LSAT REVIEW AKA YOU GETTING THAT 175 -178 BOO

Flaw

Goal: Identify the logical error in the argument.

How do you handle flaw

How to Handle:

• Find the conclusion and premise(s).

• Ask: Does the conclusion follow logically from the premises?

• Look for common reasoning flaws (see below).

what are common flaws you’ll see

Common Flaws:

• Correlation vs. causation

• Necessary vs. sufficient

• Circular reasoning

• Generalizing from small samples

• Attacking the person instead of the argument

what are flaws most common trap

Common Traps:

• Descriptions of flaws that don't occur

• Restatements of the conclusion

• Subtle shifts in subject matter

Weaken

Goal: Find the choice that makes the conclusion less likely to follow from the premises.

How to handle weaken questions

How to Handle:

• Identify the conclusion.

• Look for the assumption connecting premise to conclusion.

• Attack that assumption.

What weakens something

• Offers an alternative explanation

• Shows data might not support conclusion

• Introduces a counterexample or exception

What are common traps for weaken questions

• Strengthens instead of weakens

• Provides irrelevant info

• Restates a premise

Strengthen

Goal: Find the answer that makes the argument more logically sound.

How to handle strengthen questions

How to Handle:

• Identify the argument’s gap or assumption.

• Pick the answer that plugs that gap or supports the connection.

What strengthens something

What Strengthens:

• Reinforces the assumption

• Rules out alternate explanations

• Confirms the reliability of a premise

What are common strengthen traps

Common Traps:

• Irrelevant facts

• Weakly related info

• Restatements

Assumption questions (necessary)

Goal: Find what the argument needs to be true to work.

How the handle assumption questions

How to Handle:

• Identify the conclusion and premise.

• Look for a missing link.

• Use the negation test: If the answer is false, the argument collapses.

What are common traps for assumption questions

Common Traps:

• Too strong

• Not necessary

• Helpful but not required

Conclusion / main point question

Goal: Identify the author's main point.

how to handle conclusion/main point questions

How to Handle:

• Ask: What are they trying to convince me of?

• The conclusion is what everything else supports.

• Look for keywords: therefore, thus, so, clearly, this suggests

What are the common traps for conclusion / main point questions

Common Traps:

• Premises stated as conclusions

• Too narrow or too broad

• Opinions not tied to reasoning

Inference / Must be true questions

Goal: Identify what must logically follow from the info given.

How to handle inference / must be true

How to Handle:

• Stick only to what's stated or directly implied

• Don’t bring in outside knowledge

• Look for statements that are 100% supported by the passage

What are common traps for inference/must be true

Common Traps:

• Too strong/extreme

• Sounds reasonable but not supported

• Introduces new info

Logically completes

Goal: Choose the sentence that completes the argument logically.

How to handle logically completes questions

How to Handle:

• Determine the tone: is it supporting, contrasting, concluding?

• Find the argument structure and follow it to the logical end

What are common traps for logically completes

Common Traps:

• Opposite tone

• Changes the subject

• Doesn't match flow of logic

Most likely to agree questions

Goal: Find the statement that aligns best with the author's opinion.

How handle Most likely to agree questions

How to Handle:

• Understand the author’s attitude and point of view

• Ask: What would they nod to in agreement?

What are common traps for Most likely to agree questions

Common Traps:

• Extreme wording

• Confusing another viewpoint with the author’s

• True but irrelevant

Author is primarily concerned with questions

Goal: Identify the author's main purpose for writing the passage.

How to handle Author is primarily concerned with questions

How to Handle:

• Look for purpose: to inform, argue, critique, explain

• Focus on the introduction and conclusion

• Summarize the passage in 5–7 words before looking at choices

What are common traps for Author is primarily concerned with questions

Common Traps:

• Too narrow or too broad

• Reflects a detail, not the purpose

• Gives correct topic but incorrect intent

What is a premise ?

• A premise is a statement that supports or provides evidence for the conclusion.

• Think of it as the foundation — it answers why the author believes what they’re claiming.

• Premises are assumed to be true for the sake of the LSAT — you don’t question them unless you’re doing a "weaken" or "flaw" question.

What should you think when it comes to premise ?

Think : What facts are being presented?

What is a conclusion ?

• The conclusion is what the author is trying to prove based on the premise(s).

• It’s the main point or claim the author wants you to believe.

• It answers the question: "What is the author trying to convince me of?"

• It’s often a judgment, opinion, or prediction.

What should you think when it comes to conclsuion ?

Think: “Why are they saying all this?”

What is a Stimulus ?

• The stimulus is the entire paragraph or passage you’re given in a Logical Reasoning question.

• It includes the premise(s), the conclusion (if there is one), and sometimes background info, examples, or counterarguments.

What are conclusion indicator words?

Therefore ,Thus , Hence, So, It follows that, This shows that, Clearly

Premise indicator words

Because, Since , For, Given that, Due to, As shown by

Flaw Tips

• Watch for mismatches between premise and conclusion.

• If the reasoning jumps or makes assumptions, it's likely flawed.

• Flaw questions often sound reasonable but contain subtle logic errors.

• Common trap: The answer restates the flaw without clearly identifying it.

Weaken Tips

• Ask: “What, if true, would make the argument less likely to be correct?”

• Watch for new information that attacks the link between premise and conclusion.

• Trap: Avoid answers that weaken the premise itself (you weaken the conclusion).

Strengthen Tips

• You're looking to close the gap between premise and conclusion.

• Strengtheners often affirm or support the assumption being made.

• Common trap: Answer choices that are true but irrelevant.

Assumption Tips

• Necessary assumption questions require the argument to fall apart without the answer.

• Use the Negation Test: if negating the answer destroys the argument, it’s necessary.

• Avoid extreme or overly broad answers unless the stimulus demands it.

Conclusion Identification Tips

• Look for indicator words (therefore, so, thus, hence).

• The conclusion is usually what everything else is trying to prove.

• Watch out for contrast words that pivot from premise to conclusion.

Inference Tips

• Stick strictly to what is stated or can be logically concluded.

• Eliminate answers that go beyond or stretch the given info.

• Look for qualifiers like “some,” “may,” or “often”—LSAT rarely guarantees strong claims.

Most Strongly Supported Tips

• Don't pick answers that are just possible—pick what is best supported by the passage.

• Eliminate anything with new or extreme info not in the stimulus.

Justify / Sufficient Assumption Tips

• These complete the argument: the conclusion must follow if the answer is true.

• Use “fill the gap” thinking to bridge the logic.

• Trap: Answers that support only part of the reasoning.

Logically Completes / Completion Tips

• Think: “What would the author logically say next?”

• Tone and content must match the argument.

Most Helps Explain Tips

• reat this like solving a riddle: “What makes this weird fact make sense?”

• Focus on reconciling conflicting facts or unexpected results.

Disagree / Agree Tips

• arefully compare the viewpoints.

• Watch for what each speaker actually says—not what you infer.