Main point questions ask one thing: what is this argument's conclusion? They're among the most learnable questions in Logical Reasoning, and they're load-bearing, because every other argument-based question starts with the same move. If your conclusion-spotting is shaky, flaw, assumption, strengthen, and weaken all wobble with it.
The difficulty is engineered misdirection. Test writers bury the conclusion mid-paragraph, open with an opposing view the author will reject, and attach classic indicator words like "therefore" to intermediate conclusions rather than the main one. Reading for structure, who's claiming what, and which claim the rest exists to support, beats scanning for keywords.
The reliable test is the "why" test: take a candidate sentence and ask whether the other sentences answer why should I believe this? The main conclusion is supported by everything and supports nothing further.
Stem language that signals this type:
For your candidate conclusion, ask: do the remaining sentences give reasons to believe it? If yes, and nothing in the passage rests on it in turn, it's the main conclusion.
Arguments that open with "Many people believe…" or "It is widely held…" almost always pivot, the author's conclusion is the claim right after the "but" or "however," not the opening view.
A sentence can be supported by one premise and still support a further claim, that makes it intermediate. Follow the chain to the claim that receives support but gives none.
The right answer paraphrases. Check that its strength matches the author's, if the author said "often," an answer saying "always" is a different claim wearing the same clothes.
An original question written in the LSAT style, not from a real test.
Many nutritionists maintain that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. However, the studies behind this claim mostly observed people who already ate breakfast regularly, and such people tend to differ from breakfast-skippers in exercise habits and sleep patterns as well. Since those differences alone could account for the health outcomes attributed to breakfast, the popular claim about breakfast's unique importance is not well supported.
Which one of the following most accurately expresses the main conclusion of the argument?
Pick an answer to check your reasoning.
The most common wrong answer accurately restates a supporting fact. It's in the passage and true, it's just not what the passage argues for.
When the stimulus opens with a view the author attacks, that view shows up as a polished answer choice. Make sure your pick is the author's claim, not the target's.
Right-direction answers that inflate a qualified claim into an absolute one. Precision of degree is part of the answer being correct.
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They're hints, not guarantees. Test writers attach them to intermediate conclusions and omit them from main ones. The why test, which claim do the others support?, is the reliable method.
A claim that's supported by a premise and then used to support the main conclusion. It plays both roles; the main conclusion only receives support. Wrong answers love to dress intermediate conclusions as main ones.
Because LSAT authors argue carefully, their conclusions are typically qualified ("not well supported," "probably," "at least sometimes"). Answers that strip the hedge state a stronger claim than the author made.
Every flaw, assumption, strengthen, and weaken question begins with locating the conclusion. Students who drill main point questions first typically see accuracy rise across the whole argument family.
Find what the statements, taken together, actually prove.
Name the specific error in the argument's reasoning.
Match the argument's logical skeleton, ignoring its subject.
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Last updated July 9, 2026 · by the theLSATguru team