Public reports by national commissions, governors’ conferences, and le

This is a matter of a very common chain of argument: IF X, then Y. If Y, then Z. Therefore, if X, then Z. Specifically: If the country is to remain internationally competitive, then there is an undeniable need for citizens to better understand international affairs. If there’s a need for this better understanding of international affairs, then all of our new teachers must be prepared to teach their subject matter with an international orientation. This allows us to infer that the first statement leads to the third: If the country is to remain internationally competitive, then all of our new teachers must be prepared to teach their subjects with an international orientation.

(B) and (C), like many choices before them on this test, confuse necessary and sufficient conditions. The stimulus establishes the ability of new teachers to teach with an international focus as necessary for the country to remain competitive. We can’t infer, as (B) suggests, that it’s sufficient for this. And as for (C), better understanding of international affairs by our citizens is also necessary, but not sufficient, for the country to remain competitive.

Thank you

so can we also eliminate it as the word 'will" is too strong to be inferred.

Hello, honey1. We seem to be crossing paths quite frequently. I must say, unless you are preparing for the LSAT, you should find practicing GMAT™ CR questions more useful for the test you intend to take. To be honest, you could present this question to me without tags and tell me it was official, and I would probably say something like, "Official? Official LSAT, maybe." GMAT™ CR questions simply have a different feel, and, as I have written in other posts, LSAT logical reasoning questions rely more on formal logic. So, rather than go down the LSAT rabbit hole, you might consider studying questions tagged under GMAT™ instead.

Anyway, in the question at hand, choice (C) uses a bit of sleight of hand to replace a conditional statement from the passage with a must-be-true statement. Look at the pertinent part of the passage again, along with choice (C):



See the difference? The passage presents a prerequisite for international competitiveness, while the answer choice boldly states that a country meeting such a prerequisite will automatically remain a leading nation. The two are not the same, and choice (C) is therefore incorrect. Meanwhile, choice (A) completes a syllogism: if A, then B; if B, then C; so, if A, then C. I would recommend revisiting the passage and seeing if you can spot the syllogism. Choice (A) will be easy to understand at that point.

I hope that helps. Please let me know if you have further questions. Good luck with your studies.

- Andrew