Lsat LAw school admission test Exam
Argument Basics
an argument is a crucial that you dont develop such an emotional response to the information :
defitnion : an argument is the reasoned presentioan of an idea that is supposed by evidence
that is assumed to be true
reasoned questions
the author of an lsat arguemtn has organized the information presented according to a
predictable, logical structure, how ever falwed he end reult may be
an idea
the conclusion of the authors agrument is really nothing more than an idea. just because its on
the lsat doesnt mean its valid . in fact, the only way to evaluate the validaitiy of an authors
conclusion is to examine the evidence in support of it and decide whether the author makes any
leaps of logic between the evidence and his or her conclusion
supported by evidence
all of the arugments on the test in which an author is advancing a conclusion === there are a
few exceptions to this, whihc well refer to as passages rather than arguments have some kind of
evidence presented in support the authors conclusion
argument: serena has to move to kentucky. she lost the lease on her new york apartment, and
her company is moving to kentucky : what is the authors conclusion ?
when looking for the authros conclusion try to figure out what the author is attemptin gto
persuade us of. ultimatley the author is trying to persuade you that SErena has to move to
Kentucky . the rest of the info is given in support of that infoamiotn. ofthen the authros
conclusion is signaled by words such as thus, thereofre, or so or it a recommendation a
prediciton, or an expanation of the cvdence presented
The Why Test
should be applied to verify that yo uave found the authors conclusion. lets take the previous
example and see how it works. if you had aid that hte authors conclusion was that hse had lost
her leas,, the next step is to ask why did the author lose her lease there is absolutlety no
evidence in tha rugment to answer that question. there, that statemtn cnat be the authors
acutal conclusion : now lets say you had chosen the fadct that the authors compnay was
,moviong to kentucky as the proper concuslin. you would ask why is the authors company
moving and wouldnt find any evidence
authors premises : serena has to move to kentucky lost her lease , her company is moving
So , why does the author think that serena has to move to kentucky(1) she lost the lease on her
apartment in New York , and (2) her company is reloxating to Kentucky. each of these is a
premise in support of the conclusion.
agrument #2 : the mayor of the town of Shaasta sent a letter to the townspeople instrucing
them to burn less wood. A few weeks after the letter was delievered there was a noticable
decreae in the amount of wood the townspeople of Shasta were burning on a daily basis.
therefore it is obvious that the letter was successful in helping the mayor achieve his goal:
what is the conclusion ?
the author is trying to presude us that the only reason the amount of wood that was used or
bought was only successful because of his letter
arugment 2 : what were the authors premises
- the reduce of amount of wood the townspeople were burning dialy decreased - the letter
what is an assumption ?
an asuumption , both in life and on the lsat is a leap of logic that we make to get from one piece
of info to another
step by step of assessing an argument : step one : assess the question
reading the queestion frist will up you off aobut what you need to lokok for in the argument .
dont waster time reading the argument before you know how you will need to evaluate it for
that particular quesiotn. if you dont know what your task is are unlikely to perform it effectivley
step 2 : analyze the argument
you've got to read the arugment critically, lookign fo the authors conclusion and the evidence
used the underline tool to make a not of it. If necessary, could you jot down short, simple
paraphrases of the premises and any flaws you found in the arugment on your scratch paper? To
find flaws, you should keep your eyes open for ay shifts to the authors language or faps in the
argument. look for common purpose and reasoning parrerns.. Remember that the authors
concusion is reached using only the infroamtion on the pafe in fron tfo you so any gaps in the
languae or in
step 3: Act
, The particular strategy you'll use to answer a given question will be determined by the type of
question beign aske.Each quesiton task will have different critieria for what constitiues an
acceptable answer. you'll want to think about that before goin to the choices
the test writiers rely on the fact that the people who are taking the lsat feel pressured to get
through all the questions quickly. many answr choices will seem appealing if you dont have a
clear idea of what youre looking for before you start reading through them. the best wasy to
keep yourself from falling into this trap is to predict what the right answer will say or do before
you even look at the chocies and write that prediciotn down on your scratch paper
step 4: answer using the process of elimination
we first mentioned process of eliminaiton in chapter its a key to succes on every section ofthe
last , especially argument and reading comprehension
main point questions
these questions are relatively rare, but because finding the main point is essential to answering
most other argument questions correctly, it is a good place to start
The argument: main point question : what is the conclusion :mayor mckinney's policies have
when been criticized on the grounds that they beenfit only weahhy city resdients but what is
not a fair evaluation. some of ,mckennys policies have clearly benefited the citys less affluent
residents. Mckinney activley supported last years proposal to lower the cits high property
taxes. because of this tax decrease maore development is taking place in the city, helping to
end the housing shortage and stabilize the rents in the city
the conclusion: mayor mckinney policies ahve often been criticized on the grounds that they
benefit only wealthy city reisdents but that is not a fair evalutiaotn
main point question : mayor mckinney : what is the primeses ?
lover the cits high property taxes , more development is taking place
heloing to end the housing shortage and stablilze the rents
main point multiple choice question : what one of the following most accuratley express the
main conclusion of the arugment
a) it is impossilbe to tell whether Mckinney is more committed to the interests of the wealthy
than to those of the poor
b) mckinney polices have often been critized for benefiting only wealthy city residents
c) the decrease in property taxes that mckinney supported caused more development to take
place in the city
Argument Basics
an argument is a crucial that you dont develop such an emotional response to the information :
defitnion : an argument is the reasoned presentioan of an idea that is supposed by evidence
that is assumed to be true
reasoned questions
the author of an lsat arguemtn has organized the information presented according to a
predictable, logical structure, how ever falwed he end reult may be
an idea
the conclusion of the authors agrument is really nothing more than an idea. just because its on
the lsat doesnt mean its valid . in fact, the only way to evaluate the validaitiy of an authors
conclusion is to examine the evidence in support of it and decide whether the author makes any
leaps of logic between the evidence and his or her conclusion
supported by evidence
all of the arugments on the test in which an author is advancing a conclusion === there are a
few exceptions to this, whihc well refer to as passages rather than arguments have some kind of
evidence presented in support the authors conclusion
argument: serena has to move to kentucky. she lost the lease on her new york apartment, and
her company is moving to kentucky : what is the authors conclusion ?
when looking for the authros conclusion try to figure out what the author is attemptin gto
persuade us of. ultimatley the author is trying to persuade you that SErena has to move to
Kentucky . the rest of the info is given in support of that infoamiotn. ofthen the authros
conclusion is signaled by words such as thus, thereofre, or so or it a recommendation a
prediciton, or an expanation of the cvdence presented
The Why Test
should be applied to verify that yo uave found the authors conclusion. lets take the previous
example and see how it works. if you had aid that hte authors conclusion was that hse had lost
her leas,, the next step is to ask why did the author lose her lease there is absolutlety no
evidence in tha rugment to answer that question. there, that statemtn cnat be the authors
acutal conclusion : now lets say you had chosen the fadct that the authors compnay was
,moviong to kentucky as the proper concuslin. you would ask why is the authors company
moving and wouldnt find any evidence
authors premises : serena has to move to kentucky lost her lease , her company is moving
So , why does the author think that serena has to move to kentucky(1) she lost the lease on her
apartment in New York , and (2) her company is reloxating to Kentucky. each of these is a
premise in support of the conclusion.
agrument #2 : the mayor of the town of Shaasta sent a letter to the townspeople instrucing
them to burn less wood. A few weeks after the letter was delievered there was a noticable
decreae in the amount of wood the townspeople of Shasta were burning on a daily basis.
therefore it is obvious that the letter was successful in helping the mayor achieve his goal:
what is the conclusion ?
the author is trying to presude us that the only reason the amount of wood that was used or
bought was only successful because of his letter
arugment 2 : what were the authors premises
- the reduce of amount of wood the townspeople were burning dialy decreased - the letter
what is an assumption ?
an asuumption , both in life and on the lsat is a leap of logic that we make to get from one piece
of info to another
step by step of assessing an argument : step one : assess the question
reading the queestion frist will up you off aobut what you need to lokok for in the argument .
dont waster time reading the argument before you know how you will need to evaluate it for
that particular quesiotn. if you dont know what your task is are unlikely to perform it effectivley
step 2 : analyze the argument
you've got to read the arugment critically, lookign fo the authors conclusion and the evidence
used the underline tool to make a not of it. If necessary, could you jot down short, simple
paraphrases of the premises and any flaws you found in the arugment on your scratch paper? To
find flaws, you should keep your eyes open for ay shifts to the authors language or faps in the
argument. look for common purpose and reasoning parrerns.. Remember that the authors
concusion is reached using only the infroamtion on the pafe in fron tfo you so any gaps in the
languae or in
step 3: Act
, The particular strategy you'll use to answer a given question will be determined by the type of
question beign aske.Each quesiton task will have different critieria for what constitiues an
acceptable answer. you'll want to think about that before goin to the choices
the test writiers rely on the fact that the people who are taking the lsat feel pressured to get
through all the questions quickly. many answr choices will seem appealing if you dont have a
clear idea of what youre looking for before you start reading through them. the best wasy to
keep yourself from falling into this trap is to predict what the right answer will say or do before
you even look at the chocies and write that prediciotn down on your scratch paper
step 4: answer using the process of elimination
we first mentioned process of eliminaiton in chapter its a key to succes on every section ofthe
last , especially argument and reading comprehension
main point questions
these questions are relatively rare, but because finding the main point is essential to answering
most other argument questions correctly, it is a good place to start
The argument: main point question : what is the conclusion :mayor mckinney's policies have
when been criticized on the grounds that they beenfit only weahhy city resdients but what is
not a fair evaluation. some of ,mckennys policies have clearly benefited the citys less affluent
residents. Mckinney activley supported last years proposal to lower the cits high property
taxes. because of this tax decrease maore development is taking place in the city, helping to
end the housing shortage and stabilize the rents in the city
the conclusion: mayor mckinney policies ahve often been criticized on the grounds that they
benefit only wealthy city reisdents but that is not a fair evalutiaotn
main point question : mayor mckinney : what is the primeses ?
lover the cits high property taxes , more development is taking place
heloing to end the housing shortage and stablilze the rents
main point multiple choice question : what one of the following most accuratley express the
main conclusion of the arugment
a) it is impossilbe to tell whether Mckinney is more committed to the interests of the wealthy
than to those of the poor
b) mckinney polices have often been critized for benefiting only wealthy city residents
c) the decrease in property taxes that mckinney supported caused more development to take
place in the city
