When does diagramming hurt more than help?

[Ryan]

I'm toward the beginning of my study schedule and having a dilemma with diagramming the conditional reasoning questions. Quick backstory: before starting the schedule, I took a couple practice tests, timed and untimed, to get a solid feel for where I'm at. It was clear from the beginning that my weakness was Logic Games. On the other hand, Logical Reasoning came significantly easier, and my success rate was fairly high.

Fast forward to this week, I've been going over the diagramming method for conditional reasoning questions and, admittedly, having a little trouble understanding it. I've been going over practice questions trying to put it into practice and have noticed that I'm 1) spending too much time on them, 2) second guessing answers I would otherwise choose as correct, and 3) am getting more of these problems wrong than I was before.

Sorry for the long-winded prompt, but my question is this: should I take this as a sign that diagramming isn't for me, or can I expect some kind of breakthrough if I keep plugging away?

[Jamena Pirone]

Hi Ryan,

I feel your pain! When first starting out, everyone has difficulty discerning when to diagram. The short answer to your question is: Keep plugging away at it! The breakthrough will come. The decision about whether to diagram doesn't rest on what type of person you are, but rather on what type of question you're facing.

Dave Killoran wrote a great blog post on this very topic. Find the full post at https://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/bid/33 ... To-Diagram

"Diagramming is a tool, and like all tools it only helps when it is used in the right situation. If you can understand what is being said, that is, you see the conditional relationships just fine, then don't diagram just to diagram. On the other hand, if you find that the conditions are piling on top of each other and you are having trouble following it all, there's no harm in putting it down on paper (and this is where practice helps because you should be able to do it instantly and effortlessly)."

There are also very useful discussions in the General Logical Reasoning Questions forum, one of which can be found here: lsat/viewtopic.php?t=14421

"If you are in one of our courses and just getting started, all of this will become clearer as time goes on. At first, right after Lesson 2 on conditional reasoning, everything will look conditional to you! Over time, though, you'll begin to see when it is present and know when it is not, and what to do in either case."

I also encourage you to check out Nikki Siclunov's blog post here: https://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/bid/28 ... Everywhere

"It's usually the clear relationships and the unusual conditional indicators (such as "only when," "unless," etc.) that should be diagrammed or seen in a purely conditional light. Similarly, if you see multiple conditional statements in the same argument or fact set, check to see if they share similar or identical conditions. If they do, you are probably being tested on your ability to form chain relationships (aka the "law of syllogism"). But, not everything should be diagrammed, and not every "if" will turn a stimulus into a conditional reasoning problem!"

If you have more questions after browsing the material, please do not hesitate to ask follow up questions. Like many things, success comes with practice, practice, practice.