Inference
LR: Inferences
Passage Types
⁃ Classifications
⁃ Causation - Anything that is an explanation or interpretation of evidence
⁃ Correlation - There’s always A&B; A&B have a relationship; and here is what is observed about
this relationship
⁃ Key: Will never go any further than this
⁃ Positive Correlation or inverse correlation
⁃ Recommendation - what should or should not be done
⁃ Key Phrases: we ought to or ought not to
⁃ Explicit “You Should Study for the LSAT”
⁃ Implied: “The LSAT is a Hard Test”
⁃ Prediction - statements about the likelihood of something happening or not happening
⁃ Key Words: Likely to happen, Unlikely to happen, probably will happen, probably won’t
happen
⁃ Key: Every Single Word must be future tense
⁃ Comparison - Your language will be “than”
⁃ -Ex: X is more like Y than Z is.
⁃ Analogy is an indicator that you’re dealing with a comparison
Formal Logic
⁃ “If A, then B”
⁃ Causation: Your cause is your sufficient condition, and the effect is the necessary condition. If you
don’t have causation in your arguments, you don’t have formal logic.
⁃ A: Sufficient Condition
⁃ B: Necessary Condition
⁃ Sufficient Condition triggers the conditional statements which make it applicable
⁃ Necessary Condition is the requirement that we must do as a result
⁃ “If” Synonyms: when, each, any, all, every, everyone, everything, whenever, anyone
Formula
⁃ 1. “If” Formula: take “if” half of the sentence and make it a sufficient condition, then drop your “then” half
after it, and the first half of the original sentence becomes your necessary condition
⁃ EX: Cats are the best pets if they are fluffy.
⁃ If they are fluffy, then cats are the best pets.
⁃ 2. “If and Only If”: drop the “only if” part of the sentence, and put the “if” at the beginning of the
sentence to make it the sufficient condition. Once you make it your sufficient condition, then insert the
“then” portion and the rest of the sentence comes after, making it the necessary condition.
⁃ EX: Dogs are the worst pets if, and only if they bite.
⁃ If they bite, then dogs are the worst pet.
⁃ 3. “Unless”: take what comes after the “unless” portion, then negate that part of the sentence, then you
move that half of the sentence to the sufficient condition with the “if”, you then take the sentence before
“unless” and slide it into your necessary condition
⁃ EX: Cats are good pets, unless they claw you.
⁃ If they do not claw you, then cats become good pets.
⁃ 4. “Only If”: replace “only if” with “then” and put “if” at the beginning
⁃ EX: Dogs are the best pets only if they play with you.
⁃ If dogs are the best pets, then they play with you.
Inference
Proper Contra Positive
⁃ “If A, the B” to “If not B, then A”
⁃ We must negate & flip our necessary & sufficient condition to get the proper contra positive.
⁃ We always want to make proper contra positive statements for all formal logic. We want to do
this because your correct answer will always be a contra positive.
Inference
⁃ General derivative conclusion that we the reader draw from the passage.
⁃ Passage: Must be true, most logically completes
⁃ If an answer choice makes you assume or speculate, beyond general common sense,
then it will not be the correct answer choice.
Sub-Types
⁃ 1. Most Logically Concludes
⁃ Questions
⁃ Which of the following most reasonably completes the argument?
⁃ Which of the following best completes the argument?
⁃ Strategy
⁃ Determine if it’s a some or many based passage
⁃ Blank space on the line (__) is a giveaway.
⁃ Look at the Strength of language in the passage
⁃ (We want the strength of language in the passage to match our answer choice)
⁃ Language
⁃ Extreme Language or Very Strong
⁃ Absolute: any, all, each, every, never, none, no one, when, whenever
⁃ More than half (51% or More) : most, usually, typically, the norm, the
majority, probably, likely, generally
⁃ Comparison: “x is more like y”
⁃ Moderate or weak based: some, many, a few, if something is possible,
If something could be true, if something can be true, if something
might happen
⁃ Sub-Conclusion in the passage:
⁃ We want our main conclusion to reflect the substance of our sub-conclusion
⁃ Classify the argument type:
⁃ If we have a causation bases argument, we want a causation-based conclusion
(and classify the answer choice)
⁃ Incorrect Answer Type
⁃ Out of Scope
⁃ Deviation Answer - deviate from the applicable checklist
⁃ Correct Answer Type
⁃ Match all the applicable items on the checklist
⁃ A lot of most logically completes will be an analogy
⁃ 2. Could Be True
⁃ Questions
⁃ Which of the following could be properly inferred based on the passage?
⁃ Which of the following can be properly inferred based the passage?
⁃ Strategy
⁃ 1. Read the passage to get a clear scope of what it’s saying
⁃ 2. Highlight the main conclusion
Inference
⁃ 3. Look at the answer choices and look for weakly worded answer choices
⁃ 4. Always want these answer choices to be conservative or weakly worded
⁃ Incorrect Answer Type
⁃ Must be false answer - it contradicts the passage, or it contradicts a valid inference we
can draw
⁃ Out-of-Scope
⁃ Correct Answer Type
⁃ Could Be True: a paraphrasing of one of the individual sentences or a derivative
conclusion that we’d be drawing by connecting 2 sentences
⁃ 3. Must Be True
⁃ Questions
⁃ Which of the following must be true based on the passage?
⁃ Which of the following is strictly implied by the passages?
⁃ (Always want the answer-choice to be true 100% of the time)
⁃ (2 Types - formal logic based & some, many and absolute based)
⁃ Strategy
⁃ Formal Logic Based
⁃ 1. Use your formal logic key words & “if” synonyms to identify the formal logic
in the passage
⁃ 2. Diagram the formal logic in the passage (use formula’s) (must always diagram
formal logic when you see it, no exceptions)
⁃ 3. Write out all your contra-positives
⁃ Types
⁃ 1. Contra-Positive of a single formal logic statement
⁃ 2. Completion of a formal logic chain
⁃ EX: If A, then B. If B, then C. So A is C.
⁃ 3. Contra Positive of the entire formal logic chain or a piece of
it.
⁃ 1. EX: If A, then B. If B, then C.
⁃ Answer Choice: If not C, then not A.
⁃ 2. EX: If A, then B. If B, then C. If C, then D.
⁃ Answer Choice: If not D, then not B.
⁃ Incorrect Answer Type
⁃ Improper Contra-Positive
⁃ EX: (If not A, then not B)
⁃ Out-Of-Scope
⁃ Correct Answer Type
⁃ Proper Contra-Positive or a completion of a formal logic chain
⁃ General Info: Most, Some & Absolute based passages:
⁃ Test the limits of what you can & can’t combine.
⁃ To combine them, we always need an overlapping idea.
⁃ Combine:
⁃ 1. Can combine 2 most statements with an overlapping idea
⁃ EX: Most cats are fluffy; most cats are cuddly.
⁃ 2. Most & an absolute statement with an overlapping idea
⁃ EX: All fish are scaly; most fish are wet.
⁃ 3. 2 Absolute statement with an overlapping idea
⁃ EX: All birds can fly; all birds can sing.
⁃ 4. Absolute types & a some or many statement with an overlapping idea
Inference
⁃ EX: All dogs are playful; some dogs are cute.
⁃ Can’t Combine
⁃ 2 some statements
⁃ Most & some statement
⁃ Strategy
⁃ 1. Read the passage & identify the strength of language in the passage
⁃ 2. Classify what you can combine & can’t combine
⁃ 3. Review your answer choices
⁃ Incorrect Answer Type
⁃ Improper Combination
⁃ Out-Of-Scope
⁃ Correct Answer Type
⁃ Proper Combination
⁃ 4. Most Strongly Supported
⁃ Questions
⁃ Which of the following is most strongly supported based on the passage?
⁃ Which of the following has the most support in light of the passage?
⁃ The passage best supports which of the following answer choices?
⁃ Strategy
⁃ 1. Make sure you read the passage & get a clear scope of what the passage is saying.
⁃ 2. Highlight your main conclusion. Look at your answer choices & look for the weakly
worded one.
⁃ 3. Determine which among them you need to make the least amount of assumptions
⁃ Incorrect Answer Type
⁃ Must Be False
⁃ Out-Of-Scope
⁃ Least supported could be true answer
⁃ Correct Answer Type
⁃ Must be true answer choice
⁃ Most strongly supported, could be true
⁃ Test: Which of these answer choices requires the least amount of speculation and assumption to get
there.
⁃ 5. Must Be False
⁃ Questions
⁃ Which of the following could be properly inferred except?
⁃ Which of the following cannot be properly inferred?
⁃ Which of the following must be false based on the passage?
⁃ Strategy
⁃ 1. Read the passage & get a clear scope of what the passage is saying.
⁃ 2. Determine if there’s any formal logic in the passage.
⁃ 3. Look to see if there are any most, some or absolute based wording.
⁃ 4. Look for anything that directly contradicts the passage.
⁃ Incorrect Answer Type
⁃ Must Be True Answers
⁃ Could Be True Answers
⁃ Out-Of-Scope
⁃ Correct Answer Type
Inference
⁃ Must Be False (contradicts or always be false)