Best Logical Reasoning Tips?

[kristen823]

Alright, guys, here's a space to share your best logical reasoning tips in the days leading up to the test. Why LR? Because I haven't had time to study much for this section but I see room for improvement there- and I know a lot of us are grasping for straws coming down the final stretch. I'll start:
I almost always skip the parallel reasoning questions and do them last, or guess them if I run out of time. I find parallel reasoning questions are the most time consuming and I get them wrong anyway about 40% of the time.

[LizPendens™]

find the conclusion, or note its absence, in every stimulus. be damn surethat you can also tell the different parts of an argument apart: premise; conclusion;  subsidiary conclusion; counter-argument componants; and  premises that are a principle or rule.

also note missing premises: assumptions.

note whether argument is valid or invalid. (this really helps in parallel reasoning questions)

[kristen823]

Is a subsidiary conclusion the same as an intermediate conclusion?

[thestradgirl]

Is a subsidiary conclusion the same as an intermediate conclusion?

Yes.

[ProfessorPlum]

Nova's Master the LSAT helped me most with parallel reasoning--they have great drills and show recurring patterns of logic in PR questions.  Ideally, I like to have 2-3 minutes at the end of the section to return to each PR question, mostly just because they take so long to read.

Another thing that has helped me a lot is ignoring the clock.  I've taken enough practice tests now that I know if I keep moving through the section and don't get hung up, I'll finish in time.  So, I forget about the clock until question 13, check my status (I like to have at least 18 minutes left), and continue.  I just make sure to keep moving through the section; if a particular question is taking extra long, I'll circle it to come back to.

Hope that helps somehow...

[kang]

i was missing 12-14 on preptests last week.  on preptest 48, which i took yesterday, i got 8 wrong total: -2 first section, -6 2nd.  i just finished 46 and got a total of 5 wrong, -2 1st and -3 2nd.  i attribute my improvement to breaking down tests by analyzing in detail questions 15 and up (both correct and incorrect).  i made detailed notes describing why a particular stimulus gave me a hard time.  i can email you the notes i have if you want.

[kang]

i forgot to mention i changed my timing strategy.  before, i was trucking through them one by one but now i use the following method:

1-5 pace of less than a minute each
6-14 a little over a minute each
21-26 1.5 minutes each
15-20 the rest

i usually end up with 1-2 minutes to spare so i go back and check for mistakes

[mmavaletudo]

ASSUPMPTION QUESTIONS!!! Negate and Weaken! Take any contenders, negate them and see which one weakens the argument the most. This has been a tip that helps me fly through questions

JUSTIFY QUESTIONS!!! Add each contender to the conclusion and see which one strengthens the argument 100%. If it doesn't, don't choose it!

MUST BE TRUE QUESTIONS!!! Check your contenders with the info in the passage. Make sure you can prove it using the info in the stimulus. If you can't, don't pick it. Stay away from answers that you think would work just because it sounds logical!

Do you guys skip a question if you can't figure it out rather quickly? I finish with 30 seconds left every time because I get caught up on two or three question that hold me there for 2 minutes a piece. Sux

[ProfessorPlum]

Stay away from answers that your think would work just because it sounds logical!

This sounds so counter-intuitive, but it is so true.

[kristen823]

Thanks for the tips everyone. Definitely been helpful. I have started going over every section in detail and really looking at ones I get wrong. And your right about answers that just sound logical- these are often my downfall. I am trying to remember to eliminate anwers outside the scope of the question. I feel like I forget a lot of my strategies when I'm actually taking a section. I have to really work on making them second nature.