How can I improve my diagramming skills?

[userdeb24]

Hello,

I started studying for the the lsat a week ago (with the Logical Reasoning Bible) and I noticed that most of the mistakes I make during drills or problem sets are the results of improper diagramming.

Is there a specific way through which I could improve my diagramming skills or will they improve naturally as I progress through the Bible?

Is it usual for students to make many mistakes during problem sets at the beginning of their preparation or is it the sign that I am cramming?

Thank you for your answers.

[Adam Tyson]

Welcome aboard, Deb! It is entirely normal for students just starting out to make plenty of mistakes. Take your time, be meticulous, get the concepts down and don't worry for now about how fast you are going, and things will start to click.

I am guessing that you are referring to Conditional Reasoning questions, since most other LR questions on the test do not call out for any sort of diagram. Conditional reasoning is a foreign concept to many students, but most eventually have an a-ha moment and things just start making sense. For now, try a mechanical approach - first, memorize the most common indicator words; second, when you see those words in a stimulus, diagram them mechanically (you see "unless the President signs the treaty" and you automatically, mechanically, without thinking about it, write an arrow and put "PST" to the right of that arrow because "unless" indicates a Necessary Condition and those always go to the right); third, once the diagram is complete, reverse the order of the terms and negate them to make the contrapositive, which is something that you know must be true.

It doesn't always have to make real-world sense, but if you follow the rules it will always give you what you need to determine what must be true, what could be true, what cannot be true, what mistakes might be present, what you need to find a parallel argument, and more.

As you move forward, you may be tempted to treat everything as if it is conditional, but don't force it. Causal arguments, for example, are best dealt with using a completely different approach, and turning them into conditionals will lead to all sorts of wrong answers. If you see that it's conditional, go ahead and diagram away, but if not, don't, and instead see if there is another approach you should try.

You're just getting started, and there are many more mistakes in your future! Don't be discouraged, just keep on working through them and learning from them and you will get there soon. Meanwhile, keep coming back here for more help, because that's why we're here.