LSAT Logical Reasoning Vocabulary Words
UPDATE: If you want even more help with LSAT vocabulary than the words below (and don’t want to have to memorize hundreds and hundreds of words), check out the LSAT Vocabulary Builder: Words You Need to Know. You probably know the meanings of most words in the Logical Reasoning section. However, if you know what […]
Negating Conditional Statements in Logical Reasoning
A common technique for solving LSAT Logical Reasoning questions (particularly, Necessary Assumption questions) is to negate each of the answer choices. The correct answer choice, when negated, destroys the argument by preventing the conclusion from logically following from the evidence. Sometimes, answer choices contain conditional statements, rather than simply containing a single clause. The proper […]
How to Ace LSAT Logical Reasoning | 7 Habits
1. Analyze the stimulus for structure, NOT content.Break apart stimulus into evidence, conclusion, filler, counterpremise, etc. It’s about the stimulus’ structure and whether or not it’s valid, not the stimulus’ topic. 2. Have an “eagle eye” for details.Read EVERY word in the stimulus and answer choices carefully. Many of the wrong answer choices are […]
Necessary Assumption Questions, Negation Test, and Must Be True Qs
In this article, I discuss a common, and effective strategy for approaching Necessary Assumption questions. I also talk about shortcomings in the way prep companies often teach test-takers to think about necessary assumption questions. Finally, I give some examples of necessary assumption questions and explain some frequent patterns in each. A Common and Effective Strategy […]
Sufficient Assumption Questions and the Negation Test
In my course, I discuss two common Logical Reasoning question types: Necessary Assumption and Sufficient Assumption. The negation test is a common strategy you can effectively use for Necessary Assumption questions. However, many test-takers like the technique so much, they try to use it for sufficient assumption questions also, often leading to disastrous consequences. Due to the difference […]
Conditional Reasoning: Contrapositive, Mistaken Reversal, Mistaken Negation
What is the contrapositive? What do mistaken reversal (converse) and mistaken negation (converse) look like on the LSAT? While each bite-sized Logical Reasoning argument and each Logic Games rule may seem impossible to understand, they’re pretty manageable once you’ve got a grip on the basics. In this article, I’ll share the basics of conditional reasoning […]
LSAT Numbers: All, Most, Several, Many, Some, None
Isn’t it annoying when words seem to mean something different on the LSAT than they do in real life? Starts to make you wonder about the last time an LSAT test-writer spoke with a live human being. In this post, I clear up some of the differences between our normal understandings of common quantifiers (words […]
Words Indicating Sufficient / Necessary Conditions, and Time
In conditional statements (if-then) statements, the sufficient condition is the one that goes before the arrow, and the necessary condition is the one that goes after the arrow. Sufficient —> Necessary X —> Y is equivalent to: if X, then Y. X is the sufficient condition, and Y is the necessary condition. Logic Games and […]
LSAT Words: “Except” “unless” “until” and “without” mean…
I’ve talked about Sufficient and Necessary Condition indicator words before. However, I left out a couple of important words (except, unless, until, and without) that factor into conditional reasoning. These special words don’t *quite* fit the mold that the others do, so I decided to give them their own article. The words “except,” “unless,” “until,” […]
LSAT Logic | Sufficient vs Necessary Conditions
We deal with “if-then” statements all the time in everyday life. “If I have another drink or two, I won’t be able to drive safely.” “If I get a higher LSAT score, I’ll be competitive at better law schools.” The LSAT Logical Reasoning section requires us to think about these statements a little more formally […]
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