Students often ask great questions on our LSAT Forum. One that specifically sticks out regards the existence of circular reasoning in a question that appeared to use the contrapositive. From appearances, the question did use the contrapositive but the reasoning was still flawed, precisely because of the way it was used. Because so many become used […]
The Most Dangerous Conditional Rule on the LSAT
On our LSAT Discussion Forum recently, I’ve been running into a recurrent question about a conditional reasoning rule. These questions revolve around a really tricky phrasing, one that has devastated test takers when it has appeared on previous LSATs. But if you can learn the idea, it takes something the test makers expect to be very difficult and […]
How to Handle “Even If” in Conditional Reasoning (Even If it Doesn’t Matter)
Most students confront conditional reasoning very early on in their LSAT preparation. They spend hours mastering the logic of conditional rules in Logical Reasoning stimuli and answer choices, and in Logic Games as well. To this end, students must memorize a number of common conditional reasoning keywords and phrases that help indicate the presence of this logic. […]
Conditional Reasoning 101: The Domino Effect
In a previous blog post, I talk about the basics of conditional reasoning on the LSAT. It deals with fairly simple statements involving a single sufficient condition and a single necessary condition. Though, on the LSAT, things are not always that simple! Sometimes, you will encounter conditional chains. This is where one thing is sufficient […]
Conditional Reasoning 101: As Easy as Falling Off a Log
Conditional reasoning is argumentation based on “if…then” statements and it is a prominent feature of the LSAT. While the numbers vary from test to test, year to year, you can expect around 10 questions in a single LR section that involve conditional reasoning. You’ll also see that at least half of the Logic Games will […]
Can You Diagram These Conditional Reasoning Phrases?
Conditional reasoning appears throughout the LSAT, in the arguments presented within the Logical Reasoning sections of the test, in the grouping games that are featured in every Logic Games section, and even (to a lesser extent) in the Reading Comprehension section of the test. This type of logic classifies conditions as Sufficient or Necessary, depending on whether […]
Dealing with Negatives (Particularly Unless) in Conditional Reasoning
Today’s LSAT Forum Post of the Day is a response to a student with two common questions regarding conditional reasoning statements containing negative language, like the words “unless” or “without”: (1) how are those specific phrases best diagrammed, and (2) when is it possible to diagram negatively-worded statements in the affirmative? PowerScore VP of Development Jon Denning […]
Negating Compound and Conditional Statements
The ability to logically negate a statement—whether conditional, causal, etc.—is critical to your success on the LSAT. It comes up most commonly in the Logical Reasoning section of the test, although any question stem using the word “EXCEPT” (always capitalized) will require you to logically negate that stem. The list does not stop here: every […]
Conditional Reasoning Practice: Test Your Skills
The other day I came across an apparently famous logic puzzle called The Wason Selection Task. I say “apparently” famous because I for one had never heard of it, but I was instantly struck by the conditional nature of the process in question. If you’re reading this I presume you’ve got some experience with LSAT […]
Cannot Be True Questions and Conditional Reasoning
Cannot Be True questions in Logical Reasoning occasionally feature conditional reasoning (reasoning that uses sufficient and necessary conditions), and some of those questions can appear to be extremely difficult. But, as today’s LSAT Forum Post of the Day shows, these questions often revolve around the same error. The test makers just dress it up a […]