In this week’s installment of our series on LSAT basics, I’ll discuss the major question types in the logical reasoning section of the test. These question types alone constitute more than half of all logical reasoning questions and more than 25 percent of all scored questions.
Equally important, as I instill in the hundreds of law school applicants we help each year, are the skills required to answer these questions efficiently. These skills are employed in almost all logical reasoning questions, whether or not they are one of these question types.
[Find out how to avoid common mistakes in the LSAT logical reasoning section.]
Inference Questions
Identification: The LSAT uses several different phrases to indicate that it is asking an inference question, and only some of them contain the word “infer.” In addition to asking you to “infer” something from the information given, the LSAT will ask you which answer choice “must be true” based on the information given or which answer choice “is most strongly supported” by the information given. Remember that inference questions are not limited to questions that contain the word “infer.”
The essence of the question: Although inference questions will have several different wordings, they are all asking the same thing: Which answer choice must be true based on the information provided?
Although inference questions generally do not contain LSAT “arguments,” one way to conceptualize these questions is by putting them in the framework of an argument: The pieces of information provided are the premises and the correct answer is a conclusion that would make the argument valid. Just as the premises of a valid argument will force the conclusion to be true, the information provided in an inference question will force the correct answer to be true.
[Know how to diagnose an LSAT practice test.]
Assumption Questions
Identification: There are two types of assumption questions: necessary and sufficient. Both questions will contain the word “assumption,” but differ in terms of the use of the assumption.
Necessary assumption questions will contain a word indicating necessity such as “necessary,” “depends” and “required.” Sufficient assumption questions will indicate that the correct answer will make the argument valid, often asking you which answer choice, if assumed, will make the argument’s conclusion “properly drawn” or “follow logically.”
The essence of the question: As the wordings of the two types of questions indicate, the two types ask you to do two different things. Necessary assumption questions ask you to identify a statement that must be true in order for the argument to be valid. In other words, the correct answer will be a statement that, if false, would make it impossible for the argument to be valid.
Sufficient assumption questions, on the other hand, ask you to identify a statement that on its own makes the argument valid. In other words, if you add the correct answer to the argument, it will be a valid argument.
Note that the correct answer to a necessary assumption question does not have to make the argument a valid argument, just get the argument closer to being valid, while the correct answer to a sufficient assumption must make the argument valid on its own.
[Learn how law schools evaluate LSAT scores.]
Flaw Questions
Identification: Unlike inference and assumption questions, flaw questions are generally easy to identify: The question will ask you to identify a “flaw” or an “error” in reasoning, or to choose the criticism to which the argument is “most vulnerable.”
The essence of the question: The key to understanding flaw questions is that they are descriptive. The LSAT is asking you to simply describe why the argument is not valid. The first step in evaluating an answer choice, therefore, is to ask whether the answer choice actually describes something that occurs in the argument. For each element of the answer choice, make sure you can find a part of the argument that corresponds to that element.
Are you struggling with logical reasoning? Let me know in an email or tweet me.
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Demystify Logical Reasoning Question Types on the LSAT originally appeared on usnews.com
