Prephrasing is one of the most powerful tools on the LSAT. Trap answers on all three sections of the test only work if you consider them thoroughly, and the pre-phrase works to avoid these traps completely! However, the method is more involved than a simple prediction – understanding exactly what a question stem requires in all three sections of the exam is a critical aspect of the pre-phrase. Consider Strengthen questions in Logical Reasoning. One question may have a conclusion such as: “Apples are tastier than oranges”. Here, your pre-phrase should focus on an item that makes you believe apples are tastier than oranges. This seems intuitive, but focusing your process of elimination based on a conclusion helps massively when faced with really tricky answer choices.
Pre-phrasing has tons of utility in Reading Comprehension as well. I always recommend that my students pre-phrase Main Point question types by developing their own concise summary, and then comparing it with the answer choices to see what fits best! For passage organization questions, trace the development in your own words, and then hunt for the correct answer. Even author's perspective questions can be pre-phrased! For those question types, develop a low-res summary of the author’s perspective, and eliminate answer choices that conflict with that summary. Usually, you’ll be left with one or two answer choices, making your decision-making process leagues easier.
Finally, Logic Games is one of the best applications of the pre-phrase. Effectively, the board-building and inference-making process is a giant pre-phrase for the must be true questions in each game! When faced with a question that gives you a new role (for example, “If K is in 3, what must be true?”), you should create a world that abides by that local condition, attempt to place the rest of the game pieces, and then spot what must be true – all without looking at the answer choices. This will lead to much faster answers than brute-forcing (testing each answer choice ) each question, and will keep you from falling for those pitfall answer choices!
If you’d like further guidance on pre-phrasing in logical reasoning , check out this link to a free webinar on the topic: https://7sage.com/webinar/pre-phrasing-your-way-to-success/
In addition, talk over your strategies with one of our expert tutors – we’re happy to discuss prephrasing and other topics with you in a free consultation: https://calendly.com/7sage-tutoring/7sage-tutoring-free-consultation