LR is the most consistent section from test to test and makes up 50 percent of your LSAT score. Thus, your LSAT practice should focus largely on mastering this section. The majority of the questions revolve around only a few concepts – arguments, validity and fallacies. If you can master these concepts during LSAT practice, proficiency with most question types will follow.
Below are a couple of original LR questions. Some do not have answer choices. This is to force you to anticipate – just another form of LSAT practice.
Batter up!
Few Blueprint students have any LSAT practice experience before their first Practice Exam. For many, it is their first encounter with the test. Their first Exam scores vary widely. Although many students study for a similar number of hours, they often progress at different rates. Obviously then, logical skill and LSAT performance must be determined by genetics.
1. What are the flaws in the argument?
2. Which one of the following, if true, would most strengthen the argument?
a. Scientists have recently located the section in the brain that deals with abstract concepts and logical reasoning and found that it varies in size from person to person.
b. Many students who perform well on the LSAT have siblings who also perform well.
c. A comprehensive study of students studying for the LSAT found little correlation between number of hours spent studying and score improvement.
d. Researchers recently discovered that performance on the LSAT is completely unaffected by past exposure to logical concepts and argumentation.
e. Some students practice LSAT questions on their own before signing up for an LSAT course.
Nutritionist: Before the advent of agriculture, our ancestors ate a diet free from grains, legumes and dairy. Since they were remarkably free from Western civilization diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and even Alzheimer’s, everyone who desires optimal health should eat such a diet. Over the last century, technological developments (including sliced bread) have contributed to the proliferation of such processed foods, especially those made from grains. And as these foods became abundant and readily available, obesity and heart disease rates skyrocketed.
3. What is the main point of the argument?
4. What relationship is contained within the conclusion?
5. What is the primary error of reasoning contained within the argument?
6. Which one of the following, if true, would most undermine the conclusion?
a. In recent time, when cultures have shifted from their indigenous diets toward a more western diet, obesity and disease rates have increase dramatically.
b. Many people who eat grains, legumes and dairy don’t feel they suffer any adverse effects as a result.
c. Many foods are packaged in plastics known to leak potential toxins into the foods.
d. A research team recently discovered that only a small minority of people are actually allergic to gluten, the main protein found in most grains, or lactose, the main sugar in milk.
e. Traditionally, as populations have shifted toward a westernized diet, they have also vastly decreased their physical activity and amount of sleep.
Answers:
1. Two flaws: Exclusivity, in that it ignores other options – including exposure to similar concepts in the past (logical arguments in philosophy or politics); and flawed comparison, in that you can’t compare different peoples’ LSAT practice by just the number of hours spent studying; you must consider the quality of the time spent on LSAT practice.
2. D
3. If you want optimal health, eat this diet
4. Grains/Legumes/Dairy cause disease
5. Correlation does not imply causation
6. E
Did you strike out or hit a home run? Let me know in the comments. And keep up your LSAT practice.
