How to Ace LSAT Logical Reasoning | 7 Habits

This is the 2nd part of a 3-part series detailing the 7 habits of highly effective law school applicants on each LSAT section. Last week, I covered Logic Games. Next week, I'll cover Reading Comprehension.

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 wrong, and many stimuli are flawed, because of shifts in the scope of the argument.

3. Recognize and understand important qualifiers.
Learn differences between "some," "many," "most," and "all." Of course, the word "EXCEPT" in question stems is crucial as well.

4. Recognize the words that indicate evidence and conclusion.
"Because" and "since" often indicate evidence, and "thus" and "therefore" often indicate conclusion.

5. Read with a plan.
Ask yourself whether or not the argument's evidence justifies its conclusion. In most Logical Reasoning stimuli, the evidence is not sufficient to do so.

6. Don't diagram most questions.
Diagramming is not a substitute for thinking. While it can be useful in stimuli containing formal logic, it's not going to do much to help you understand arguments using informal logic.

7. Learn to stop worrying and love LSAT Logical Reasoning.
Do enough Logical Reasoning questions that you start to recognize their patterns. They're just as predictable as Logic Games.

1 comment:

  1. Could you elaborate, or maybe even make a post, about how to break down the structure of stimuli in logical reasoning? I'm having a hard time comprehending.