Modern Logical Reasoning

[Brandonhsi]

Hello,

Do you mind elaborating the following LR comments posted in the blog? Thanks.

"Modern Logical Reasoning seems to be forcing students to analyze what is being said, and making it harder for students to use a purely formulaic approach. You have to be able to assess the value of what is being said, and separate statements that are often quite similar in meaning."

http://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/bid/335 ... ccess=true

[David Boyle]

Hello,

Do you mind elaborating the following LR comments posted in the blog? Thanks.

"Modern Logical Reasoning seems to be forcing students to analyze what is being said, and making it harder for students to use a purely formulaic approach. You have to be able to assess the value of what is being said, and separate statements that are often quite similar in meaning."

http://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/bid/335 ... ccess=true

Hello Brandonhsi,

I'm not sure I can do better than Jon Denning or other folks on this, but: LSAC does seem to be using trickier questions. In the past, there were often markers like the words "necessary" or "sufficient" to let you know that there was an "if-then" type of situation going on. But "give-away words" like "necessary" or "sufficient" may not be used as much any more, since clever wording can describe "if-then" situations without using any "give-away words".
In fact, as Jon notes, there may not even be "if-then" situations at all; there may be other logical quirks explored, of whatever sorts, where you have to go through a "hall of mirrors" where some different-seeming statements actually mean similar things when you look at them carefully (or similar-seeming statements actually mean different things when you look at them carefully!!).
So, while you should know how to diagram (helpful with conditional reasoning), it is also good just to develop logical ability in general, to deal with things that may not be easy to diagram. Various PowerScore techniques and knowledge (e.g., the various logical flaws), plus plenty of practice with practice tests, should help in developing general logical ability. (Using "good old common sense" can be helpful too!)

Hope this helps,
David

[Brandonhsi]

Thanks! David

You said "clever wording can describe "if-then" situations without using any "give-away words".

Do you have an example of those? If it it is the 2014 LR bible, what pages?

Thanks again!

[Luke Haqq]

Hi Brandonhsi,

Let me take a shot at you're question. When David says clever wording can describe if-then statements without using give-away words, think of sentences like the following:

- The cat sleeps only when its sunny.
- John always gives the dog a reward after it sits.

These can be diagramed as the following if-then, conditional statements:

- Cat sleeps Sunny
- Dog sits Reward

In other words, we could rephrase the sentences to be "If the cat sleeps, then it is sunny," and "If the dog sits, then John will give it a reward." The initial sentences, though, conveyed this without using if, then, or other words that indicate sufficient and necessary conditions.

I don't have a LR in front of me, but looking through the table of contents online, I believe you'd find Chapter Six resourceful. That should include a list of words the LSAT commonly uses to indicate sufficient and necessary conditions. I recommend memorizing that list because they are used often, and some are tricky (like "unless").

Hope that helps!