Flaw LR Questions Tips Needed

mellosbr

Hello everyone! I am consistently getting flaw or descriptive weaking questions wrong. No matter what I do, I just cannot improve. Does anyone have tips for these types of questions? Also, just in general. I always get stuck between two answers and choose the wrong one. Sometimes I choose the right one and over think and then I change it. How can I gain more confidence in myself?

Matt Sorr

I'd recommend you study the common flaw types from the core curriculum. While flaw questions aren't quite as formulaic as earlier periods, you still see the common flaws used frequently. I found the just being exposed to some of those flaws helped me. For instance, the first time I encountered a circular reasoning flaw, I didn't recognize it and missed the question. After learning about it in the curriculum and watching JY explain it, however, I have been able to more readily identify it.

Additionally, I'd recommend you keep a wrong answer journal if you don't already. Save all flaw questions in the same area of the journal and force yourself to explain exactly what you didn't understand/missed. Then periodically review the journal. Making yourself write out each wrong answer, as well as reviewing them occasionally, will help you to recognize flaws more quickly and accurately.

Dave1111

What helped me to sort of break the habit of picking the trap answer choice was whenever I got it down to 2 answers like you described I would pick the opposite of what I wanted to pick, and I swear it started getting me the correct more often. Now don't use this strategy on test day, but when there are 2 answers like that on the curve breaker questions the wrong answer is meant to be written to sound good, that is what the LSAT wants. Realizing this can help you see the subtitles of some of the correct answers on curve beakers, and there are always flaw curve breakers.
Also take the descriptive weakening aspect of the questions to heart because it will help you a lot on the newer tests which has more abstract flaw questions. Eventually once you practice enough for about 3/4 of flaw questions you will be able to read them and tell right away what is wrong with the argument and look for your thought in the ACs. For me I was too disorganized to keep a wrong answer so instead I would go into the drill function here and sort the questions by 'taken' and then make drills with the hard questions I had missed before. So I would make like a drill with 15 5-star flaw questions that I had missed in prior PTs. Even if you remember the explanations for the questions treat it like the real thing, go through all the steps in understanding the stimulus and eliminating the wrong ACs.

This is what helped me, hope it can help you too, keep at it.