We focus a tremendous amount of time and attention in our courses and books emphasizing the importance of inference making in Games: determining the truths of the relationships between variable sets. In making inferences, what we’re really focused on is establishing notions of what I’ll refer to here as positive and negative certainty. That is, determining what must occur in an absolute (consistent) sense, and what cannot occur in an absolute … [Read more...]
How to Approach a Nested Conditionals Statement
If you come across a Nested Conditional statement, you cannot completely ignore it unless, of course, you don't care about that one extra point. Oh, and by the way, you just came across a Nested Conditional statement. See how easy that was? In today's LSAT Forum Post of the Day, LSAT expert Nikki Siclunov offers some tips to a student on handling such complex conditionals.Here's a quick preview. But be sure to check out the full … [Read more...]
Logic Game Types and Frequency of Appearance
When you prepare for the Logic Games section of the LSAT, you should be aware of the game types that appear most frequently on the exam. In our LSAT preparation courses and Logic Games publications we delineate the advanced and comprehensive game classification system used by PowerScore to attack the Logic Games section of the LSAT*. Below, we use some of the most basic classification levels of that system to provide an informative analysis of … [Read more...]
How to Recognize Limited Solution Set Games
In last night's Live Online LSAT class, I asked my (awesome!) group for some input about what they would like to see in my post today. The strongest response I got was to write about how to know when to diagram, as part of your initial setup, the limited solutions possible in a logic game with a highly restrictive rule set. Diagramming the limited solutions at the start of a game can empower you, enabling you to dominate the game with increased … [Read more...]
Weakening Concepts and Truth vs. Validity
How do you attack assumptions to weaken the argument? Do the three incorrect answers for weakening questions deal with incorrect assumptions or conclusions? Read this discussion between a PowerScore student, a PowerScore senior instructor, and LSAT Bible Trilogy author Dave Killoran to learn more!Here's a quick preview. Make sure to check out the full thread to read the entire explanation Nikki and Dave provided to this student:The … [Read more...]
Assumption Question: Supporter and Defender
Have you ever wondered why Defender Assumptions are often connected to stimuli that have no obvious errors? Well, one of our students was wondering just that, and decided to ask us about it in our LSAT Forum. PowerScore instructor Clay Cooper first weighed in with an excellent explanation of how Defenders work, and then LSAT Logical Reasoning Bible author Dave Killoran followed up with a discussion of whether you should know if you will be seeing … [Read more...]
Grouping Games, Conditional Linkage, and the Double-Not Arrow
A commonly-tested occurrence in Grouping Games (and even occasionally in Logical Reasoning) is a set of conditional rules that can be linked to one another through shared variables, forming chains and producing a series of inferences. The ability to create and manipulate these linkages is critical, as is the ability to avoid mistakes! In this LSAT Forum Post of the Day, PowerScore VP of Development Jon Denning walks a student through the process … [Read more...]
Logic Games Language and Numerical Distributions
The test makers are notoriously clever when it comes to the interplay of variable sets in Logic Games, particularly with how they word the rules and restrictions governing distributions. So how can you prepare yourself for this challenge, and what methods can be used to "test" the limits of variable interactions? Today's LSAT Forum Post of the Day addresses both of these concerns, as PowerScore Developer Jon Denning explores exactly what to do … [Read more...]
Either/Or and the Double Arrow
Confused by the use of the use of the phrase "either/or" in LSAT questions? You aren't alone! And, you might be even more confused when the phrase "but not both" is thrown into the mix. Dave Killoran breaks down how "either/or" works on the LSAT to a student on our LSAT Forum, and discusses the effects of the "but not both" phrasing when it is used (tip: it has a big effect). Since this phrase appears most frequently in Logic Games, you have to … [Read more...]
Attacking Logic Games: Focus on Certainty!
I was reading my colleague Dave's recent blog post on Global and Local question strategies in Logic Games, and it got me thinking about recent conversations I've had with students on similar topics, primarily with respect to efficient inference making and question attack. So I'm going to supplement his insights with a few of my own.We focus a tremendous amount of time and attention in our courses and books emphasizing the fundamental … [Read more...]
Global/Local Question Answering Strategies
A while back, I received an interesting question from a student: “Hi, I have your Logic Games Bible and have a question. Another book recommends answering local “if” questions first then doing what you call global questions. I don't believe the Bible makes any recommendations about which questions to answer first. Do you have a question ordering strategy or you simply recommend answering them in the order they appear on the test?” Strategies … [Read more...]
How To Guess Like a Pro on the LSAT Part I: Logic Games
(To learn more about guessing on the Logical Reasoning section, check out Part II of this blog series. For guessing on the Reading Comprehension section, read Part III. )Since there is no penalty for guessing on the LSAT, it goes without saying that you shouldn't leave any bubbles blank. Precisely how you guess, however, depends on a number of factors: Are you a strong test-taker? Can you at least narrow down your possible choices? Which … [Read more...]
Tiered Circular Games: AKA the 10th Circle of LSAT Hell
The last time a Circular Linear game made an appearance on an LSAT was the February 2014 exam. Unfortunately, this test is undisclosed, so we will never actually see the game. This very game is also rumored to be a "tiered circular linear" game. It presumably involves two variable sets to be distributed around a circle. We'll never know for sure, but such a game is not outside the realm of possibility. What are the chances of a game like this? … [Read more...]
Diagramming on the LSAT Part II – Notation Suggestions
I wrote a blog post yesterday about LSAT diagramming and how to better determine its usefulness for you, where essentially I suggested that diagramming is an investment of your time and rhythm and for that investment to be worthwhile it needed to pay dividends in terms of either (1) gaining you more time than it took as you continue on (like a prephrase, where you can more aggressively/efficiently sort through the answers), or (2) leading to an … [Read more...]