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- zintap415
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Vinny Gambini
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Formal Logic?!?!
Hey there friends, I'm using the LR Powerscore Bible and am currently studying Formal Logic. I know the book specifically says not to spend too much time studying Formal Logic, but I just can't get the hang of it. I've been stuck on the drills at the end of the chapter, and I think I struggle the most with understanding which inferences to make. There are so many that can come up with one problem, so should I focus on spending as much time as needed to make all of them? The Bibles will somehow pull out only the relevant ones and I have no idea of assessing which inferences are relevant. Is this just something that comes with practice? Any tips, strategies, or free resources that could make this easier would be greatly appreciated xx
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- Laura Damone
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Atticus Finch
- Posts: 468
- Joined: February 17th, 2011
Re: Formal Logic?!?!
Hey there!
Since you posted this in the LSAT Arcade forum, I'm guessing you've already been using our Arcade game "If / Then." That's a great place to start. But to really nail it down, I'd recommend our 5 lb. Book of LSAT Practice Drills: https://www.amazon.com/5lb-Book-LSAT-Practice-Drills/dp/1506242693. It has boatloads of conditional logic drills and explanations written by our instructors.
It's not free, but it's not expensive either. And it's really designed to be a supplement to other study, like you're doing with the Powerscore Bibles. There's a brief introductory section that gives you a crash course in our lexicon so you don't struggle when we call things by a different name than the Bibles do. The Bibles have some great drills. so do our Strategy Guides. But there wasn't another book out there that had the volume of drills we thought necessary to really achieve mastery.
I encourage all my students to study formal logic thoroughly. It's one of the fundamental building blocks of the LSAT, and you should be able to quickly recognize and respond to it, in both LR and LG.
In LR, chaining the conditional statements properly should make the number of inferences manageable. You shouldn't be stuck thinking of 10 different ways they can link up.
In LG, long conditional chains are unwieldy! If a game hinges on intersecting conditional rules, I'll use a template called the Logic Chain instead, which allows you to build all the rules into a single cohesive picture. It's not something you'll find in the Bibles, but you can see an intro video on our YouTube channel! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wH1PgKowt50
Hope this helps!
Since you posted this in the LSAT Arcade forum, I'm guessing you've already been using our Arcade game "If / Then." That's a great place to start. But to really nail it down, I'd recommend our 5 lb. Book of LSAT Practice Drills: https://www.amazon.com/5lb-Book-LSAT-Practice-Drills/dp/1506242693. It has boatloads of conditional logic drills and explanations written by our instructors.
It's not free, but it's not expensive either. And it's really designed to be a supplement to other study, like you're doing with the Powerscore Bibles. There's a brief introductory section that gives you a crash course in our lexicon so you don't struggle when we call things by a different name than the Bibles do. The Bibles have some great drills. so do our Strategy Guides. But there wasn't another book out there that had the volume of drills we thought necessary to really achieve mastery.
I encourage all my students to study formal logic thoroughly. It's one of the fundamental building blocks of the LSAT, and you should be able to quickly recognize and respond to it, in both LR and LG.
In LR, chaining the conditional statements properly should make the number of inferences manageable. You shouldn't be stuck thinking of 10 different ways they can link up.
In LG, long conditional chains are unwieldy! If a game hinges on intersecting conditional rules, I'll use a template called the Logic Chain instead, which allows you to build all the rules into a single cohesive picture. It's not something you'll find in the Bibles, but you can see an intro video on our YouTube channel! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wH1PgKowt50
Hope this helps!
Laura Damone
LSAT Content & Curriculum Lead | Manhattan Prep
LSAT Content & Curriculum Lead | Manhattan Prep
2 posts Page 1 of 1