Most Important Logical Reasoning and Games for October Test

[Mark Yerrid]

Hello. I would like a professional opinion for those of you at PS (especially Dave) about the upcoming test, past tests, and future tests regarding the most important question types which "always" or "almost always" come into play on each and every LSAT.

Knowing that ALL sections are important for the best score on the LSAT; I have found myself wondering what the most; the very,very most important Logical Reasoning sections, in which a LSAT test taker should have down to a science BECAUSE he/she will most likely find a MAJORITY of these "types" on the test. Same with Logic Games; I have heard that Linear, Adv.Linear, and Grouping are the most important games to master to gain points; that these 3 games are almost always on any LSAT.

I know that MBT, MP, Conditional Reasoning, and Weaken LR question types are of the utmost in importance, but are there any more which we "need" to know. I have gone through almost all my books from the on-line course and LR, RC, and LG Bibles; but I want to know WHICH types of questions are going to be seen MOST and which ones of both the Games and Logical Reasoning are MOST important to review and keep up with prior to the test.

I know that no one at PS can promise "this type is more important than that type"; but in your experience and with your expertise; and in your opinion: which types are IMPERATIVE to master in order to gain the most points?

Thank you. I look forward to reading your opinion.

[Nikki Siclunov]

As you said, it's difficult to say which game and question types are the "most important" to master. The skills you develop in mastering some question types will often be helpful in getting you through other question types. Consequently, the most important question types are not the ones that appear most frequently on the exam; rather, it is the ones whose mastery tends to improve your performance on other question types. So, if I had, let's say, only a month to prepare for the Logical Reasoning section, among the 13 question types I would focus on the following:

• Must Be True: the basis for all Prove-family questions
  
  Main Point: relatively rare, but they force you to identify conclusions, which is critical in Help- and Hurt-family questions
  
  Flaw in the Reasoning: extremely frequent in recent tests, involves critical thinking that translates directly into higher accuracy on Weaken and Assumption questions.
  
  Method of Reasoning: the ability to abstractly describe arguments will improve your performance on Flaw, Parallel, and Method-AP questions.
  
  Weaken: help develop the ability to quickly identify logical gaps, which is at the core of many questions in the Help-family (Strengthen, Assumption, Justify), improve your understanding of causal reasoning.
  
  Assumption: easy to solve using the Assumption Negation Technique; helps solve some Flaw questions
  
  Justify: improve your understanding of conditional reasoning.

In games, you are correct: as you said, Basic and Advanced Linear, Grouping, and Sequencing Games are all important. That said, the template-driven approach seems to be getting a lot of traction lately so make sure you master the ability to quickly identify limited-solution set games.

Hope this helps!

[Mark Yerrid]

Nikki,

Thank you; your reply was very informative. As far as the "template-driven" approach in the games section; is this an area covered in the the LG Bible or the On-Line PS class? I think I have seen this mentioned at the end the Bible or the on-line class books; but have not given them (template) much practice.

Mark