[LSAT Study Guide] Mastering the Order of Operations: The Secret to Acing the Logical Reasoning Section:

The Logical Reasoning (LR) section of the LSAT can be a challenging obstacle for many test-takers, but with the right approach, you can consistently tackle even the toughest questions with confidence. One of the best strategies to achieve this is to follow a consistent Order of Operations. This methodical approach ensures that you address each component of the question effectively, minimizing mistakes and maximizing your score.

Before we dive into the Order of Operations, I want to take a moment to address an age-old LSAT question: Should you read the question stem first, or the passage? While some in the LSAT prep industry prefer to teach LSAT students to read the question first to know what to look for, this is equivalent to putting the proverbial cart before the horse. The question-stem first approach can work for people, but it ignores the fact that acing the LSAT requires genuine understanding of what you are reading. The best LSAT tutors tend to teach that if you focus on understanding what you read, realizing what is lacking in the passage, as well as what you do an do not know, you set yourself up for success and will start to breeze through LSAT questions.

By understanding the passage fully before reading the question, you can identify the conclusion, determine whether there is a flaw, and analyze the argument more thoroughly. This comprehensive understanding allows you to approach the question with a well-rounded grasp of the material, making it easier to predict the answer and quickly eliminate incorrect choices. This way, you don’t have to waste time debating between two answer choices, and instead the correct answer will be utterly evident to you. It’s like there is a halo around the answer choice. The wrong answers are wrong because, well, they aren’t what you predicted.

Alright, with that out of the way, let’s break down this Order of Operations step-by-step to help you master the Logical Reasoning section.

1. Read and Understand the Passage

The first and most crucial step is to carefully read and understand the passage presented. While this may seem obvious, one thing that has stood out from years of teaching the LSAT is that people will often forget the second part—understanding the passage. A lot of LR questions are dense and complicated. When this is the case, make sure you take the time to break down each sentence into something you can picture. I call this contextualizing the passage. Think about a personal application or example of whatever the passage is saying.

Each passage will include a set of statements, an argument, or a scenario that you will need to analyze.

Tip: After you’ve made sure you understand the passage, take a moment to focus on comprehending the main point, the relationships between different statements, and any key terms or phrases that might indicate logical relationships or argumentative strategies.

2. Determine if There is a Conclusion

After understanding the passage, the next step is to determine whether it contains a conclusion. A conclusion is the primary claim that the argument is trying to establish, supported by the premises.

• If there is no conclusion: This usually indicates that the passage is presenting a set of facts or information rather than an argument. In this case, you should skip directly to Step 4 (Reading the Question), as you’re almost certainly dealing with a must-be-true question.

• If there is a conclusion: Move on to Step 3.

3. Identify Any Flaws in the Argument

If the passage does contain a conclusion, the next step is to assess whether the argument is flawed. A flaw in an argument is a logical error that undermines its validity. Common flaws include confusing necessary conditions for sufficient conditions (or vice versa), overgeneralizations, false cause-effect relationships, part-to-whole fallacies, and unwarranted assumptions.

Tip: Practice identifying common logical fallacies, as this skill is invaluable for quickly pinpointing weaknesses in LSAT arguments.

4. Read the Question Carefully

Once you've analyzed the passage, read the question to determine what it is asking. Different question types require different approaches, so it's crucial to understand what’s being asked.

Note: If the question is a "Must Be True" question, which asks you to identify a statement that logically follows from the information provided, skip to Step 6. This type of question does not require predicting an answer but instead relies on directly finding the correct answer from the choices.

5. Predict the Answer Before Looking at the Choices

For most Logical Reasoning questions, it is highly beneficial to predict the answer before looking at the provided answer choices. This step prevents you from being misled by attractive but incorrect choices and helps you maintain focus on what you’ve determined from the passage.

Tip: Based on your analysis in steps 1-3, try to formulate what the correct answer should address or what flaw it should exploit.

6. Find the Answer in the Answer Choices

Finally, compare your predicted answer with the answer choices. If your predicted answer matches one of the options, you’re on the right track. If it doesn’t, or if none of the answers seem to fit, take a step back and review your previous steps.

• If you don’t find a matching answer: Go back to Step 1 and repeat the process to ensure you didn’t miss any key details or make any mistakes in your analysis.

Conclusion:

By following this Logical Reasoning Order of Operations, you create a structured approach that helps you systematically break down each question and avoid common pitfalls. Remember, practice makes perfect, and while this might seem like it will take you ages each time you attempt a new question, if you do it every time you drill an LR question, it will quickly become second nature. The more you apply this method to different types of questions, the more intuitive it will become, ultimately boosting your confidence and performance on test day.

Happy studying, and may you conquer the Logical Reasoning section with ease!

-Micah

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