In my last post, I discussed conditional statements with "or" in the sufficient condition. Diagrams with multiple necessary conditions can, depending on the circumstances, then be used to create multiple single diagrams. Let's look at an example.If the rule reads: "If Operations is offered, then Accounting or Sales is also offered," then the diagram is solely: A O → or S Because the necessary condition is just at least … [Read more...]
Conditional Diagramming Part I: “Or” in the Sufficient Condition
Diagrams with multiple sufficient conditions can, depending on the circumstances, then be used to create multiple single diagrams. Let's look at an example.Consider a rule that reads: "If Operations or Sales is offered, then Accounting is also offered." Operations = O Sales = S Accounting = A As a single conditional statement, there are two parts to the sufficient condition (O and S), that are joined by an "or" operator. That sufficient … [Read more...]
Scholarship vs. Prestige: When to Take the Money and Run
Update! We have two podcasts around this article: Episode 5 and Episode 53 of the PowerScore LSAT PodCast. I wrote a blog titled, A Law Degree Is Worth over $1 Million. Can You Get It for Free? Predictably, we received several questions from former students who have the opportunity to attend law school on a full-ride scholarship. If you think their decision is a no-brainer, think again. Oftentimes, the choice is between attending a higher-ranked … [Read more...]
Studies in LSAT Perfection: Alinea
A few years ago I read an inspiring book called Life on the Line by Grant Achatz. Grant is the head chef at Chicago’s Alinea restaurant, which has repeatedly been named one of the best restaurants in the world. He rose through the chef ranks to head up his own kitchen, only to then battle tongue cancer that nearly took away his sense of taste permanently (he’s ok now, fortunately). I liked the book so much that I made a trip up to Alinea last … [Read more...]
Studies in LSAT Perfection: Oregon’s Blur Offense
For a while now, I’ve been meaning to write a series of articles on how the pursuit of perfection in various fields can teach valuable lessons for LSAT preparation, and how that pursuit sometimes conflicts with prevailing conventional wisdom. In honor of tonight’s national championship football game, we start with Oregon’s Blur Offense. The Blur Offense If you’re not familiar with football or are just a casual fan, you may not be aware that … [Read more...]
What Are Splitters, Reverse Splitters, and Super Splitters?
If you are applying to law school, you will come across an unusual and somewhat confusing term: Splitter. And no, it has nothing to do with baseball pitches, cutting trees, or a certain San Antonio Spurs/Philadelphia 76ers basketball player. A "splitter" is someone who has LSAT and GPA numbers that are split between high and low marks. Often, the medians for a law school play a role in determining if one is truly a splitter. While this concept is … [Read more...]
The Rise and Fall of Double-Question LSAT Logical Reasoning Stimuli
I've talked before (notably here and here) about how the content of LSATs changes from test to test. But, there are even changes in the type of question forms you see. For example, in the early 1990s, Justify the Conclusion questions were rather rare, whereas in the 2000s they appeared relatively frequently. In Logic Games, Rule Substitution questions did not start appearing until June 2009. In Logical Reasoning, one question format that used to … [Read more...]