There's an awesome biconditional lesson in the core curriculum of 7 sage that you should definitely check out. But if you just need a quick reference. Here are the two most popular biconditionals: 1.) forever together 2.) forever apart.
1.) Forever together:
If you have one item, you must have the other. They are always together. Never apart.
Key indicators:
If but only if
if and only if
if yet only if
Example: Alan attends the meeting "if and only if" Chris attends the meeting.
A (-) C
To understand it better, try breaking down the biconditional as follows:
Alan attends the meeting "if" Chris attends the meeting.
C ->A
Alan attends the meeting "only if" Chris attends the meeting.
A->C
Now put them together "if and only if" is combined as the biconditional: A (-) C
2.) Forever apart:
If you have one item, you don't have the other. They are always apart. Never together.
Key indicators:
(either) or, but not both.
Example: Alan or Chris goes to the park, but not both.
/A (-) C
To understand it better, try breaking down the biconditional as follows:
Alan "or" Chris goes to the park.
/A -> C
Alan and Chris "cannot both" go to the park.
A -> /C
Now put them together "or, but not both" is combined as the biconditional: /A (-) C
Agree with @matthewcsorrels859 wholeheartedly. I struggled recognizing them also, but am much more familiar so it can be done. You could also search in discussion for comments on the topic.
Have you watched the core curriculum videos on biconditionals? JY lists the phrases that the LSAT writers use to express biconditionals. I also struggled to recognize them for a while, but after reviewing the videos for a little bit I’ve had a much easier time. If I recall correctly, I actually think JY mentions every single know biconditional phrasing that has appeared on the LSAT.
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3 comments
There's an awesome biconditional lesson in the core curriculum of 7 sage that you should definitely check out. But if you just need a quick reference. Here are the two most popular biconditionals: 1.) forever together 2.) forever apart.
1.) Forever together:
If you have one item, you must have the other. They are always together. Never apart.
Key indicators:
If but only if
if and only if
if yet only if
Example: Alan attends the meeting "if and only if" Chris attends the meeting.
A (-) C
To understand it better, try breaking down the biconditional as follows:
Alan attends the meeting "if" Chris attends the meeting.
C ->A
Alan attends the meeting "only if" Chris attends the meeting.
A->C
Now put them together "if and only if" is combined as the biconditional: A (-) C
2.) Forever apart:
If you have one item, you don't have the other. They are always apart. Never together.
Key indicators:
(either) or, but not both.
Example: Alan or Chris goes to the park, but not both.
/A (-) C
To understand it better, try breaking down the biconditional as follows:
Alan "or" Chris goes to the park.
/A -> C
Alan and Chris "cannot both" go to the park.
A -> /C
Now put them together "or, but not both" is combined as the biconditional: /A (-) C
Agree with @matthewcsorrels859 wholeheartedly. I struggled recognizing them also, but am much more familiar so it can be done. You could also search in discussion for comments on the topic.
Have you watched the core curriculum videos on biconditionals? JY lists the phrases that the LSAT writers use to express biconditionals. I also struggled to recognize them for a while, but after reviewing the videos for a little bit I’ve had a much easier time. If I recall correctly, I actually think JY mentions every single know biconditional phrasing that has appeared on the LSAT.