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LSAT Help

TermDefinition
Necessary Assumption Questions Correct Answers Necessary Assumption Questions Correct Answers: - connects a language shift or rules out an obstacle - prefer weak language
RC "most likely to disagree over" questions for comparative passages "most likely to disagree over" questions for comparative passages are like point-at-issue questions, the topic/idea has to be discussed/mentioned in both passages and both have an opinion of it
Strengthen Questions Correct Answers - includes new info prefer strong language - strengthens the bond between the conclusion and the support - directly supports the conclusion or - confirms the relevance/strength of the premise(s) - rules out an obstacle to the conclusion
For point-at-issue/identify the disagreement questions, find/choose... the one thing that both people discuss and show some opinion about! - prove the answer - cannot have new info
Necessary Assumption Questions it is usually very helpful to think of/find the flaw as an assumption! - 50% language shifts, 50% obstacles - prefer weak language - negation test (2nd pass)
Negation Test for Necessary Assumption Questions Negation test (2nd pass): if the support is in fact required/necessary to reach a conclusion, it stands to reason that if the exact opposite of that support were true, it would severely hurt or even destroy the argument being made.
Sufficient Assumption Questions For Sufficient Assumption questions, we want an answer that: - makes the conclusion 100% justifiable - completely fixes the issue - ensures that the conclusion will result - prefer strong language
Principle-Strengthen Questions Correct Answers Principle-Strengthen Questions Correct Answers: - a rule that applies to the premise(s) and leads to the conclusion - matches piece-by-piece to the argument - prefer strong language
Inference Questions Correct Answers Inference Questions Correct Answers: - prove it - supported by a single statement or a combination of statements - prefer weak language
Principle-Match Questions Correct Answers - matches piece-by-piece to the argument - identifies a rule that connects the premises to the conclusion or correctly applies the rules stated in the argument (rule that applies to the premises and leads to the conclusion)
Causal language results in/from, reduces, raises, is responsible for, increases, influences, impacts, accordingly, affects, attributed to, because of, brings about, triggers, thus one can attain, gives rise to, guarantees, decreases, due to, determines, leads to, lowers
Rest of Causal language promotes, produces, merely by doing X, causes
RC Extract-Infer questions For RC Extract-Infer questions, watch out for new info/ideas (not argued/mentioned/discussed in the passage)!!!
RC Comparative Passages To have success on questions, you want to go into them with a clear sense of: 1. the central issue to which the two passages relate; 2. the exact relationship that these passages have toward the central issue; 3. how the two passages relate to one another
For strengthen, weaken, and sufficient assumption questions, to help confirm that your answer is correct: take it and try to "fit" it in between the support and the conclusion
For strengthen and weaken questions, ... make sure to have a clear/correct understanding of the flaw/assumption(s) to prevent struggling between two incorrect answers/when trying to eliminate wrong answers
Evaluate Questions Correct Answers Evaluate Questions Correct Answers: - includes new info - affects the validity of the argument - relationship between the support and conclusion
Describe the Reasoning Correct Answers Describe the Reasoning Correct Answers: - matches the argument piece-by-piece - best match for my prediction
For Principle-Strengthen questions, remember that we want an answer that... is a rule that applies to the premise(s) and leads to the conclusion - prefer strong language
Point-as-Issue (identify the disagreement) Questions Correct Answers Point-as-Issue (identify the disagreement) Questions Correct Answers: - prove it - a statement one would agree with and the other would disagree with - the one thing that both people discuss and show some opinion about
Sufficient Assumption Questions Correct Answers - completely fixes the issue - proves the conclusion by providing the missing link - makes the conclusion 100% justifiable - check by putting in between the support and the conclusion - ensures conclusion will result
Weaken Questions Correct Answers Weaken Questions Correct Answers: - includes new info - prefer strong language - weakens the bond between the support and the conclusion
Describe the Reasoning Questions Wrong Answers Describe the Reasoning Questions Wrong Answers: - role of a different claim - wrong strategy/technique - too strong/too broad - opposite/contradicted - distorted/not stated
Inference Questions Wrong Answers Inference Questions Wrong Answers: - too strong/too broad (jumps to a conclusion) - new info ! - distorted - reversed - opposite/contradicted - can't prove it
Principle-Match (Apply/Parallel/Identify the Principle) Questions Wrong Answers Principle-Match (Apply/Parallel/Identify the Principle) Questions Wrong Answers: - too broad/too strong - distorted/not stated - opposite/contradicted/reversed
Point-at-Issue Questions Wrong Answers - point of agreement - mentioned by only one speaker - new info ! - distorted/generalize beyond both arguments, get more specific than both arguments, or change subject matter or relationship being discussed - neither argue it
Evaluate Questions Wrong Answers Evaluate Questions Wrong Answers: - irrelevant - too weak/too vague - addresses something already known
Principle-Strengthen Questions Wrong Answers Principle-Strengthen Questions Wrong Answers: - irrelevant - reversed - too weak/too vague - reinforces a premise - hurts
Sufficient Assumption Questions Wrong Answers Sufficient Assumption Questions Wrong Answers: - irrelevant - reversed - too weak/too vague - reinforces a premise - hurts
Weakens Questions Wrong Answers - irrelevant - too weak/too vague - contradicts a premise - helps - weakens the conclusion but not in a way that impacts how they made the conclusion
Strengthen Questions Wrong Answers Strengthen Questions Wrong Answers: - irrelevant - too weak/too vague - reinforces a premise - hurts - helps to focus specifically on/have clear understanding of the argument's assumption(s) when trying to eliminate wrong answers
Necessary Assumption Questions Wrong Answers Necessary Assumption Questions Wrong Answers: - too strong/too broad - irrelevant - reinforces a premise - hurts
Weak conditional terms indicating sufficiency Weak conditional terms indicating sufficiency: - usually - generally - almost invariably If a sentence answers the question "what happens when X occurs?" treat it as a conditional - even without if/then
Words that mean most Words that mean most: - majority - preponderance - usually - routinely - generally - typically - almost any
When am I likely to be tested on conditional logic? When I'm likely to be tested on conditional logic: - Sufficient Assumption - Principle-Strengthen - Inference - Necessary Assumption - Principle-Match - Parallel (the reasoning and the flaw)
Sufficient (left-side) conditional terms Sufficient (left-side) conditional terms: - no - none - never - nobody - when - whenever - whatever - all - any - always - each - every - if - invariably
Necessary (right-side) conditional terms Necessary (right-side) conditional terms: - requires - required - requirement - necessary - necessitates - only - only if - entails - essential - must - mandatory - prerequisite - precondition - depends on
Comparison terms Comparison terms: - greater than - bigger - smaller - more - less - than - higher - lower - no more likely than - just as - as... as - same
Words that mean some Words that mean some: - a few - a significant number - all too many - several - sometimes - occasionally - often - frequently - not all - many - certain
Ways you can strengthen a cause-and-effect relationship - make coincidence less likely - show more cause and effect - show no cause, no effect - rule out an alternate explanation - rule out reversed causality - bolster the plausibility of the given explanation
Ways you can weaken a cause-and-effect relationship - make coincidence more likely - show case without effect - show effect without cause - point out an alternate explanation - point out the causality is reversed - undermine the plausibility of the given explanation
Causal Flaws/Arguments For causal flaws/arguments, the assumptions are: - not coincidence - no alternative explanation - not reversed the obstacles to a causal argument are: - possibilities of coincidence - alternate explanation - reversed causality
LR Reasoning Flaw: Extreme Conclusion LR Reasoning Flaw: Extreme Conclusion: - the conclusion is too strong or definitive given the premises - fails to consider relevant information or other ways to interpret or explain the premises - assumes no other relevant factors or considerations
LR Reasoning Flaw: Absence of Evidence - interprets a lack of/flawed evidence as proof that something does/doesn't exist, lack of evidence doesn't prove anything; a claim might be true even if the evidence is flawed. assumes absence of evidence for a claim is itself evidence against that claim
LR Reasoning Flaw: Appeals LR Reasoning Flaw: Appeals: - appeals to an authority on a matter outside of their expertise - the authority might be wrong
LR Reasoning Flaws: Circular LR Reasoning Flaws: Circular: - the conclusion restates or paraphrases a premise - the conclusion doesn't state anything new - neither side/conclusion doesn't have any independent support
Language Shift Flaws Language shift flaws assume: some relationship/similarity between the new idea in the conclusion and the idea in the premise - flawed because it does not explain how the ideas are related and creates a gap in reasoning
LR Reasoning Flaw: Language Shifts - shifts from one idea to another without explaining how they're related, doesn't explain how the ideas are related, creating a gap in the reasoning - assumes some relationship/similarity between the new idea in the conclusion and the idea in the premise
LR Reasoning Flaw: Attacks LR Reasoning Flaw: Attacks: - attacks someone's character, motivation, or actions/hypocrisy - a flaw in the person/other person isn't the same as a flaw in their argument
LR Reasoning Flaw: Shifting meanings/equivocation LR Reasoning Flaw: Shifting meanings/equivocation: - uses a key term or phrase in two different senses - the key term doesn't mean the same thing in different contexts
Survey/sample/study/poll/research flaws Survey/sample/study/poll/research flaws assume: - the sample is representative - the data are valid - no other way to interpret the results - not biased/inappropriate sample for a certain conclusion
Extreme conclusion/a piece ≠ the puzzle flaws Extreme conclusion/a piece ≠ the puzzle flaws assume: - that there are no other relevant factors or considerations - fails to consider relevant information or other ways to interpret or explain the premises
Comparison flaws/arguments For comparison flaws/arguments, the argument assumes: - the compared things are similar - there's no relevant difference - the obstacle to an argument based on comparison is the possibility of a relevant difference
Mistaking sufficient for necessary flaw Mistaking sufficient for necessary = falsely equating characteristics
Mistaking necessary for sufficient flaw Mistaking necessary for sufficient = overvalues a trait/characteristic/clue
Subjective Questions Correct Answers - if you know the flaw, you should be able to see how the right answer relates to that flaw, every single time.
Subjective Questions Subjective Questions: - Flaw - Parallel/Match the Flaw - Sufficient Assumption - Principle Strengthen - Necessary Assumption - Strengthen - Weaken - Evaluate
The biggest key to Sufficient Assumption questions is... to have a very clear sense of the flaw (and assumption(s))
Whenever our job is to be subjective, our primary task is to... figure out why the reasons provided are not enough to prove the conclusion reached.
For subjective/invalid arguments, the support... does not justify/validate/guarantee the conclusion! If it is not enough to guarantee the outcome the author presents, the argument is flawed.
For subjective/invalid arguments... take the premises/support to be true!
Solving process for non-arguments-based (reading for information) objective questions 1. understand the job/task 2. read the stimulus/understand principle/identify disagreement/find the discrepancy 3. eliminate wrong answer 4. confirm the right answer
Solving process for subjective questions 1. understand the task/job 2. identify the conclusion 3. identify the support 4. figure out what's wrong - find the flaw - reread the question stem to remind myself of the task 5. get rid of wrong answers 6. confirm the right answer
Solving process for argument-based objective questions Solving process for argument-based objective questions: 1. understand the job/task 2. identify the conclusion 3. identify/find the support - reread the question stem to remind myself of the task 4. get rid of answers 5. confirm the right answer
List of argument-based objective questions List of argument-based objective questions: - Conclusion - Reasoning (identify the role and what is the reasoning structure?) - Match/parallel the reasoning
List of non-argument-based (reading for information) objective questions List of non-argument-based (reading for information) objective questions: - Inference - Principle-Match - Point-at-Issue - Resolve/Explain
When there's an intermediary conclusion/I'm thinking that there's two possible main conclusions,... figure out which one is meant to support which
Conditionals For conditionals, all "exactly 100%" and "exactly 0%" quantity terms are also sufficient/left-side terms
Subjective Help Questions If a question is in the Help category, the correct answer cannot reinforce a premise.
Resolve/Explain Questions For Resolve/Explain questions, the key is to have a clear sense of the discrepancy before going into the answer choices. Discrepancies are often generated because of an assumed similarity, so the right answer points out a relevant difference.
Resolve/Explain Questions Correct Answers Resolve/Explain Questions Correct Answers: - must include new info - identifies one possible explanation for how both things could be true at the same time
Resolve/Explain Questions Tips Resolve/Explain Questions Tips: - don't look for argument/flaw, just read for information - have a clear understanding of the paradox/discrepancy
Resolve/Explain Questions Wrong Answers Resolve/Explain Questions Wrong Answers: - irrelevant, doesn't impact discrepancy - too vague - exacerbates - addresses only one side - supports something we already know (not new)
RC Two-Pass Method First Pass First Pass: - eliminate choices using Bottom Line - use your own answer actively but cautiously - if you're not sure of an answer or don't understand it, leave it in!
RC Two-Pass Method Second Pass Second Pass: - re-read the question - compare remaining choices WORD for WORD - go back to the passage for PROOF - look for common distractors
RC Big Picture Questions RC Big Picture Questions - choose answer that discussed passage as a whole - make sure relates to all parts of passage - best indicates why the passage was written
RC Extract-Fact Questions RC Extract-Fact Questions: - asks for something explicitly stated
RC Structure-Function Questions RC Structure-Function Questions: - see/figure out how that text relates to the rest of the passage - anytime they're asking for the attitude or purpose, if they give you a specific reference, read around to get fuller context of reference
Created by: wimsattannie
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