The first episode of the new year sees Dave and Jon tackle one of their all-time favorite Logical Reasoning question types: Resolve the Paradox! Tune in as they explain exactly how these questions work, outline the best approach for solving them, and reveal a comprehensive series of specific categories highlighting the test makers’ favorite Paradox scenarios. … [Read more...]
Number and Percentage (#%) LR Problem Tips
Are you having trouble with Number and Percentage Logical Reasoning problems? You're not alone! Number and Percentage problems can be among the most difficult, so the fact that they are giving you some trouble isn't unusual. They are likely to appear at least a few times on your test, so you'll want to make sure you have these ideas locked down. Here are some helpful suggestions to improve your #% performance, and several examples to make the ideas stick. Determine the Focus Make sure that the #s and %s that are used in the problem are the focus of the problem. The people who make the test … [Read more...]
Ballin’ on a Budget: Thrifting for Answers in Must Be True Questions
It would be nice to spend even a day with the deep pockets of Jeff Bezos. If hard-pressed, my Richie Rich fantasies could settle for the likes of a Richard Branson. However, I have learned the importance of staying within a limited budget. I am far more likely to be found shopping at Goodwill than at Gucci. But hey, that doesn’t rule out rocking a thrift store penguin suit to blend in with the locals in Antarctica. Staying within our budget is just as imperative when choosing Must Be True answers. However, this budget doesn’t involve good old fashioned greenbacks or even the gold coins … [Read more...]
A Qualitative Analysis: How Measurements of Quantity Affect the LSAT
“Thanks for teaching me the definition of many....it really means a lot.” Dad Jokes aside, knowing the exact definition of quantified terms like many can be crucial in mastering the LSAT. Quantification is an integral element in the discussion of logical force. This concept is of the utmost importance in understanding the power of language. Speaking with high levels of logical force doesn’t imply that you hold any special title, nor does it apply when you’re using whatever is the opposite of your inside voice. Rather, logical force refers to the power of your words and how much evidence would … [Read more...]
LSAT Podcast Episode 27: Flaw in the Reasoning Questions Part III – Common Flaws
More Flaws! Episode 27 sees Jon and Dave add a third installment to their series on common logical flaws, this time tackling six key errors in total: Composition/Division, Uncertain Use of a Term, False Analogies, False Dilemmas, Relativity/Degree, and Sunk Cost. Make sure you’re familiar with each of these ideas before test day! … [Read more...]
Quantity Terminology: Some, Few, Several, and Many
Last weekend I got into a conversation with a friend about the exact meaning of few. Yes, sadly, this is how I spend my time. Like many people, she has a very definite idea of what few means: three or more. However, from an LSAT perspective, is that definitely correct? Actually, no.While many would agree that few means three or more, the dictionary definition is, "not many but more than one." So, a few cannot be one, but it can be as low as two. This surprises many people but highlights some of the dangers of taking the LSAT without preparing beforehand. You can easily end up … [Read more...]
Killer LR: 15 of the Hardest Logical Reasoning Questions of All Time Part IV
Part I, Part II, and Part III list the 15 hardest LSAT Logical Reason questions in chronological order. Now let’s get to the most valuable and interesting part of this discussion. What can we learn from them? Here are a few fascinating observations drawn from an analysis of the 15 Hardest LSAT Logical Reasoning questions. A Notable Bias Towards (A) Questions within this set of 15 are overwhelmingly biased in favor of answer choice (A). Certainly this could perhaps be partially explained by the fact that a list such as this one is somewhat subjective, but consider that the correct answer for … [Read more...]
Killer LR: 15 of the Hardest Logical Reasoning Questions of All Time Part III
Below is Part III of our discussion of the 15 hardest LSAT Logical Reasoning questions of all time. This Part contains the final 5 of the 15 questions that were presented in chronological order. In Part I and Part II we went over the first 10 in our list of the most difficult LR questions of all time in chronological order. Part IV is our finale where we discuss some of the interesting patterns and statistics associated with the questions on the list. We chose this list by looking at statistics from students’ practice tests, the volume of questions we receive from students about a LR question, … [Read more...]
Nature vs. Nurture: The LSAT’s Take on the Root Causes of Human Behavior
It may have been as early as middle school when you were first introduced to a psychosocial debate that attempts to answer perhaps life’s most important question. From the time humans developed the ability to formulate questions, we’ve wondered why we are the way that we are. The concept of Nature/Nurture has been around since at least the Elizabethan period, but the ideas were first proposed back in ancient Greece when Aristotle and Plato discussed the origin of human knowledge.This concept has shown up repeatedly on the LSAT over the years! Test makers have discussed behavior traits … [Read more...]
Killer LR: 15 of the Hardest Logical Reasoning Questions of All Time Part II
Below is Part II of our discussion of the 15 hardest LSAT Logical Reasoning questions of all time. This Part contains 5 more of the 15 questions we’re listing out in chronological order. In Part I, we discussed questions 1-5 on the list and in Part III we present questions 11-15. Part IV is our finale where we discuss some of the interesting patterns and statistics associated with the questions on the list. We chose this list by looking at statistics from students’ practice tests, the volume of questions we receive from students about a LR question, and our own experience teaching and writing … [Read more...]
Killer LR: 15 of the Hardest Logical Reasoning Questions of All Time Part I
Below is Part I of our discussion of the 15 hardest LSAT Logical Reasoning questions of all time. This Part contains 5 of the 15 questions, which will be presented in chronological order. In Part II we discuss questions 6-10 on the list and in Part III we present questions 11-15. Part IV is our finale where we discuss some of the interesting patterns and statistics associated with the questions on the list. We chose this list by looking at statistics from students’ practice tests, the volume of questions we receive from students about a LR question, and our own experience teaching and writing … [Read more...]
Overall Section Difficulty in Logical Reasoning
So far in this mini series, we have covered Question-by-Question Difficulty and Individual Question Difficulty. These have largely covered the individual questions within a section on Logical Reasoning on the LSAT. In this post, I am focusing my efforts to discuss overall difficulty in the LR section. Following that, I'll address how that figures into the creation of an LSAT. Overall Difficulty by the Numbers For this, we are using the statistics cited in my previous posts. From there, we have a composite of the overall average difficulty of each section from the four tests under … [Read more...]
Individual Question Difficulty in Logical Reasoning
In my last post, I discussed question-by-question difficulty in LSAT Logical Reasoning sections. Continuing in that same vein, let’s look inside the statistics a bit further. When you examine the difficulty rating for individual questions and sections, you can make several useful inferences. The First Question The first question is always easy or relatively easy (seven of the eight sections under discussion began with a level 1 (easy) question; the other section began with a level 2 (relatively easy) question. In other words, the first question will not be hard. The same is true for the … [Read more...]
Question-by-Question Difficulty in Logical Reasoning
In Logical Reasoning on the LSAT, there is a question many students ask. How does the difficulty of the questions change as the section progresses? In our courses and books, we delve into this point in some detail. Here, I’m going to give a brief overview of how difficulty changes throughout the section. Where Our Data Comes From Before addressing the questions, a note about the statistics we use. You might ask how we derive our information and how accurate that information is. First, years of experience working with LSAT problems and LSAT students give us insight into each section on the … [Read more...]