Tips From an Lsat Tutor - The Logic Games

During my perceive as an Lsat Tutor, I have gotten to teach dozens of students. Some students excel at reading while others speedily grasp the complex logic behind the logical reasoning section, each pupil has separate strengths and weaknesses. Despite this, I have rarely met a pupil who was naturally gifted in the Lsat logic games. Of the three multiple choice sections, more students find the logic games section the most difficult than the other two combined. From years of experience, the most efficient strategy I have found for conquering the Lsat logic games are listed below.

Understanding the Lsat logic games

While the logical reasoning and reading understanding sections are difficult, the logic games are unique to the Lsat. Some students have been exposed to logic, both formal and informal, but the logic games are specifically created for the Lsat. This being the case, I suggest that my students begin by fully understanding the logic games uniqueness and approaching the games with a clear mind. There are four games per section, normally ordered from easiest to hardest, that must be completed within 35 minutes. The Lsat only uses definite answers for determining the score, so guessing is recommended if you are stuck.

Approaching the Setup

In my opinion, at least 90 seconds should be spent production a thorough reading of the scenario and rules. The scenario describes the game and is applicable to each question, accordingly, an understanding of the scenario is indispensable to understand the game. A pupil should extract the variables from the scenario and use it as the basis for their diagram. You should have each variable set marked before you the rules are approached. Each rule should be refined straight through a shorthand, do this for each of the rules. Once all the rules have been identified, the possible rules which are not blatantly identified must be found. The questions will typically test your knowledge of the deductions, so spend time understanding the rules. Once the possible rules have been identified and condensed students may now begin answering the questions.

The Questions

For many students who have not taken the introductory time to prepare for the game, answering each question can be a bright endeavor. Every new question presents its own struggle, siphoning off indispensable seconds. With a faultless and definite introductory diagram, most answers should be absolutely identifiable. A typical Lsat logic games has 4 to 8 questions related with each scenario, production the time spent diagramming more than justifiable. Taking the steps above provides a strong base for each question, sometimes eliminating all the work for an whole question due to an already solved deduction. If new assumptions present themselves, students should take the time to dehydrate the assumption and add it to the introductory setup. If the question stem adds an additional rule that is only applicable to that question, students should produce a slight diagram that is only related with that question. Once that question is done, the pupil should forget about the assumptions as well as the diagram that they have made.

Following these three steps makes the Lsat logic games section much more manageable. These steps are by no means complete, but in essence they capture the indispensable steps for acing the logic games section.