What is Logical Reasoning?

Two out of your three scored sections on the LSAT are Logical Reasoning (LR) sections. Each LR section contains 24 to 26 questions.

Every LR question consists of the following elements:

• Stimulus – a short paragraph containing an argument or a set of facts
• Question stem – a question about the stimulus
• Answer choices – one answer is correct, four are wrong

Why Question Types Matter

When you first start studying, every question may seem completely different. But the LSAT actually presents the same structures repeatedly and asks the same kinds of questions about those structures. One argument might be about urban planning, another about nutrition—but both might ask you to find a flaw in the reasoning or identify an assumption the author is making. When you learn to recognize question types, you immediately know what you're being asked to do and can apply reliable strategies based on what you’re asked. This is why experienced LSAT students work through questions more quickly and accurately.

The Question Types

LR questions fall into 17 types, grouped here by what they ask you to do:

Understand argument structure: Main Conclusion, Argument Part, Method of Reasoning

Find assumptions and flaws: Flaw, Necessary Assumption, Sufficient Assumption, Strengthen, Weaken, Evaluate

Draw inferences from the stimulus: Must Be True, Most Strongly Supported

Identify or apply principles: Pseudo-Sufficient Assumption, Find/Complete the Application

Match reasoning patterns: Parallel Method of Reasoning, Parallel Flaw

Other: Resolve/Reconcile/Explain, Point at Issue

How to Use This Page

The information below breaks down effective approaches to the different LR question types. Don't try to memorize everything on this page at once. Instead, use this page after you’ve studied for a little bit to quiz yourself or refresh your memory on tips and patterns for different question types. With consistent practice, what’s on this page will become second nature.

LR Cheat Sheet