LSAT Blueprint Study Guide.

Sufficiency Indicators - correct answer If, when, whenever, all, any, each, every Necessity Indicators - correct answer Then, only, only if, only when, needs, requires, must Only (What to watch out for?) - correct answer Only if, and only does not always immediately precede the necessary condition. FIND THE REFERENT of only Replace with "If Not" - correct answer Unless, until, without, except Logic Game (Flow chart) - correct answer 1) Read intro/ rules 2) Build set- up 3) symbolize rules 4) CHECK RULES X2 5) Identify any randoms 6) Make deductions 7) Time for scenarios 8) Attack the questions Modality: Necessity - correct answer Must, Is/are, will, do/does, always Modality: Probability - correct answer Probably, likely, usually Modality: Possibility - correct answer May, might, could, can, occasionally Quantification: Necessity - correct answer all, any, every (100%) Quantification: Probability - correct answer most, majority (>50%) Quantification: Possibility - correct answer some, many, few, several (>0%) Logical force: Strong - correct answer will, must, is, are, do, does, always, all, any, every, almost all Logical force: Moderate - correct answer probably, likely, usually, most of the time, majority of the time, most, majority Logical force: Weak - correct answer may, might, can, could, often, sometimes, occasionally, significant number, several, many, few,some Must be True - correct answer Definitely proven true by the information in the stimulus (incorrect answers could be false) how to approach - use only information present - look for conditional statements - pay close attention to the logical force of the propositions If conditional -diagram - anticipate valid inferences (transitive conclusions, contrapositives) If there are no conditional statements -look for other relationships between the statements -anticipate a weak answer choice Common incorrect answers - invalid conditional inferences (converse/ inverse) - statements too strong/ outside of scope - causes or explanation of phenomenon discussed in stimulus - hypotheses about the future or what would have happened if something changed ~MBT - correct answer Very strongly supported by the information in the stimulus (doesn't absolutely need to be true) how to approach - use only information present - look for conditional statements - pay close attention to the logical force of the propositions If conditional -diagram - anticipate valid inferences (transitive conclusions, contrapositives) If there are no conditional statements -look for other relationships between the statements -anticipate a weak answer choice - *anticipate a summary of the stimulus* MBF - correct answer Definitively proven false by the statements in the stimulus how to approach - use only information present - look for conditional statements - pay close attention to the logical force of the propositions If conditional -diagram - anticipate valid inferences (transitive conclusions, contrapositives) If there are no conditional statements - look for relationships between the statements - anticipate an answer choice that would violate these relationships Common incorrect answers - statements that could be true based on the stimulus, even if they are unlikely - statements outside of the scope of the stimulus Main Point - correct answer The main conclusion of the argument How to approach the stimulus - look for key works that indicate premise (since, because) and conclusions (therefore, thus, hence, so, it follows that) - look for words that indicate a shift in attitude (but, however) - look for evaluative statements that indicate the author's attitude - do not hate time evaluating the validity of the argument Common correct answers = expressions of the author's attitude or prescriptive statements (should, ought) = a statement that is supported by premisses but that doe not itself support anything Common incorrect answers - statements that do not need to be true -subsidiary conclusions/ premises Describe - correct answer An accurate description of the reasoning employed in the stimulus how to approach the stimulus (one speaker) -identify the conclusion and relevant premises - look for one of the prevalent argument forms - paraphrase how the argument supports the conclusion