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
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.
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.
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
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.
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.