (fabric distortion) and ignores whether or not the pattern needs to be altered to fit the wearer. 
Therefore, even if a tailor can estimate fabric distortion, this does not necessarily imply that the tailor will always need to adjust the pattern for the wearer’s exact fit.

Hope this helps

Nipunh · Answer

QUESTION TEXT:  When using a manufactured pattern to make clothing, a tailor... 
  QUESTION TYPE:  Sufficient Assumption

CONCLUSION:  A professional tailor never blindly follows a pattern, but always adjusts the pattern to fit the wearer exactly.

REASONING:  When using a manufactured pattern to make clothing, tailors alter the pattern to accommodate future distortion. The tailor will alter the pattern to fit the wearer exactly, unless the clothing is to be worn by a person who precisely matches the pattern size.

ANALYSIS:  We’re told that tailors alter the pattern to fit the wearer exactly, unless the wearer exactly matches the pattern. Then, in the conclusion, the author says that professional tailors  always  adjust the pattern. For both of these to be true, it must mean that professional tailors never make clothes for someone who fits the pattern exactly. If they did, then the conclusion couldn’t be drawn. 
  ___________  
 
  This doesn’t allow us to conclude that professional tailors  always  adjust the pattern. It just gives a reason for why alteration is necessary.  
  This doesn’t lead to the conclusion that  all  professional tailors always adjust. It just tells us that some adjusting tailors are professional tailors.  
  The conclusion isn’t about who are the best tailors, or who can alter patterns most perfectly.  
   CORRECT.  See above – this allows us to draw our conclusion. Professional tailors only make clothing for people who don’t match the pattern, so they  always  adjust the pattern.  
  This might be true, but it doesn’t mean every professional tailor  always  adjusts the pattern.
   
  Recap:  The question begins with “When using a manufactured pattern to make clothing, a tailor”. It is a Sufficient Assumption question.

MartyMurray · Answer

When using a manufactured pattern to make clothing, a tailor alters the pattern to accommodate any future distortion of the fabric. Also, unless the clothing is to be worn by a person whose measurements precisely match the pattern size, the tailor alters the pattern to fit the wearer exactly. Thus, a professional tailor never blindly follows a pattern, but always adjusts the pattern to fit the wearer exactly.

The conclusion of the argument is the following:

a professional tailor never blindly follows a pattern, but always adjusts the pattern to fit the wearer exactly

The support for the conclusion appears to be the following, though we could argue that the first statement of the passage doesn't really have to do with the conclusion:

When using a manufactured pattern to make clothing, a tailor alters the pattern to accommodate any future distortion of the fabric.

and

unless the clothing is to be worn by a person whose measurements precisely match the pattern size, the tailor alters the pattern to fit the wearer exactly

We see that the reasoning of the argument jumps from the fact that a tailor alters a pattern "unless the clothing is to be worn by a person whose measurements precisely match the pattern size" to the conclusion that a professional tailor "always" adjusts a pattern.

One aspect of the argument could jump out at us is that doing something "unless" something is the case is not "always" doing it. In other words, it could be that, sometimes, "the clothing IS to be worn by a person whose measurements precisely match the pattern," in which case a tailor would NOT alter the pattern.

So, basically, the premise is about something that sometimes happens whereas the conclusion is about something that "always" happens.

The conclusion follows logically if which one of the following is assumed?

This is an Assumption question, and the correct answer will render the argument effective by connecting the premise about what sometimes happens with the conclusion about what always happens.

(A) Most manufactured patterns do not already accommodate the future distortion of fabrics that shrink or stretch.

The conclusion is basically that a professional tailor always adjusts a pattern to "fit the wearer exactly."

It's not that a tailor always adjusts a pattern to exactly accommodate any future distortion of the fabric.

So, even if this choice is not true and most manufactured patterns DO already accommodate the future distortion of fabrics that shrink or stretch, the conclusion could still follow logically from the evidence. After all, even if a tailor does not have to adjust a pattern to accommodate future distortions, the tailor could still adjust the pattern to fit the wearer.

Eliminate.

(B) At least some tailors who adjust patterns to the wearer and to the fabrics used are professional tailors.

This choice doesn't state an assumption because the premise is a general statement about "the tailor." In other words, the statement "the tailor alters the pattern to fit the wearer exactly," applies to ALL tailors.

So, the argument does not assume that professional tailors adjust patterns. Rather, it basically states directly that all tailors, including professional tailors, adjust patterns.

Eliminate.

(C) The best tailors are those most able to alter patterns to fit the wearer exactly.

The conclusion of the argument is not about "the best tailors."

So, the argument does not involve any assumptions about "the best tailors."

Eliminate.

(D) All professional tailors sew only for people whose measurements do not exactly match their chosen patterns.

Above, we saw that the premise is basically that tailors always adjust patterns to fit wearers "unless the clothing is to be worn by a person whose measurements precisely match the pattern size," meaning that, sometimes, tailors may not adjust patterns to fit wearers.

Then, the conclusion is that "a professional tailor never blindly follows a pattern, but always adjusts the pattern to fit the wearer exactly."

So, the argument jumps from evidence about something that SOMETIMES happens to a conclusion about something that ALWAYS happens.

In other words, the argument assumes that a fact about something that sometimes happens supports a conclusion about something that always happens.

Therefore, this choice is interesting because, by saying that all professional tailors sew only for people whose measurements do not match patterns, it eliminates the SOMETIMES aspect of the evidence by indicating that professional tailors NEVER work in situations such that "the clothing is to be worn by a person whose measurements precisely match the pattern size."

If professional tailors never work in such situations, then they work only in situations such that people's measurements do NOT match patterns.

In that case, the fact that "unless the clothing is to be worn by a person whose measurements precisely match the pattern size, the tailor alters the pattern to fit the wearer exactly," logically supports the conclusion "a professional tailor never blindly follows a pattern, but always adjusts the pattern to fit the wearer exactly," because in that case, the exceptions in which "the clothing is to be worn by a person whose measurements precisely match the pattern" have been eliminated.

So, when this choice is added to the argument, the evidence effectively supports the conclusion because we have basically the following logic:

Premise: A tailor always adjust a patterns to fit the wearer except in certain situations.

Assumption (this choice): Professional tailors never work in such situations.

Conclusion: Therefore, professional tailors always adjust patterns to fit wearers.

Keep.

(E) A professional tailor can always estimate exactly how much a fabric will shrink or stretch.

The conclusion is basically that a professional tailor always adjusts a pattern to "fit the wearer exactly."

It's not that a tailor adjusts a pattern to exactly accommodate any future distortion of the fabric.

So, the argument does not assume that "A professional tailor can always estimate exactly how much a fabric will shrink or stretch," because a tailor does not have to estimate that to adjust a pattern to fit the wearer.

Eliminate.

Correct answer:  D

When using a manufactured pattern to make clothing, a tailor alters

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When using a manufactured pattern to make clothing, a tailor alters

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