Many students starting out their LSAT prep have a difficult time learning how to study for logical reasoning LSAT sections of the exam, and the remedy to their difficulties is a simple one—learn the reasoning basics first. The reasoning basics include: understanding the roles of sufficient and necessary statements in an argument and being able to diagram them, understanding the relative value of quantifier terms, and learning the rules of conditional reasoning. Once learned, these basics function as a foundation to build upon and ultimately will enable students to attain success within the logical reasoning sections of the LSAT.
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Students struggling with a particular analytical reasoning question type should “drill” that question type in order to become more proficient. “Drilling” logical reasoning questions can be accomplished by consecutively answering questions of the same question type. Drilling is unarguably the best way to become better acquainted and more proficient with strategy application within any given question type on the LSAT; therefore, all students should include regular drilling into their LSAT reasoning practice. Once a student becomes proficient at all LR question types, they can proceed to drill entire LSAT logical reasoning practice test sections. Several fantastic (online) on-demand LSAT drilling services that are compiled with LSAT analytical reasoning practice questions are available for students to include into their studies; furthermore, these platforms allow students to create practice problem sets filtered by question types, difficulty levels, etc., and this in turn enables students to target the focus of their LSAT practice.
LSAT Logical Reasoning Questions
There are roughly 13 different types of LSAT LR questions (depending on who you ask), and of those 13 different question types, LSAT inference questions appear the most frequently on any given logical reasoning section of the LSAT—this includes LSAT must be true questions and ‘soft’ must be true questions (most strongly supported). Unlike LSAT argument questions, inference questions don’t necessarily advance an argument, don’t necessarily have a present conclusion, and may present themselves in a stimulus as a group of informative facts. Understanding the different approaches for different LSAT reasoning questions is an unstated requirement for students to be able to complete LR sections accurately and within the allotted time frame—good strategy application practice will make this second nature.
When studying LSAT logical reasoning questions and practicing strategy application, it’s always a great idea for students to have both LSAT logical reasoning questions and explanations on hand. Moreover, because the embedded logic in LSAT logic questions is very specific to the LSAT—students should only incorporate official LSAT materials into their studies. A great free resource for students interested in sample LSAT logic questions or for students just starting out their LSAT prep is Khan Academy’s Official Free LSAT Prep. This free learning platform incorporates official LSAT questions and includes written explanations for the correct responses!
Sample LSAT Questions
One of the bases of the LSAT is conditional reasoning, in other words, understanding the roles of sufficient and necessary statements in an argument and sorting them into a logical diagram—applicable for almost all question types on the LSAT with a few exceptions. Using a drilling resource (online or textbook) is one of the best ways to prep LSAT conditional reasoning practice questions, and many drilling resources have dedicated sections or filters to enable students to do so. A good understanding of formal logic on the LSAT will also translate to better performance in logic games!
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When completing LSAT logic practice questions students should always practice making anticipations—a.k.a. answer predictions. The truth of the matter is, the LSAT is an extremely anticipatable exam, and more often than not, with some practice, students will be able to predict the answer selection after reading the prompt using the only evidence in the stimulus. Furthermore, anticipations are applicable to the entirety of the LSAT, not just the logical reasoning sections of the LSAT, and correctly making anticipations can drastically reduce section completion time; in other words, effective anticipation habits can make up the difference between missing questions at the end of a section and completing the section in its entirety. LSAT drilling services that additionally provide anticipation strategy notes can really help a student kill two birds with one stone!