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Cheat Sheet - LR question types
johnscottwilsonsr499
Free Trial Member
For LR reasoning is there a cheat sheet out there that summarizes all the strategies by question type?
Comments
-Joe
Anyone down to pick 1-2 question types and summarize the strategies so we can get a full list together?
I can get us started... (keep in mind these are straight from my notes, if something doesn't make sense let me know, I will edit it. Thanks)
Main Point/Main Conclusion Q:
-Task: Identify main conclusion of an argument
Difficult b/c
1. Contextual info
2. Sub-conclusion
^ both obscure and draw attention away from author's argument
-try to get in the habit of going into "tunnel vision" mode in conclusion part of stimulus; try to find rephrasing of that in answer
Most Strongly Supported (MSS:)
-Task: Identify a statement which receives support (i.e. some sort of conclusion)
Keep in mind:
- Only one answer choice (the correct one) has any support at all!
- Sometimes only a small portion of the stimulus is used to support the right answer choice
- Similar to MP in that they both ask you to identify conclusion, except:
○ MSS has conclusion tucked away in answer choices
○ Unlike MP, MSS may not have entire stimulus moving towards supporting one MC (answer choice may zero in on only one or two statements from stimulus pushed together to create conclusion)
• e.g. stimulus tells you that there is a black cat in the house; correct answer choice says that there are mammals that live in the community
- Answers tend to generalize
• e.g. freelance writers tend to produce high-quality work --> some workers produce high-quality work
- Individual words in answer choices may allow you to eliminate that answer (e.g. absolute statements such as "only")
Here's my contribution.
Necessary Assumption questions (NA):
Task: Identify the statement without which the argument falls flat.
Difficult because:
- Other possible answers are often true as statements of fact, but irrelevant to the argument
Answers tend to be very softly worded. Sometimes, they are only indirectly related to the stimulus. They generally do not recycle too many words from the stimulus.
An example: Dorothy has repeatedly stated her desire to return home. The man behind the curtain told her if she clicks her heels together 3 times, and thinks of the place she wants to go, she will go there. Therefore, if Dorothy clicks her heels together 3 times, she will go home.
Necessary Assumption -> It is not the case that Dorothy will think of someplace that is not home while bringing the rear ends of her feet together the prescribed number of times.
Distraction answer -> Dorothy loves her home.
The distraction is nice, and possibly even true, but if it isn't true, it doesn't matter.
MBT
Step 1: What did you read in the stimulus and what do you know on the basis of that reading?
Must Be True answers must be based on information in the stimulus or the direct result of combining statements in the stimulus. Be wary of new information that is not explicitly in the stimulus.
Correct answer choices:
1. Paraphrased answers are answers that restate a portion of the stimulus in different terms. When these answers mirror the stimulus, they are correct.
2. Combination answers result from combining two or more statements in the stimulus.
Incorrect answer choices:
1. Exaggerated answers take information from the stimulus and then stretch that information to make a broader statement that is not supported by the stimulus.
2. Are A.C. that could possibly occur or are likely to occur, but are not certain to occur.
3. The Reverse Answer is attractive because it contains familiar elements from the stimulus, but it rearranges those elements to create a new, unsupported statement.
SA
Sufficient assumption questions contain an argument that is, by itself, not fully complete. Unless we add more to the argument, it’s not going to be fully valid.
Your task in answering these is to find a piece of information (an additional premise) that does make it valid.
To form a good pre-answer on a sufficient assumption question, think about what is both a necessary and sufficient assumption for the conclusion to be valid. This is forming a bridge to the conclusion.
Correct answer choice:
1. That, if true, would definitely, 100%, beyond all shred of a doubt, make the conclusion valid.
Can we keep this conversation going?
FAMILY # 1 is the PROVE family where the stimulus is taken to be true but the answer choices are under suspect and you must prove one of them to be correct. So family #1 contains: (6 question types)
1. Must be true questions
• require you to select an answer choice that is proven by the info presented in the stimulus.
Note: The right answer will be a paraphrase of the stimulus and no new extra info in the right answer.
2. Main point questions
•These questions just ask you to identify the main conclusion of the stimulus.
3. Point at Issue
•These questions are the ones where two people are speaking and the question will ask you on either a point that they both disagree on or a point that they both agree on.
4. Method of Reasoning
•The correct answer in this question type is the one that best describes
What method author used to make the argument.
•NO NEW INFO in the correct answer choice in these questions either.
•We focus on form instead of facts in these question types.
5. Flaw in Reasoning
•These questions are also like method of reasoning since they focus on form rather than facts/substance of the stimulus.
•So the correct answer in this question type will point out WHY the argument is flawed.
•Don't get this confused with weakening questions, because weakening questions just attack the support between the premise and conclusion.
•So instead of just making the argument weak, you tell why it is actually weak.
6. and Parallel Reasoning
•The correct answer choice of this question type will parallel the stimulus's
A. Method of Reasoning
B. Validity (either a valid or invalid argument)
C. Conclusion
D. and Premises
The parallel reasoning question types are time consuming b/c you have to sort thru five more stimulus's in the answer choice to pick out the right one.
FAMILY #2 is the HELP family and in this family the stimulus is under suspect while the answer choices are taken to be true. So this family contains: (4 question types)
1. Strengthen questions
•These questions ask you to strengthen the support between the premise and conclusion. So basically if there are any gaps in the argument, just fill those in.
2. Assumption questions
•These question types ask you to identify an assumption that is used to make the conclusion of the argument.
3. Justify the conclusion
•The right answer to these question types will add info to the premise to make the conclusion follow.
•The Justify Formula is this:
premise + correct answer = conclusion
4. Resolve the paradox
•These questions look like they have a contradiction but they actually don't. So with the correct answer you make that appearance of a contradiction go away.
•So the correct answer will allow both sides of the paradox to be factually correct and it will either explain how the situation came into being or add a piece of info that shows how the 2 ideas/occurrences can coexist.
FAMILY #3 is the HURT family and its the same as the 2nd family because the stimulus is under suspect and the answer choices are taken as given. This family contains: (1 question type)
1. Weaken questions
•In this question type you are supposed to weaken the support between the premise and conclusion
FAMILY #4 is the DISPROVE family and its the same as the 1st family where the stimulus is taken as it is but the answer choice is under suspect. This family contains: (1 question type)
1. Cannot be True
•In this question type you are to choose the answer that is most weakened by the info in the argument.
1. Main Point/Main Conclusion Questions
- The most fundamental skill on the LSAT. Take a label and slap it on the sentence that you think is the main point
2. Most Strongly Supported Questions
- They are similar to MP/MC questions in that you must locate the conclusion then find the answer choice that provides support
- The “fine” difference is that in MP/MC questions the conclusion is in the stimulus and you just need to identify it and in MSS questions the conclusion is removed from the stimulus and placed into the answer choices.
- If you properly understand support then you will be able to identify the displaced conclusion among the answer choices
3. Assumption and Weakening Questions
- Assumptions are the weakness of the argument; they are premises that the author has left out.
- Assumptions are subtle: they are hard to detect but you must be sensitive to them as assumptions determine the strength of the argument
- When looking at the answer choices consider answer choices that support the conclusion
o ** Note, arguments are good and bad. An argument is considered “good” insofar as the premise support the conclusion
- The more assumptions the argument makes, the weaker the argument
- How to weaken an argument?
o It is very abstract and subtle
o You must remove the support
• What support? The support the premise provide to the conclusion
- Weakening questions test you on:
o YOU DO NOT ATTACK OR CONTRADICT a PREMISE, EVER
o YOU DO NOT CONTRADICT OR DENY a CONCLUSION, EVER
• An answer choice will strip the existing premise of its strength.
• A correct answer choice will show, despite the premise being true, with the consideration of the additional premise (correct answer choice) the existing premise(s) are now, way less supportive
- Ask yourself?
o Why is it, that despite the fact the I accept the premises I no longer accept the conclusion
• The correct answer choice will give you a reason
4. Causation and Phenomenon Hypothesis Questions
- Causation Theory:
5. Strengthening Questions
- The answer choice you choose will introduce a new idea that increases the support from the existing premises to the conclusion
- You are tasked with exposing and affirming and assumptions made by the author
- You make the premise(s) more supportive of the conclusion
6. Sufficient Assumption Questions
- You are looking for the answer choice that provides the stimulus with the missing information that will help the argument to reach the holy grail status of validity
- Your goal is to bridge the gap between the premise
- Ex.
o Here is my premise A and here is my conclusion B, you must provide the “if then”; If A, then B. With this additional premise you have a VALID (MBT) argument.
- These question types rely heavily on conditional logic and diagramming/mapping
o If you understand validity, sufficiency and necessity relationships these questions should be “gimmies” on the LSAT
7. Pseudo-sufficient Assumption Questions:
- Very similar to sufficient assumption questions in that they rely heavily on logic. The difference is, they LSAT writers are leaving a small window that says the answer choice may not make the argument valid but it is ALMOST valid.
8. Must Be True Questions
- Validity is the strongest most special relationship between premises and the conclusion, it is an argument which makes zero assumptions so therefore, it is valid.
- The definition of a valid argument: If the premises are true, then the conclusion must also be true. So choose the answer choice that considering the info provided, MBT
9. Must Be false Questions
- Rare on the LSAT, are the opposite of must be true.
- The Stimulus will provide you with a set of outlines/rules etc and then give you answer choices
- One of the answer choices will violate the outlined “rules” there for making it a must be false/cannot be true
10. Argument Part Questions
- The question stem will directly quote a section of the passage and ask you to identify what role that section plays in the stimulus.
- The role can be many things: Main conclusion, major premise, sub conclusion, context etc.
11. Method of Reasoning Questions
- This is a descriptive level question. You are being asked how the argument proceeds
- Method of reasoning questions will have repeat cookie cutter answer choices used over and over.
- These questions are key to dissection of the LSAT.
- You will see a large amount of referential phrases and abstract language
12. Principle Questions
- They are SA questions in reverse. You are provided with an argument with a gaping whole in them, but if you take the principle supplied in the stimulus and insert it you will have a valid argument
13. Parallel Method of Reasoning Questions
- Identify the method of reasoning used in the stimulus and then find the answer choice that parallels it
14. Flaw Descriptive Weakening Questions
- You are being asked to engage with the question and describe where the question is weak
- You don’t point directly out the flaw, you say the argument fails to do something, fails to account for something
- Can be considered a weakening question and you will likely be successful
- The wrong answer choices will be correct for other questions, make sure you understand what each answer choice is saying.
15. Parallel Flaw Questions
- Identify how the argument in the stimulus is flawed and then read the answer choices to find a similar flaw
16. Necessary Assumption Questions
- A valid argument encompasses every single NA you can think of. A necessary assumption does very little to help the argument, but without it—the argument falls apart
o If you say you are the best surfer in the whole wide world and it is phrased in a way that is valid, all NA included are: you are alive, you know the difference between surfing and hockey.
o If you deny any of the NA then you demolish the argument
17. Resolve-Reconcile-Explain Questions
- They give a set of statements that appear contradictory of one another. You are asked to use the 5 answer choices to show or provide a reason why they facts are not actually at odds
- It is an alternative explanation for why the contradiction is simply an appearance of a contradiction. You are granted some “wiggle room” to resolve and reconcile and explain the phenomenon you are presented with
18. Point at Issue/Disagree Questions
- It is almost always a dual speaker stimulus
- You are tasked with determining what the speakers agree or disagree on
- It is important to note that if a speaker has no opinion on it than you cannot say that they agree or disagree
Maybe not what you were looking for... but this is the sheet I made
-G
- Causation Theory:
@sully8725
What were you planning on putting here?
4. Causation and Phenomenon Hypothesis Questions:
Causation:
- Type of Logic
- Employed in LR
- Causal Relationship
- Causation Theory: (as the LSAT understands it)
1) Causation implies correlation: if you have no correlation then you have no causation
2) Causation implies chronology: If A--> Then A must have come first
3) Causation strongly suggests there are no competing causes
- Correlation Theory:
~~ Empirically observes co-variance: CORRELATION DOES NOT IMPLY CAUSATION
**Empirically Observed: Out in the world..data we see/observe/find
** Covariance: Change that happens together
Example: Fire Fighters (A) and Fire (B) (correlated)
** Just because A and B are correlated, it does not mean (A) fire fighters causes (B) fires.
*~*~* If you are given a correlation you cannot assume causation, but causation DOES imply correlation
4 Possible Explanations:
When we observe that A is CORRELATED or CO-INCIDENTAL with B there are 4 possible " situations"
1. A caused B
2. B caused A
3. C caused both A and B
4. There is no relationship at all (alternative cause)
We Use Causation Strategy:
1. Stimulus: Premise gives us either correlation or coincidence and then the argument proceeds to assume causation or concludes causation
2. Answer Choices: Check for the following
A) Competing Explanation: the intro or denial of an alternative cause
C) Third common cause: Maybe there is a third cause that is causing both 1 and 2 and both effects are the effects of a 3rd common cause
D) Data Sets: Look for competing or corroborating data sets.
Sorry about that guys! Kind of long but I didn't even realize I had forgot to add it in!
G
UP
Strengthen
Weaken
NA
SA
PSA
Principle
Resolve, Reconcile, explain
DOWN
Main point
Method of reasoning
Argument part
Flawed method of reasoning
Parallel method of reasoning
Parallel flawed method of reasoning
Point at issue
Must be true
Most strongly supported
Must be false