LR Bible Question

[BYUgrad06]

What should we do with the chapter on Formal Logic? Skip it?  The author says that only one to three formal logic problems appear on the LSAT, so should I skip it or grin and read it?  I''m just not sure if it is an important chapter or if it is meant as a side option for those who have mastered most or all of the other areas.

[BYUgrad06]

dude...one in 3 is a pretty good percentage. combining the two LR sections would mean there's about 16 or 17 of those on the test. now if you want to miss 16 questions, go ahead. but i'd recommend reading it. especially if you are going for a high score. even if you you only miss 1/3 of the formal logic questions, that'd be like 5, that could take you from a 167 to a 164 pretty easily.

in other words...read it.

plus formal logic can be extremely helpful on the games as well.

I'm sorry if it seems I was being an oblivious to what seems to be an obvious solution (the author wouldn't include it in the book if it wasn't important or helpful).  But when I was reading the intro in that chapter it he seems to state implicitly that formal logic encompasses very little of the test and that my time would be better spent studyt cause and effect reasoning and conditional reasoning, rather than formal logic itself.

[BYUgrad06]

dude...one in 3 is a pretty good percentage. combining the two LR sections would mean there's about 16 or 17 of those on the test. now if you want to miss 16 questions, go ahead. but i'd recommend reading it. especially if you are going for a high score. even if you you only miss 1/3 of the formal logic questions, that'd be like 5, that could take you from a 167 to a 164 pretty easily.

in other words...read it.

plus formal logic can be extremely helpful on the games as well.

Thank You, your imput was appreciated.  I'll get started on it.  Would it throw me off if I read it before most of the other question types?  It is the 11th chapter after all.

I'm sorry if it seems I was being an oblivious to what seems to be an obvious solution (the author wouldn't include it in the book if it wasn't important or helpful).  But when I was reading the intro in that chapter it he seems to state implicitly that formal logic encompasses very little of the test and that my time would be better spent studyt cause and effect reasoning and conditional reasoning, rather than formal logic itself.

That implication is true to some degree.  LR problems involving some/most quantifiers only account for around 3 to 5 problems per test.

However, you want and need to get those points if you want to do the best you can so you should study it.  Cause and effect permeates far more LR questions per test and is more important in terms of the volume of problems that involve it. 

Learning the 'formal logic' does also help with basic conditional reasoning.  It is advanced conditional reasoning and once you get good at it normal conditional reasoning should become second nature in the process.

As long as you plan your study time and get yourself disciplined about doing it you should not have to decide what to leave behind.  You need to learn all of it if you want to score as high as possible. 

[ohhhyeah]

What should we do with the chapter on Formal Logic? Skip it?  The author says that only one to three formal logic problems appear on the LSAT, so should I skip it or grin and read it?  I''m just not sure if it is an important chapter or if it is meant as a side option for those who have mastered most or all of the other areas.

If you skip it then you may have difficulty doing formal logic questions as they appear. Formal logic is not as commonly tested as say assumption or strengthen/weaken. But, if you are aiming for a high score then you should consider covering event the rare types in the even that a FL quetion does appear on your test.