Tips for the Logical Reasoning Section of the LSAT
Part of the LSAT For Dummies Cheat Sheet
Logical reasoning questions come in a variety of types. Each requires a slightly different approach. Review these tips to keep focus throughout the two LSAT logical reasoning sections.
Read the question first so you know what kind of question you have to answer before you read the short passage.
For strengthen or weaken questions, determine what type of reasoning the argument uses and choose an answer that either helps or hurts that way of reasoning.
For questions that ask you to draw conclusions, choose an answer that contains an element of all the author’s premises.
The correct answer to an inference question usually concerns just one or two of the pieces of information.
Assumption questions ask you to choose an answer that states a premise the author assumes to be true but doesn’t state directly. The right answer often links the last premise to the conclusion.
For method of reasoning questions, break down the argument into its basic components. Use letters such as A, B, and C to represent those components.
For questions that ask you to resolve a discrepancy or explain a paradox, find the answer that makes the two apparently contradictory statements both possible.