LSAT Logical Reasoning Question Types
Question says... JUSTIFY:principle if established, would most help to justify principle provides the strongest support for the conclusion CONFORM: conforms to which one of the following generalizations reasoning most closely conforms to which one of the following principles
Principle
In a "Assumption", look for choices that...
help the conclusion; logically connect pieces of the argument to one another; if false, weaken the conclusion; are weakly worded; eliminate a possible weakness of the argument
In a "Principle", analyze and apply by...
identifying the conclusion/judgement in the argument and the premises/situation on which it is based (you will most likely not be able to predict the exact contents of the correct answer)
In a "Role of the Statement", look for choices that...
match the argument piece by piece; correctly describe the relationship between the indicated statement and the conclusion.
In a "Point at Issue", avoid Choices that...
pertain to one side of the conversation but not the other; rely on implication; answer the wrong question (agree rather than disagree).
In a "Point at Issue", look for choices that...
pertain to what's explicitly stated; are clearly something about which the participants would say 'yes' or 'no'.
In a "Strengthen", look for choices that...
present a sweeping assurance that the conclusion is correct; state assumptions; logically connect pieces of the argument; present a specific instance in which the conclusion is correct; explain why or how the conclusion is correct; support the conclusion using a method not employed in the argument; eliminate a possible weakness of the argument.
In a "Weaken", look for choices that...
strongly attack the conclusion; present a specific instance in which the conclusion is incorrect; present a sweeping contradiction of the conclusion; present a possibility the argument overlooks.
In a "Inference", analyze and apply by...
summarizing teh passage; if it seems to lead to a specific conclusion, you should find it before moving on; some may involve a series of related conditional statements that can be diagrammed.
The "Strengthen" task is...
to find a new fact that, if true, would make the conclusion certain, more likely to be correct, or at the very least, less likely to be incorrect
The "Point at Issue" task is...
to find a statement about which the participants in conversation definitely hold different opinions or, possibly, the same opinion.
The "Assumption" task is...
to find a statement that has to be true in order for the argument's conclusion to be true
The "Inference" task is...
to find a statement that has to be true on the basis of passage information; note that these passages are often not arguments.
The "Main Point" task is...
to identify the argument's conslusion: what the person making the argument wants you to believe.
In a "Assumption", avoid choices that...
weaken the argument; explain why or how too specifically; are more strongly worded than the argument's conclusion; are not directly relevant to the conclusion
Question says... must also be true can most properly be concluded most strongly support the inference which of teh following conclusions can be properly drawn
Inference
the main point at issue is An issue in dispute is Are committed to disagreeing about Expresses a point of agreement
POINT AT ISSUE: to find a statement about which the participants in conversation definitely hold different opinions or, possibly, the same opinion. FIND the conclusion and premises for each participants argument; summarizing the exact thing they're arguing about.
principle if established, would most help to justify principle provides the strongest support for the conclusion conforms to which one of the following generalizations reasoning most closely conforms to which one of the following principles
PRINCIPLE: find a general statement that supports the arguments conclusion/judgment; for conform also match the method of reasoning as closely as possible IDENTIFY the conclusion/judgement in the argument and the premises/situation on which it is based.
Question says... the main point at issue is An issue in dispute is Are committed to disagreeing about Expresses a point of agreement
Point at Issue or Agree/Disagree
Question says... an assumption on which the argument depends is assumed by the argument is required in order for the conclusion to be properly drawn relies on the fact that
Assumption
The 12 Argument Types
Assumption, Flaw, Inference, Main Point, Method of Argument, Paradox, Parallel, Points at Issue, Principle, Role, Strengthen, Weaken
an assumption on which the argument depends is assumed by the argument is required in order for the conclusion to be properly drawn relies on the fact that
ASSUMPTION:to find a statement that has to be true in order for the argument's conclusion to be true FIND the conclusion, the premises, and any gap or flaw in the reasoning; find the most specific notion of the argument's problem that you can
would be most useful to know in evaluating the argument the answer to which one of the following questions would contribute to an evaluation in evaluating the argument, it would be most useful to know whether
EVALUATE: to identify a statement that, if teue, either weakens or strengthens the conclusion and, if false, does the other. FIND the conclusion, the premises, and any gap or flaw in the reasoning;
the argument proceeds by a method of reasoning employed by the argument a technique of reasoning employed by the argument
ID REASONING: describe how an argument supports its conclusion. FIND the conclusion and the premises, then summarizing the process used in the argument.
x responds by responds in which one of the following ways uses which one of the following techniques in countering
ID RESPONSE: in a conversation, describe how a response relates to the first person's argument in the conversation. FIND the conclusion and the premises of both parts of the conversation, then summarizing the relationship between them as specifically as possible
Question says... the argument proceeds by a method of reasoning employed by the argument a technique of reasoning employed by the argument
ID Reasoning
Question says... x responds by responds in which one of the following ways uses which one of the following techniques in countering
ID Response
The main point is the main conclusion is the argument leads to the conclusion that statements commit X to the position that
MAIN POINT: to identify the argument's conslusion: what the person making the argument wants you to believe. FIND the conclusion, if it's explicitly state; if not, the opposite of the conclusion may be stated instead.
Question says... The main point is the main conclusion is the argument leads to the conclusion that statements commit X to the position that
Main point or conclusion
the role of the statement X in this argument is the statement X figures in the argument in which one of the following ways
ROLE OF THE STATEMENT:describe the indicated part of an argument in terms of its overall logical structure. FIND the conclusion and the premises, then summarizing which of these two roles the statement plays; if neither, summarizing the relationship between the statement and the premises and conclusion
Question says... the role of the statement X in this argument is the statement X figures in the argument in which one of the following ways
Role of the Statement
most strengthens most strongly supports the conclusion allows the conclusion to be properly drawn follows logically if which one of the following is assumed
STRENGTHEN:to find a new fact that, if true, would make the conclusion certain, more likely to be correct. FIND the conclusion, the premises, and any gap or flaw in the reasoning;
Question says... most strengthens most strongly supports the conclusion allows the conclusion to be properly drawn follows logically if which one of the following is assumed
Strengthen
most seriously weakens the argument undermines the conclusion calls into question casts doubt upon conclusion would not follow if overlooks the possibility that
WEAKEN: to find a new fact that, if true, would make the conclusion unlikely to be true FIND the concludion, the premises, and any gap or flaw in the reasoning;
Question says... most seriously weakens the argument undermines the conclusion calls into question casts doubt upon conclusion would not follow if overlooks the possibility that
Weaken
The "Principle" task is...
always find a general statement that supports the arguments conclusion/judgment; for conform also match the method of reasoning as closely as possible
In a "Principle", avoid choices that...
are incapable under any circumstances of matching the judgment made in the conclusion; make reference to items of information not known about the situation presented in the premises; for conform, support the conclusion using a method the argument does not
In a "Weaken", avoid choices that...
are not directly relevant to the conclusion; strengthen; are trying to weaken but do not attack the conclusion strongly; require extensive explanations to show relevance; attempt to contradict a premise
In a "Strengthen", avoid choices that...
are not directly relevant to the conclusion; weaken; restate premises in different words
In a "Inference", avoid choices that...
are too strongly worded; use terms with no clear relationship to passage material; are too specific or demand too much input to be reveland; involve questionable comparisons.
In a "Inference", look for choices that...
are wishy-washy and say as little as possible; are specific, but not too specific; include stipulations or qualifications; seem to restate passage material.
In a "Main Point", avoid Choices that...
are worded more strongly than the argument; go beyond the conclusion; are premises of the argument.
In a "Main Point", look for choices that...
bring the whole argument together; are specific rather than general.
The "Role of the Statement" task is to...
describe the indicated part of an argument in terms of its overall logical structure.
In a "Role of the Statement", avoid choices that...
do not match the argument closely; mistakenly identify the conclusion; mistakenly identify a statement as the main conclusion when its only a step in the argument's chain of reasoning.
The "Weaken" task is...
find a new fact that, if true, would make the conclusion unlikely to be true
In a "Weaken", analyze and apply by...
finding the concludion, the premises, and any gap or flaw in the reasoning; you will not be able to predict the correct answer's exact contents, but you should be able to say what it must tell or show
In a "Point at Issue", analyze and apply by...
finding the conclusion and premises for each participants argument; summarizing the exact thing they're arguing about.
In a "Role of the Statement", analyze and apply by...
finding the conclusion and the premises, then summarizing which of these two roles the statement plays; if neither, summarizing the relationship between the statement and the premises and conclusion.
In a "Main Point", analyze and apply by...
finding the conclusion, it it's explicitly state; if not, the opposite of the conclusion may be stated instead.
In a "Assumption", analyze and apply by...
finding the conclusion, the premises, and any gap or flaw in the reasoning; find the most specific notion of the argument's problem that you can
In a "Strengthen", analyze and apply by...
finding the conclusion, the premises, and any gap or flaw in the reasoning; you will not be able to predict the correct answer's exact contents, but you should be able to say what it must tell or show.
In a "Principle", look for choices that...
for justify, support as strongly as possible, even if it goes beyond the argument; for conform, match the method of reasoning used in the argument as closely as possible without going beyond it.
