LR Bible Page 211 and 213 "Either/Or, Multiple Condition..."

[edgarcarrero]

On page 211, #3 in the answer key does the order of "(WG and AFC)->RS" matter? I have it inverted.

Similarly, on page 213 #7 does the order of "(SB or PM) -> FC" matter? I diagrammed it as "FC -> (SB or FM)".

Thanks for your help!

[Dave Killoran]

On page 211, #3 in the answer key does the order of "(WG and AFC)->RS" matter? I have it inverted.

Similarly, on page 213 #7 does the order of "(SB or PM) -> FC" matter? I diagrammed it as "FC -> (SB or FM)".

Thanks for your help!

Hi Edgar,

Thanks for the question! Yes, it does matter quite a bit, and it's critical to get comfortable with which is sufficient, and which is necessary.

• In #3, the key term is "if," which introduces a sufficient condition. Thus, WG and AFC need to be shown as sufficient, at the "front" of the arrow.
  
  In #7, the key term is again "if," which although it appears in the middle of the sentence introduces a sufficient condition. Thus, SB and PM need to be shown as sufficient.

While you are learning these ideas, focus on conditional indicators in each sentence—they are like traffic signs that can help you move more quickly and confidently. For further discussions of conditional reasoning, including an analysis of intuition vs technical knowledge, I'm going to refer you to a variety of resources here that you may find helpful:

• Avoid Real World Interpretations and Follow the Language: http://forum.powerscore.com/lsat/viewto ... p=216#p216
  
  One More Look on what Sufficient and Necessary Means (this is key so that when indicators aren't present, we know what we're doing): http://forum.powerscore.com/lsat/viewto ... 6166#p6166
  
  LSAT Conditional Reasoning: When To Diagram: http://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/bid/333 ... To-Diagram
  
  The PowerScore LSAT Blog, Conditional Reasoning articles - http://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/topic/l ... -reasoning. We write often about this concept, and there are over 20 articles here discussions all sorts of interesting conditional language and arrow relationships.

This is just a small selection of the items we've published on this topic, so I encourage you to go beyond these and explore even more. I frequently write about conditional reasoning since it's so prevalent on the LSAT, so if you search my posts you can find me talking about it quite a bit.

Please let me know if that helps. Thanks!