LSAT Logical Reasoning

LSAT Logical Reasoning Section: The Logical Reasoning Section of the LSAT boils down to how well the student can handle logical arguments. It is composed of 2 sections, each with about 25 questions, and lasts 35 minutes. Because there are twice as many Logical Reasoning questions as any other type of question on the LSAT, students should spend twice as much time preparing for this section. In particular, Logical Reasoning measures the following skills:

• Determining the essential points of an argument
• Locating relevant information in text
• Evaluating arguments
• Applying logic to concepts

The basic format of the Logical Reasoning Section is pretty straightforward. For most questions, students are given a passage that is typically between 3 and 4 sentences long. The passages lay out an argument and most of these arguments have flaws in them. It is the job of the test-taker to identify the flaws. Other questions in this section require students to determine a conclusion of a valid argument, while some have deductive arguments. Logical Reasoning tests a skill that will be crucial in law school and in the law profession - the ability to analyze the precise reasons an argument is flawed. The section accounts for about half of a student's score on the LSAT. This is good news for students, because most students have already thoroughly developed this skill in their undergraduate studies.

The most important thing to remember about this section is that it doesn't matter if the arguments are obviously false. The only thing that matters is the student's ability to show the weaknesses in a given argument. So only focus on what is presented in each argument by itself. And read the questions very carefully because the text is usually very dense. Most questions have logical errors that fall into one of 10 categories, such as fallacy or hominem.

Almost every question on the Logical Reasoning Section comes down to a single concept - the error is almost always linked to an assumption. The key is to always search for the main assumption in the argument. This process involves finding the set-up and conclusion, and then determining what must be present in the argument for the set-up to equal the conclusion. Once you know this piece of the puzzle, it becomes much easier to answer the question. There are also 2 other types of questions in this section: parallel reasoning questions, which present an argument and ask students to identify the argument that most closely resembles the logic of the original; and argumentative techniques, which ask students to identify how a person might respond to a particular argument. Identifying the assumption is also the key to these 2 additional types of questions.

One last technique that is important is the ability to quickly identify the different way questions are phrased. The phrasing on the LSAT is unique, and being familiar with it in advance can be a great advantage. The most avoidable mistake a student can make on the test is knowing the logical error but not answering correctly because they didn't know what the question was asking. So get familiar with the 5 main question types well in advance of test day.