logic lessons

"Must be true" questions

Must be true means that the answer is a statement that is always true, in

any circumstance that is acceptable to the rules.

The wrong choices to a “must be true” question are choices

that could or mustbe false. They don’t have to be true, because you can

find at least one viable scenario in which that statement isn’t true.

"Must be false" questions

Must be false means that the answer is a statement that is always false—

or impossible—in any circumstance that is acceptable to the rules. In

other words, the answer breaks at least one of the rules when you

implement the statement.

The wrong choices to a “must be false” question are choices

that could or mustbe true. They can be possible in at least one scenario.

Top tip: It can be helpful to think of must be false as “impossible”, and

both could be true and could be false as “possible.”

Checklist
Since you aren’t given new information here, the answer is obtainable from

your initial diagram and rules.

✓ Check your diagram and deductions

It’s possible that the answer is immediately evident from the deductions

you’ve already made. If it’s not immediately evident, eliminate any choices

that are obviously wrong from your diagram and rules.

✓ Test whatever choices remain

It can be a little tricky to remember how to test choices for must questions.

• "Must be true" questions — Test the choices by trying to make the

choices false. If you make the statement in the choice false, and you

can still make an acceptable scenario, eliminate that answer!


• "Must be false" questions — Test the choices by trying to make the

choices possible. If you can incorporate the info in the choice into

your diagram and generate an acceptable scenario, then eliminate

that choice!


Top tip: If only two choices remain, and you feel confident in your work so

far, you can just test one of them—if it accomplishes what you need

(whether it’s a must be true or must be false) then it’s the answer! If it

doesn’t accomplish what you need, then the other remaining choice is the

answer.

IDENTIFY AN ENTAILMENT | Quick Guide

A quick guide to questions that ask you to

identify something that follows logically
from a set of premises
Passages for these questions generally read like a series of statements. You

might think of them as “support in search of a conclusion.”

The task: Can you find a guaranteed entailment —also sometimes called

a deduction or implication—that follows logically from a combination of the

provided facts?

In other words: If each statement in the passage is truth that’s set in stone, can

you identify the only choice that must also be true?

Sometimes you’ll be able to predict what must be true, and other times you’ll

need to test each choice.

Ways that you can predict, when applicable

✓ Look for relationships: Are there ways in which statements relate to each

other? For example, does X connect with Y, which connects with Z? You can

predict that X connects with Z.

✓ Diagram any conditional statements: Are there conditional statements that

act like rules and make sense to diagram?

✓ Make a sketch: Is the situation complex enough to warrant a quick sketch of

the action?

✓ Note strong language Are there strong statements to pay attention to, such

as “all,” “must,” “any,” “ever,” “never” and “everyone”?

✓ Note weak language: Are there weaker, qualified statements, including words

such as “some,” “many,” and “may,” “sometimes” “usually” and “often”? If the

passage is entirely qualified, then it’s highly unlikely that a strong statement can

follow from that passage.

✓ Match it! If you can make a prediction from these steps, then look for a choice

that matches that prediction.

If you can’t make a prediction

✓ Try the Truth Test: Test each choice by asking yourself if that statement hasto

be true, based on the facts in the passage. You could also eliminate choices by

asking whether the statement could acceptably be false. Be careful to not use

this Truth Test on strongly supported questions!

✓ Don’t use your imagination! Resist the urge to “fill in the blanks yourself”,

which usually entails adding assumptions to try to make a choice true.

✓ Read with precision! “Most” is not the same thing as “some”; “at least two” is

not the same thing as “at most two”; “X can be dangerous” is not the same thing

as “X shouldn’t be done.”

Common wrong choice types

 • Too strong/extreme: Some wrong choices are statements that go beyond

the truth of the passage by being too extreme.

• Probably/Might be true: Some wrong choices are statements that could

very well be true but we can’t be 100% certain.

Top Tip: Don’t compare the choices with each other—rather, compare the

choices against the statements in the passage. That will help you to avoid adding

your own assumptions or picking the choice that “sounds best.”

STRONGLY SUPPORTED INFERENCES | QUICK GUIDE

A quick guide to approaching

questions that ask you to
identify something that is
"strongly supported"
On questions that ask you to find the choice that
is most strongly supported by a stimulus, the
answer does not have to be conclusively supported
by the passage. It just has to be the choice that
is most supported by the passage. This
distinguishes strongly supported questions
from Implication questions.
Prediction isn’t always worth the
effort
Generally, it’s not a good use of your time to try to
predict the content of the answers to these
questions. This is slightly different from Implication
questions, whose stimuli can usually be
characterized as “support in search of a conclusion.”
You’ll generally need to test each choice. Before you
do that, though, you’ll want to understand the
passage.
How to understand the passage
✓ Look for relationships: Are there ways in which
statements relate to each other? If so, you can
connect overlapping ideas. For example, does X
connect with Y, which connects with Z? You can
predict that X connects with Z.
✓ Diagram any conditional statements: Are there
conditional statements that act like rules? If so, it
may make sense to diagram them.
✓ Make a sketch: Is the situation complex enough
to warrant a quick sketch of the action?
✓ Note strong language Are there strong
statements to pay attention to, such as “all,” “must,”
“any,” “ever,” “never” and “everyone”?
✓ Note weak language: Are there weaker, qualified
statements, including words such as “some,” “many,”
and “may,” “sometimes” “usually” and “often”? If the
passage is entirely qualified, then it’s highly unlikely
that a strong statement can follow from that
passage.
Test the choices
✓ Ask “Is it supported?” Test each choice by
asking yourself if that statement can be reasonably
concluded from the passage, based on the facts in
the passage.
✓ Don’t use your imagination! Resist the urge to
“fill in the blanks yourself”, which usually entails
adding assumptions to try to “force” a choice to
work.
✓ Read with precision! “Most” is not the same
thing as “some”; “at least two” is not the same thing
as “at most two”; “X can be dangerous” is not the
same thing as “X shouldn’t be done.”
✓ Verify: To verify your choice, ensure that you can
point to different parts of the passage that support
the statement you’ve chosen. Speculation isn’t good
enough to support an inference.
Common wrong choice types
• Too strong/extreme: Some wrong choices
are statements that go beyond the truth of the
passage by being too extreme,
• Probably/Might be true: Some wrong
choices are statements that could very well be
true but we can’t be 100% certain from the
information provided.
COULD BE TRUE / COULD BE FALSE
Review: "Could be true"
Could be true means that the statement in the
correct choice is possible, even if it’s only once,
without breaking any of the rules.
The wrong choices must be false—they break a rule
in some way, when implemented.
Review: "Could be false"
Could be false means that the statement is possible
to negate, even if it’s only once, without breaking
any of the rules.
For these, the wrong choices must be true—they are
always true in every acceptable circumstance, no
matter what.

Checklist
☑ Redraw the bare bones of your
initial diagram
Since you are given new information here, a good
method is to redraw the bare bones of your initial
diagram (while keeping an eye on the other details
from your initial diagram), so that you aren’t
modifying your initial diagram with a condition that
doesn’t necessarily extend to other questions.
☑ Incorporate the new condition
Usually you can draw the new condition right into the
new diagram, but sometimes you won’t be able to,
and it’ll be a rule that you need to write down—even
though you’re not sure yet where those elements go.
☑ Combine the new condition with
your original rules
Make new deductions Sometimes that means that
a block of elements will become bigger; sometimes
it’ll mean that more elements can’t go into a certain
place, etc.
☑ Check your new diagram and
deductions against the choices
It’s likely that the answer is immediately evident. If
not, eliminate any choices that are clearly wrong.
☑Test whatever choices remain
Top tip: If only two choices remain, and you feel
confident in your work so far, you can just test one of
them—if it accomplishes what you need (whether it’s
a could be true or could be false) then it’s the
answer! If it doesn’t accomplish what you need, then
the other remaining choice is the answer.
NECESSARY ASSUMPTIONS

A quick guide to approaching

questions that ask you to find
an assumption required by the
argument
This question asks you to identify the claim
that must be true or is required in order for the
argument to work. In other words, there is a silent,
unspoken piece of support that the arguer is taking
for granted to be true, and your job is to explicitly
identify what that piece is. A good way to think of
necessary assumptions is: if that statement were to
be false, the argument’s reasoning would be
undermined.
Example: Water is necessary to survival.
How do we know? Because if we took water away,
we wouldn’t survive. The same is true for an
assumption that’s necessary to an argument.
Common wrong choice types
 • Too strong: When a choice is too strong,
you’ll want to ask yourself, “Does this statement
really have to be true, to the degree that’s
expressed here, in order for the argument to
hold? Or would a lesser version of this
statement still work?”


• Irrelevant: When a choice is irrelevant to

the argument, you’ll want to ask yourself, “Does
this even matter to the argument, or is it just
something that’s ‘nice to know’ or ‘confusing
because it’s irrelevant’?”


• Detrimental: Ask yourself, “Does the

argument actually depend on this statement, or
is it actually worse off in light of this statement?”


It’s best to make a prediction after you analyze the

stimulus, since it’s easy to get lost in the choices
otherwise. You won’t always be able to, but it’s a
good idea to practice predicting until it becomes
easier.
Some helpful practices
✓ Identify the conclusion and support. Make sure
to separate the conclusion from the support—this
will make the gap in the argument more visible to
you. It can also be helpful to phrase the argument’s
structure to yourself as, “The arguer believes
[conclusion], because [support]” in order to detect
any leaps in logic or scope.
✓ Find a gap, if there is one. Is there a gap in
scope between the support and the conclusion?
Does the topic shift in a meaningful way? If so, then
that gap needs to be connected by the assumption.
✓ Find an overlooked possibility, if there is
one. Is there something that the arguer might be
missing? Some kind of possibility that’s not been
accounted for? If so, then that possibility must be
accounted for by the assumption.
✓ Match a choice to your prediction. If you’ve
predicted one possible necessary assumption, find
the choice that matches your prediction. Be careful
not to get distracted along the way. Note that it's
sometimes more challenging to identify a prediction
for a necessary assumption than it is for other
question types, so don't feel discouraged if you can't
find a prediction.
✓ Eliminate strategically. If you weren’t able to
make a prediction, look to eliminate choices by
testing them against your knowledge of common
wrong choices—are the strongly-worded
choices too strongly-worded? Which choices aren’t
even relevant to the argument?
✓ Negate. If needed, test choices by negating them.
If negating the truth of a choice causes the argument
to be undermined, then that’s the answer. If negating
the truth of a choice causes the argument to be
strengthened or be unaffected, then that choice is
incorrect.
STRENGHTEN & WEAK ARGUMENT

A quick guide to approaching

questions that ask you to
identify info that would
strengthen or weaken an
argument
This question asks you to identify
a strengthener or weakener—information that, if
added to the support, would make the
conclusion more likely or lesslikely to be true. A
strengthener or weakener won’t prove or disprove a
conclusion beyond a shadow of a doubt—it’ll just
improve or worsen the likelihood of the conclusion to
follow from its support.
The choices in strengthen and weaken questions will
always either strengthen the argument, weaken the
argument, or not affect the argument. Therefore, if
you're tackling a weaken question (for example), the
wrong choices will either strengthen the argument or
will not affect the argument.
A specific prediction is usually not recommended,
since there are many different ways to strengthen or
weaken a given argument. Therefore, it’s best to
understand the pieces of the argument, and then
assess the impact that each choice has when added
to the argument.
Strategies
✓ Identify the conclusion and support: Make sure
to separate the conclusion from the support—this
will make the gap in the argument more visible to
you. It can also be helpful to phrase the argument’s
structure to yourself as, “The arguer believes
[conclusion], because [support]” in order to detect
any leaps in logic or scope.
✓ Identify any gaps in the argument: Is there a
gap in scope between the support and the
conclusion? Does the topic shift in a meaningful
way? If so, then connecting the topic in the support
and the topic in the conclusion in a logical way might
strengthen the argument. In the same manner,
making the topic in the support less related/
connected to the topic in the conclusion may
weaken the argument.
✓ Diagram if necessary: Is there conditional logic
in the argument? If so, it can be very helpful to
sketch a diagram.
✓ Identify any common patterns: If the argument's
conclusion is causal in nature (X caused Y), a
common weakener might be to provide an alternate
cause (actually, Z caused Y). Or if the argument's
support consists of a study, a strengthener might be
an affirmation that the study was appropriately
executed and relevant. These are just a few
examples of common patterns you may see on the
LSAT. For a closer look at these patterns, you may
find it helpful to work through our article about
Types of Flaws.
✓ Test each choice one at a time: Test the choice
you picked by affirming: when you “add” your choice
to the passage’s original support, it should improve
or worsen the likelihood of the conclusion being true,
based on the support provided.
science passages
Main Point Questions
The first question in most Reading Comprehension sets will ask
you to identify the statement that best expresses the central
idea or the main point that the passage as a whole is designed
to convey.
These questions come in three basic varieties:

Type 1: What’s the point? What’s the

“big idea?”
The most common Main Point variant asks you to identify the
main point, main idea, or central idea of the passage.
These main point questions have a much narrower focus than
questions that ask you to summarize the passage do. To answer
them correctly, you have to be able to identify the most important
idea that the passage is trying to establish—the idea that all other
ideas and information in the passage are there to support.

Type 2: Can you sum it up?

A few Main Point questions will take the following form:
“Which one of the following most accurately summarizes the
contents of the passage?”
Summary questions ask you to identify the response that
summarizes the passage most accurately. The thing to remember
about these questions is that the answer will be the one choice
that covers the important material in the passage most
completely. That is not to say that the answer is necessarily the
choice with the most words, but it does mean that the correct
choice will be the most comprehensive and inclusive of the
steps taken in the passage.
Note: This variant of main idea questions is fairly rare.

Type 3: What’s a good title?

A third variant offers five potential titles for the passage (or pair of
passages) and asks you to choose the one that is most suitable,
based on the main point of the passage. This variant is related to
the main point/main idea question in that the best title will be the
one that touches most directly on the central idea or point of
the passage.
These questions are also relatively rare. If you come across one,
focus on finding the title that contains the content you would
expect to see in a standard statement of the main idea of the
passage.

Strategies
Prediction
When you say something in your own words, you gain control of
the content and prove to yourself that you understand what's
going on.
With that in mind, it can be helpful to come up with the main point
in your own words before heading to the choices. Then, see
which choice most closely matches your prediction.
Of course, there is more than one way to express the main idea of
any passage, so you may not find an option that matches your
phrasing exactly. But if you have a good grasp of the passage, the
correct choice should come closer to the way you would put it
than the other choices do.

Active reading strategies

We review active reading strategies in other parts of Official LSAT
Practice on Khan Academy, but here is a short list:
• Underline or circle important claims
• Identify the point of view of the author, and note how it
differs from other views presented (the perspectives of other
individuals or groups)
 • Take special note of contrast language. e.g.: yet, but,
although, however
• Jot quick notes to yourself in the margins
• After every paragraph, check your comprehension by
saying the main point of the paragraph back to yourself
in your own words

Check the bones of the passage

Many passages on the LSAT feature structural characteristics that
are common in expository writing:
• The first paragraph introduces the main point
• The last paragraph sums up the main point
• The first sentence of each paragraph makes a claim
• The rest of the paragraph supports the claim made in
the first sentence
Because of this, a quick glance over the first and last sentences
of each paragraph can sometimes help to confirm what the overall
structure of the passage is, and what the main point is.
Note: This strategy is by no means a substitute for a paragraph-
by-paragraph breakdown of main claims; the main points of many
LSAT passages are introduced in the second, third, fourth, or
even later paragraphs!
Common distractor types
For main point questions, it is especially important to check
all the choices before moving on to the next question. If you
find a choice that looks good, it’s still worthwhile to see if there’s
another that’s even better.
Some common wrong options you’ll encounter on main point
questions include:
• Too narrow: One important thing to know about main
point questions is that an option that captures something that
is true about the passage, or something that is present in the
passage is not necessarily the answer. Choices that are too
narrow will accurately describe a part of the passage, but
they’ll exclude the broader point.


• Too strong or extreme: Some distractors will draw

upon a point that is made in the passage, but then take it
further than can be directly supported. Be wary of “blanket”
words like “always” “any” “all” “ever” and “never.”


• Beyond the scope: These wrong options bring in

content that, while adjacently related, is ultimately outside of
 the scope of the passage. These choices feature ideas or
information that you might reasonably expect to find in a
larger excerpt from the same source document that the
passage was taken from, but the statement simply can't be
supported by info that is present in the text in front of you.


• Conflicts and contradictions: Some options contain

language that is in direct conflict with information presented
in the passage. These wrong choices can be the easiest to
rule out, but many students find themselves drawn to strong
statements on the opposing sides of arguments. It may be
human nature that we sometimes find opposites attractive,
but consider yourself warned — avoid these tempting
distractors!


•
Principles and analogies | quick guide

Which choice is analogous?

One way to demonstrate an understanding of an argument
presented in a passage is by recognizing another argument
as structurally similar. We call questions that test this
ability discovering principles and analogies questions. These
questions will direct you to something specific in the text and ask
you to find something similar to it among the choices.

Variants
The two subtypes of this question type
are principles and analogies. Analogyquestions ask you to
identify a situation that is analogous to the one described in the
passage. Principle questions ask you to identify the
principlethat is at work.

Examples
Analogies

• “Which one of the following situations is most analogous to

the one introduced in the second sentence of the passage?”
 • “Which one of the following hypothetical situations is most
analogous to the description in the passage of _____?”
Principles

• “The rationale for _____ as it is described in the passage is

most consistent with which one of the following principles?”

Strategies
Put it in your own words: It’s important to sum up the plan, idea,
argument or principle in question in simple, broad
terms before you try to find an analogous example.
Disprove the choices: Once you feel like you have a good
handle on the idea itself, then head to the choices. It’s always
easier to disprove wrong choices one-by-one than to search for
the correct one, and that’s especially true for principles and
analogies questions.
For each choice, ask yourself: why isn’t this analogous? Or,
why doesn’t this match the principle from the passage? Does it
make a logical leap that isn’t found in the passage? Do the
mechanics of the argument work differently? The correct choice
will be the one you can’t disprove.

Common wrong choice types

Wrong choices for this question type don’t really fall into buckets
—they simply won’t be analogous or won’t reflect the principle at
work in the passage.

Comparative Reading variants

On paired passages, you’ll sometimes encounter a discovering
principles and analogies question that asks you to identify a pair
of passages with a relationship that is analogous to the
relationship between passage A and B:
• The relationship between passage A and passage B is most
analogous to the relationship between the two television
programs described in which one of the following?


On analogy questions such as this, it can be helpful to describe

the original situation in general terms before considering the
choices. What is the essential nature of the relationship between
the passages?
For example, let’s say passage A contrasts Eudora Welty’s life
and her writing, while Passage B discusses Welty’s photography,
especially as it relates to her writing. More generally, we might
say that one passage compares an artist’s life with their approach
to an artform, and the other discusses the artist’s approach to a
second artform, especially as it relates to the first.
Use this simplified, more general version to find the most
analogous pair from the choices.
•
How to approach Recognition
questions
What does it say?
Perhaps the most basic task of Reading
Comprehension on the LSAT is that of recognizing
things that the passage text states on a literal,
explicit level:
• “Which one of the following does the author
explicitly identify as a characteristic of Adam
Sandler movies?”*


• “The author says which one of the following

about My Little Pony?”


• “The passage asserts which one of the following

regarding college students?”


• “According to the passage, what is true about

fantasy baseball leagues?”

The answers to these questions will typically consist
of a very close paraphrase of some part of the
passage. Your task is to identify not the exact
wording of something said in the passage, but rather
the idea of it.
Questions like these might seem unexpectedly easy,
especially to test takers for whom Reading
Comprehension is a relative strength. There’s no
hidden agenda or trap lurking in Recognition
questions. Some LSAT questions are designed to
test fairly basic skills and are therefore necessarily
more basic than other question types.
Strategies
• First pass: eliminate what you can After
reading the passage, a good first step is to go
through the choices one by one, and see if you
can cross out the ones that were not present in
the passage.
• Second pass: Try a keyword
search Some choices will feature unusual
terminology. When you see such terminology,
 underline or circle it in the choice, and then skim
the passage to find a match. If you can’t find it,
then cross out the choice.


• Checks (✔'s), X’s and O’s Some students

like using ✔'s, X’s and O’s to mark the choices
on these questions.
• ✔ = Choices that contain info that is present
in the passage.
• X = Choices that contain info that
is not present in the passage.
• O = You’re not sure yet - go back to the
passage to see if it deserves a ✔ or an X.
• Only one choice should have a ✔! It’s the
answer.
Note: You can’t use this strategy in our system, but
it’s a good one to try when you’re taking a test on
paper!
• Use active reading strategies to track the
passage’s structure If you have underlined or
circled the key claims (often found in the first
 and last sentences of paragraphs), then you’ll
have a basic understanding of the structure of
the passage and what role each paragraph is
playing within the greater main point. Use that
knowledge of the passage’s outline to guide
your search for the answer.


Recognition EXCEPT
Sometimes, questions will ask you to identify the
one choice that contains information that
was not present in the passage or pair of passages.
• "The passage provides information that explains
the perspectives of all of the following groups
EXCEPT"


• "Which of the following mining techniques is

NOT mentioned in the passage as being
detrimental to the environment?"


Strategies for Recognition EXCEPT questions

• As a first step, go through the choices one
by one, and see if you can cross out ones that
you remember being mentioned in the passage.
• Use the “✔'s and X’s strategy” mentioned
above
• Only one choice should have an X (it's not in
the passage)! It’s the answer!
Additional strategies
• Read the question carefully It is also a
good idea to pay close attention when you see
words like NOT and EXCEPT in the question
itself, so you don’t accidentally select a choice
that doesn’t answer the question being asked.
On a paper test, it’s a good idea to underline or
circle these words.
•
Clarifying meaning | quick guide

"Clarifying meaning" questions

What does it mean?
Clarifying meaning questions ask, “what did the
author mean by this?”
In a given text, words and phrases do not appear in
isolation but are embedded in the context of a
narrative, an argument, an explanation, and so on.
Accordingly, clarifying meaning questions test your
ability to identify contextually appropriate
meanings of words and phrases. In other words,
you’ll need to be able to interpret words and
phrases not just as a dictionary would define them,
but as the author is specifically using them in
context.
What this wider context does, among other things,
is:
• clarify ambiguous expressions,
• narrow the meaning of vague expressions, or
 • supply a definition for unusual uses of an
expression.
There are three main varieties of clarifying meaning
questions: find a synonym, find the referent, and
interpret the meaning.
Find a synonym
Examples:
• “Which one of the following phrases, if
substituted for the word ‘_____’ in line ____,
would LEAST change the meaning of the
sentence?”*


• “If substituted for the word "___" in line ___,

which one of the following words would convey
the same meaning in the context of the
passage?”*


With these questions, you’re essentially looking for a

synonymous word or phrase.
Strategies
 • Cover and predict! Some students find it
helpful to place a finger over the word or phrase
and come up with their own
synonym before even looking at the choices.
Once you’re sure you understand the general
meaning, then head to the choices and find the
one that matches what you came up with.
• Plug in the choices. Another option is to
reread the sentence with each choice in place of
the word or phrase, to see if it fits. This can also
be a good way to double-check the choice you
picked or to narrow down options.
Common wrong choice types

Be wary of “obvious” meanings. These questions

often ask about a word that is being used in an
uncommon way—a word that, in context, is actually
being used for its secondary or tertiary
meaning, not its most common meaning.
Remember: just because a choice offers a definition
that works in generaldoesn’t mean it’s the definition
that works within the context of the passage.
Find the referent
Another variation of this type of question will test
your ability to identify what earlier part of the
passage a phrase is referring to. It looks like this:
• “The phrase “____” (lines ____) can best be
interpreted as referring to which one of the
following?”*
Top tip: Don’t assume that the answer can be found
right around the lines mentioned—the phrase may
refer to a concept that has been introduced and
developed much earlier in the passage.
Interpret the meaning
These clarifying meaning questions are a bit more
open-ended, but the basic concept is the same.
They go like this:
• “In writing ‘____’ (lines ____) the author of
passage B most likely means that...”*
Again, the task here is to clarify the ambiguous,
narrow the vague, or supply a definition for an
unusual use of an expression. Occasionally, a
question will highlight a simple metaphor or simile,
and ask you to choose a more direct way to say the
same thing. You definitely don’t need to have studied
figurative language to answer these questions; you
just need to be able to identify what the author is
getting at.
Comparative Reading passage
pairs variation
• “The author of passage A uses the phrase ‘X’ to
refer to which one of the following ideas/
concepts mentioned in passage B?”
Predict, predict, predict!
When you go back to the passage, and work out
your own predicted answer before you look at the
choices, you will save time and increase your
accuracy on most clarifying meaning questions. You
won’t waste time thinking through each choice and
whether it might work, because you’ll already know
what you’re looking for!
Trust yourself.

Recognition | quick guide

How to approach Recognition

questions
What does it say?
Perhaps the most basic task of Reading
Comprehension on the LSAT is that of recognizing
things that the passage text states on a literal,
explicit level:
• “Which one of the following does the author
explicitly identify as a characteristic of Adam
Sandler movies?”*


• “The author says which one of the following

about My Little Pony?”


• “The passage asserts which one of the following

regarding college students?”

 • “According to the passage, what is true about
fantasy baseball leagues?”


The answers to these questions will typically consist

of a very close paraphrase of some part of the
passage. Your task is to identify not the exact
wording of something said in the passage, but rather
the idea of it.
Questions like these might seem unexpectedly easy,
especially to test takers for whom Reading
Comprehension is a relative strength. There’s no
hidden agenda or trap lurking in Recognition
questions. Some LSAT questions are designed to
test fairly basic skills and are therefore necessarily
more basic than other question types.
Strategies
• First pass: eliminate what you can After
reading the passage, a good first step is to go
through the choices one by one, and see if you
can cross out the ones that were not present in
the passage.
 • Second pass: Try a keyword
search Some choices will feature unusual
terminology. When you see such terminology,
underline or circle it in the choice, and then skim
the passage to find a match. If you can’t find it,
then cross out the choice.


• Checks (✔'s), X’s and O’s Some students

like using ✔'s, X’s and O’s to mark the choices
on these questions.
• ✔ = Choices that contain info that is present
in the passage.
• X = Choices that contain info that
is not present in the passage.
• O = You’re not sure yet - go back to the
passage to see if it deserves a ✔ or an X.
• Only one choice should have a ✔! It’s the
answer.
Note: You can’t use this strategy in our system, but
it’s a good one to try when you’re taking a test on
paper!
 • Use active reading strategies to track the
passage’s structure If you have underlined or
circled the key claims (often found in the first
and last sentences of paragraphs), then you’ll
have a basic understanding of the structure of
the passage and what role each paragraph is
playing within the greater main point. Use that
knowledge of the passage’s outline to guide
your search for the answer.


Recognition EXCEPT
Sometimes, questions will ask you to identify the
one choice that contains information that
was not present in the passage or pair of passages.
• "The passage provides information that explains
the perspectives of all of the following groups
EXCEPT"


• "Which of the following mining techniques is

NOT mentioned in the passage as being
 detrimental to the environment?"


Strategies for Recognition EXCEPT questions

• As a first step, go through the choices one

by one, and see if you can cross out ones that
you remember being mentioned in the passage.
• Use the “✔'s and X’s strategy” mentioned
above
• Only one choice should have an X (it's not in
the passage)! It’s the answer!
Additional strategies
• Read the question carefully It is also a
good idea to pay close attention when you see
words like NOT and EXCEPT in the question
itself, so you don’t accidentally select a choice
that doesn’t answer the question being asked.
On a paper test, it’s a good idea to underline or
circle these words.
PURPOSE OF REFERENCE | QUICK GUID

"Purpose of reference"
questions
What’s the function?
Purpose of reference questions ask you to identify
why the author referred to something in a certain
part of the text. In other words, what was the point of
including the reference?
Examples:
• “The author refers to the ____ in order to...”*
• “The author’s reference to ____ (lines ____)
serves which one of the following functions in
the passage?*


The task is to interpret the function of the

reference.
Strategies
Don’t overthink it! Unless the reference left you
puzzled, you probably already understood the
author’s purpose as you made your way through the
passage. Put another way, the purpose that you
automatically supplied in the process of reading is
probably the correct one. So try to come up with
the answer in your own words first, and
then select the choice that best matches your
prediction.
Read around the reference If the
reference did leave you puzzled or if you need a
refresher, then go back and reread the immediate
context around the lines. The author often will
supply all the cues you need to understand the
purpose of any part of the text right around that text.
If that doesn’t quite work, move to the next strategy!
Review the first sentence of the paragraph The
reference may well operate as support for a claim
made in the first sentence of the paragraph. It’s
unlikely that there will be hints as to the purpose of a
particular reference two or three paragraphs away. If
it’s still not clicking, review the last sentence of the
paragraph, and the last sentence of the preceding
paragraph.
Make sure you understand the overall point the
author is making The reference may well have
been included by the author in order to directly
support the main argument.
Top Tip: Most of the time, these references are
to studies or other forms of evidence, and they
function simply to support a claim or position that
the author makes/takes in the passage. Again, this
position may or may not be explicit, but the chances
are good that you’ve absorbed it during your first
active reading of the passage.
Common wrong choice types
Tempting wrong choices might take the form of
statements that accurately reflect the content of
the passage, but don’t address the purpose of
including the reference. In other words, just because
a choice is true to the content of the passage
doesn’t necessarily mean that it answers the
question.
INFERENCES ABOUT ATTITUDES | QUICK GUIDE

How does the author feel about

this?
Authors write things for a variety of reasons.
• To report facts (without bias or opinion)
• To report facts reported by someone else in
a study (without bias or opinion)
• To persuade the reader of the merits of
some position (positive attitude)
• To disprove or attack a position (negative
attitude)
You will encounter questions that ask directly about
the author’s attitude, or about the attitudes of
people or groups that are mentioned. While not
explicitly stated, these attitudes can be discovered
from both the language and content of the passage.
Examples
Most inference about attitude questions go
something like this:
 • “Which one of the following most accurately
identifies the attitude shown by the author in the
passage toward _____”
• “The authors' attitudes toward _____ can
most accurately be described in which one of
the following ways?”
• “The author would be most likely to
characterize _____ as...”
• “The attitude of the author of passage A
toward _____ differs from that of the author of
passage B in that author A is more”


Another variation of this question type may ask you

to consider words or phrases that appear in the
passage and to identify those that indicate the
attitude of the author—or of people or groups
mentioned in the passage—toward some specific
thing:
• “The author’s attitude toward the ‘thesis’
mentioned in line 56 is revealed in which one of
the following pairs of words?”
Strategies
Top tip: Charge it! Is the attitude or tone charged
positively ( + ) or negatively ( – )? Pay attention to
whether authors, by employing a certain tone or by
choosing to use certain words, betray any attitude
other than neutrality toward the material they are
presenting. Similarly, it’s a good idea to pay attention
to whether any of the people mentioned in the
passage are portrayed as having a positive or
negative attitude towards the ideaspresented.
Use + and – to quickly note your impressions as you
read. When you get to the question, ask
yourself: "on a scale of 1 to 5, 1 being the most
negative and 5 being the most positive, where
does the author’s attitude fall?"
Beware! Tone can change: Sometimes an initially
positive tone is tempered later by an expression of
reservations, or an initially dismissive tone might be
moderated later by a grudging admission of
something worthwhile. The most accurate
description of the author’s overall attitude will reflect
this, and you should choose among the options
accordingly.
Common wrong choice types
The wrong choices for this kind of question are
usually just choices that are too positive, too neutral,
or too negative to accurately reflect the author’s
tone.
However, while these questions usually ask about
the author’s attitude, sometimes they can ask about
someone other than the author described in the
passage. Make sure to note this before you answer
the question—there will likely be a tempting wrong
choice reflecting the author’s attitude thrown into
the mix!
Comparative Reading variants
Occasionally, you will encounter an inference about
attitude question on a Comparative Reading set.
Sometimes, they will ask you about a shared attitude
between the two passages:
 • “The authors' attitudes toward _____ can
most accurately be described in which one of
the following ways?”
Here, you know from the way the question is worded
that the authors share the same attitude toward the
topic at hand. So you already know that there’s an
implicit or explicit point of agreement; your task is to
pick the choice that best reflects what that is.
You may also see a variant that asks you to
compare contrasting attitudes:
• “Which of the following best describes the
difference between the authors’ attitudes
towards _____?”