LSAT READING COMP - Question Types Flashcards
Main Point Question
IDs? Strategy? Correct ACs? Wrong ACs?
IDs: main idea, main point, primary purpose, title of psg. Correct AC must state or refer to ISSUE AND APOV
NOTE THAT QUICK KILL CAN BE ANSWERS THAT DO NOT ADDRESS TYPE OF ISSUE i.e. if it’s CoO, you better see some kind of xxx vs yyy reference in main point q AC
Strategy: After reading Q, but before going to ACs,
- Review Issue (ISS) (CoO, Problem-Solution, Review of BoW)
- Review APOV
Correct AC must refer to both ISS & APOV. Reference may be explicit or hidden/subtle.
Wrong Answers: Wrong focus, too detailed, too strong, no APOV/wrong APOV, no issue/wrong issue
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Contrast word in AC flips focus to wrong
Structure Question
IDs? Strategy? Correct ACs? Wrong ACs?
IDs: structure, org of passage, passage proceeds by, contents of the passage
Strategy: After reading Q, but before going to ACs: Review paragraph flow, lists, and any cuts
Correct AC must refer to flow of passage & present elements in correct order. References may be subtle. Match vague terms in AC to concrete terms in passage.
Wrong Answers: wrong elements, wrong order of elements, too strong, omit big structural items such as issue or lists
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Tone Question
IDs? Strategy? Correct ACs? Wrong ACs?
IDs: tone, attitude, feelings
Strategy: After reading Q, but before going to ACs:
Ask, whose attitude? Ask, towards what?
Correct AC must accurately represent attitude, POV
Wrong Answers: too positive or too negative, neutral, wrong POV (APOV i/o HPOV or vice versa)
Function Question
IDs? Strategy? Correct ACs? Wrong ACs?
Function qs should have you PREDICTING AC
IDs: functions in the passage, purpose of the, plays which of the following roles, why does the author mention, mentions xx in order to
Strategy: After reading Q, but before going to ACs: predict!
Identify the “object statement”
Determine whether OS is part of big picture (BP) or minutiae
Find immediate context
Relate to BP (usually APOV)
If OS is part of BP(usually APOV), review nearby text and relate to BIGGER PICTURE
If OS is minutiae, avoid nearby text and relate to BP (usually APOV)
Correct AC will state or refer to BP (usually APOV)
Wrong Answers: Overly descriptive, no relationship or wrong relationship to BP (usually APOV).
Review PT 62.4.14 for a perfect Function question about Big Picture
Argument Question - Strengthen
IDs? Strategy? Correct ACs? Wrong ACs?
IDs: supports, strengthens, supports, most validate, lend most support…
Strategy: Just like in short arguments…
1. find conclusion or the item in question (but unlike in SA, the Q in RC will guide you to it or simply state it). Note it may not be an overall conclusion, but a smaller conclusion.
Wrong Answers: wrong scope, too weak
Warning: this is the rare RC question where you prefer stronger language in the correct AC
Detail Questions
IDs? Strategy? Correct ACs? Wrong ACs?
IDs: author mentions, passage states, according to the passage, provides information regarding, passage indicates. Basically…what did it say? Not “most likely” etc but what it says
Strategy: After reading Q, but before going to ACs
- Identify the scope of the question
- Review the relevant text for matches
There’s no way to do this quickly. Pure Go-Back work.
Correct AC: Recognize a verbatim statement or a paraphrase of the relevant text. Have the attitude that the AC is somewhere definitely in the passage. It is stated. Notice wrong AC would be inferable so beware. On detail Q you look for exact language
Wrong Answers: wrong detail, inference-type AC, too strong
Inference Question - Belief Inference
IDs? Strategy? Correct ACs? Wrong ACs?
ID: xxx would be most likely to agree…, it can be inferred that the author believes
Strategy: Correct AC will be tolerant of slightly stronger language because we are talking about inferring what someone believes rather than what is true
Belief Inference question will not come from other parts of the passage besides what part of passage is referenced. It’s not from your mind, it is from the text. Look at it. Correct AC must be inferred from referenced part.
Wrong Answers
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Argument Question - Assumption Necessary
IDs? Strategy? Correct ACs? Wrong ACs?
IDs: principle that underlies the reasoning, principle fundamental to, rely on which of the following assumptions…
Strategy: Just like in short arguments…
1. find conclusion or the item in question (but unlike in SA, the Q in RC will guide you to it or simply state it). Note it may not be an overall conclusion, but a smaller conclusion.
PREFER WEAKER LANGUAGE IN AC, just like in short argument NEC questions
Wrong Answers: wrong scope
Inference Question- Belief Inference
IDs? Strategy? Correct ACs? Wrong ACs?
IDs: Smith would be most likely to agree… the following stmt, it can be inferred that the author agrees
Strategy: Slightly stronger language is ok here as compared to other inference questions, because it is about belief
Argument Question - Weaken
IDs? Strategy? Correct ACs? Wrong ACs?
IDs: undermines, weaken, call into question
Strategy: Just like in short arguments…
1. find conclusion or the item in question (but unlike in SA, the Q in RC will guide you to it or simply state it). Note it may not be an overall conclusion, but a smaller conclusion.
Wrong Answers: wrong scope
Warning: this is the rare RC question where you prefer stronger language in the correct AC (yes, even though weaken is the question type, you want strong language)
Inference Question - Reality Inference
IDs? Strategy? Correct ACs? Wrong ACs?
IDs: mostly like to be true, most strongly supports, the passage suggests… is true, the passage supports the following statement, can be inferred the following happened…compatible with/consistent with
Strategy: we prefer WEAK language for inference ACs. Go to ACs immed and prioritze based on APOV and WEAK language
Wrong Answers: remember to refer reality, not OPOV, beware strong language, beware wrong scope and too strong language
Inference Question - Analogy
IDs? Strategy? Correct ACs? Wrong ACs?
IDs: most consistent with, most analogous, most clearly exemplified by…, which most closely conforms to views attributed in lines xxx”
Strategy: we prefer WEAK language for inference ACs. Treat question like a “principle above” question in SA. Predict basic elements that need to be in correct AC. Use process of elimination with ACs.
Make sure you find ALL the elements of the analogy in the passage and match to all elements in the AC.
Wrong Answers
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Inference Question - Continuation
IDs? Strategy? Correct ACs? Wrong ACs?
IDs: would most logically conclude the final paragraph, most likely be found elsewhere in the work, continue the discussion at the end…
Strategy: we prefer WEAK language for inference ACs. Correct AC will relate to BP issue, or APOV
Wrong Answers: Do not just read ACs onto the end of the passage. This is inference so the correct AC will NOTintroduce new ideas even with continuation.
Inference Question - Interpret a Term
IDs? Strategy? Correct ACs? Wrong ACs?
IDs: The author intends the term “xxxx” to exclude which of the following, the phrase “xxxx” most likely means…The author regards “xxxx” to mean…Which one of the following would be an example of “xxx” from the second passage…”
Strategy: we prefer WEAK language for inference ACs. Go back to targeted text in passage, read the whole stem, and then either
Need lots of Go Back work
READ ALL AROUND THE TERM - AC may be a nearby term
Replace targeted word and re-read
Or interpret the phrase based on context and APOV
Inference Question - Passage Answers
IDs? Strategy? Correct ACs? Wrong ACs?
IDs: The passage provides information intended to help answer each of the following except…
The passage most helps to answer which of the following questions…
Strategy: we prefer WEAK language for inference ACs. Be very careful about question words: who/what/how. Be careful on time frame (has, would, will, etc)
Wrong Answers: may use who/what/how that doesn’t match who/what/how of question stem
