April 15 LSAT Prep Flashcards
List of Premise Indicator Words
Since
Because
For
As
After all
Moreover
In addition
Given that
List of Conclusion Indicator Words
Therefore
Thus
Hence
So
As a result
Consequently
It follows that
It is clear that
What is the Step-by-Step approach to breaking down arguments?
1) Locate the conclusion
2) Find the relevant premises
3) Identify any assumptions in the argument
What are the three types of modality?
Necessity
Probability
Possibility
What key words indicate a strong modality (necessity)?
Must
Is / Are
Will
Do / Does
Always
What key words indicate a moderate modality (probability)?
Probably
Likely
Usually
What key words indicate a weak modality (possibility)?
May
Might
Could
Can
Occasionally
What are key words that indicate strong logical force?
Will
Must
Is
Are
Do
Does
Always
Any
Every
Almost all
What are key words that indicate moderate logical force?
Probably
Likely
Usually
Most of the time
Majority of the time
Most
Majority
What are key words that indicate weak logical force?
May
Might
Can
Could
Often
Sometimes
Occasionally
Significant number
Several
Many
Few
Some
What are some key words for a sufficient condition?
If
When
Whenever
All
Any
Each
Every
What are some key words for a necessary condition?
Then
Only
Only if
Only when
Needs
Requires
Must
What does the phrase “only if” introduce?
A necessary condition (B)
How do you diagram an “unless” statement?
Replace “unless” with “if not”
Eg. “Unless Rick goes to school, he will fall behind” becomes “If Rick does not go to school, he will fall behind.”
How do you diagram a “no” statement?
The “no” always negates the second term
Eg. “No men wear cologne” becomes “All men do not wear cologne”
What are the two types of Valid Inferences?
Valid Affirmation (satisfaction of sufficient condition satisfies necessary condition)
Contrapositive ( flip it and reverse it)
What are the two types of Invalid Inferences?
Converse (switch order of terms)
Inverse (negate both terms)
Does the LSAT use the inclusive or exclusive or?
Inclusive, unless specified by the words “but not both”
How do you disprove a conditional statement?
Negate by affirming the sufficient and deny the necessary condition
Eg. the sufficient condition can occur without the necessary condition having been met, providing a counterexample
What does a “most” statement imply for diagramming?
A majority, or more than half
What are the 4 types of quantifiers and their definitions?
All - Every one - 100%
Most - More than half - >50%
Some - At least one - >0%
None - Not any - 0%
What is the highlighting key for Logical Reasoning?
Yellow = Conclusions
Orange = Conditional Keywords
Pink = Strong Language
What is the highlighting key for Reading Comprehension?
Yellow = Author’s opinions and strong language
Pink = Other viewpoints aside from the author’s
Orange = Secondary structures and other major details
