LSAT Strengthen Practice Question: Plan-to-Payoff Gap
An original strengthen question from our free Question of the Day rotation, built around a trap the LSAT reuses constantly: plan-to-payoff gap. Try it first, then read the explanation — it teaches the move, not just the answer.
Your job:Make the conclusion more believable.
The Corbett Falls public library is opening a new branch with a dedicated teen room featuring study tables, charging stations, and a browsing collection chosen by local students. Library administrators predict that the new branch will substantially increase the number of teenagers who regularly use the library.
Which one of the following, if true, most strengthens the administrators' prediction?
Show the answer & full explanation
The correct answer is C
The JBDM line
Just because the branch has a teen room doesn't mean teens will show up — unless the room fixes what kept them away.
The maybes
- MaybeMaybe teens avoided the library for reasons a new room can't touch, like distance or schedules.
- MaybeMaybe teens simply prefer to study elsewhere no matter the facilities.
Why C is right
This is the missing bridge. If the main reason teens stayed away was the lack of a dedicated space, then a branch built around exactly that space targets the actual obstacle. The plan now connects directly to the predicted payoff.
Why the others are wrong
- AMatching the old hours preserves the status quo; it gives no reason to expect more teens.
- BAdults coming for parking says nothing about teenagers.
- DA decade of decline describes the problem — it doesn't show this fix will reverse it.
- EWhere the student curators live is a quibble that doesn't bear on teen turnout.
Sammy's note
A strengthener builds the missing bridge between the plan and the payoff.
What's a JBDM line?
Just Because Doesn't Mean (JBDM) is the Burton Method's foundational framework for attacking LSAT arguments: identify the premise, identify the conclusion, then say "just because [premise] doesn't mean [conclusion]" and generate "maybes" — alternative explanations that expose the gap between them. That gap is what weaken, flaw, strengthen, and assumption questions all test, so every explanation on this page starts with the JBDM line. It's a micro-lesson in the system, not just an answer key.
One question a day builds the habit
Answer today's question and start a streak — then see how Sammy teaches the whole system, JBDM included, in a free lesson.