The LSAT troubleshooter

I do not know where to start

You notice

• You have a test date but no picture of your strengths and weaknesses.
• You study whatever feels urgent that day.

The fix

1. Take the free 20-question diagnostic under its 28-minute timer, then read every explanation, including the ones for questions you got right.
2. Sort your misses by question family and by cause: did you misread, misjudge the task, fall for a trap, or run out of time?
3. Plan your first two weeks around the two families that cost you the most, with one timed section and one review session per study day.

Take the free diagnosticIn the book: Chapters 1, 2 and 24

I cannot find the conclusion

You notice

• You pick an answer that restates a premise or the opposing view.
• Long stimuli feel like a list of facts.

The fix

1. Ask of each sentence: is this offered as a reason, or is it what the reasons are for? The conclusion is the claim the others support.
2. Watch for an opposing view introduced early and then rejected; the author’s answer to it is usually the conclusion.
3. Test your pick with “because”: conclusion because premise should read naturally. If it reads backward, swap them.

Conclusions and Disputes drill blockIn the book: Chapters 3 and 9

Prefer to watch first? Video lessons: Conclusions and Disputes

Answers I pick are “almost right”

You notice

• The explanation says your choice was too strong, too weak or out of scope.
• You lose points on single words: most, some, only, all.

The fix

1. Underline every quantifier and qualifier in the stimulus and in the two finalist answers, then compare them directly.
2. Match the answer’s strength to the task: must-be-true answers need support for every word; strengthen answers only need to help.
3. Read the subject of each claim: “some residents” and “the residents surveyed” are different groups.

Deductions and Inference drill blockIn the book: Chapter 4

I miss questions with if, only if and unless

You notice

• You choose the reversed rule (the converse).
• You treat “only if” as “if”.

The fix

1. Translate each rule into an arrow before reading the answers; “only if” introduces the requirement, which goes on the right.
2. Know the one valid move: the contrapositive reverses and negates both sides. Anything else needs more information.
3. For “unless”, negate one side and keep the other: A unless B means if not B, then A.

Assumptions and Deductions drill blocksIn the book: Chapter 5

Prefer to watch first? Video lessons: Conditional logic

Cause-and-effect arguments trip me up

You notice

• You accept a correlation as proof of cause.
• You cannot spot what would weaken a causal claim.

The fix

1. When an argument says X causes Y, list the alternatives: Y causes X, a third factor causes both, or coincidence.
2. An answer that rules out an alternative strengthens; one that supplies a plausible alternative weakens.
3. Check whether the comparison groups were alike before the supposed cause acted.

Strengthen or Weaken drill blockIn the book: Chapter 6

Prefer to watch first? Video lessons: Strengthen or Weaken

Percentages, rates and samples confuse me

You notice

• You mix up a rate and a count.
• You trust a survey because it was large.

The fix

1. Write the denominator next to every percentage. A rate can fall while the number rises if the group grows.
2. For samples, ask whether the people studied resemble the group the conclusion is about, not just how many there were.
3. When two groups are compared, check that they were measured the same way and over the same period.

Flaws drill blockIn the book: Chapter 7

I have no consistent process

You notice

• Some questions take 30 seconds and others take 4 minutes for no clear reason.
• You read the answers before you know what you need.

The fix

1. Use the same five steps every time: read the task, read the stimulus for its structure, predict the answer’s job, eliminate, confirm.
2. Eliminate for a stated reason (a trap name) rather than a feeling; this also makes review faster.
3. Time each step in a self-paced block, then compare with your timed blocks to see where minutes go.

Any Logical Reasoning drill blockIn the book: Chapter 8

Main point and role questions

You notice

• You choose an intermediate conclusion as the main point.
• You describe what a sentence says rather than what it does.

The fix

1. Find the chain: a claim that is supported and then used to support another is intermediate, not main.
2. For role questions, name the function first (premise, conclusion, objection, example) and only then read the choices.
3. Reject answers that describe the right content but the wrong function.

Conclusions and Disputes drill blockIn the book: Chapter 9

Prefer to watch first? Video lessons: Conclusions and Disputes

Must be true and most strongly supported

You notice

• Every answer seems possible.
• You pick an answer that is likely but not supported.

The fix

1. Look for the answer you could defend line by line from the stimulus, without outside knowledge.
2. Combine two statements: the right answer often joins facts the stimulus kept apart.
3. Prefer modest answers; strong words need strong support.

Deductions and Inference drill blockIn the book: Chapter 10

Prefer to watch first? Video lessons: Deductions and Inference

Assumption questions feel like guessing

You notice

• You cannot tell necessary from sufficient assumptions.
• Your prediction of the gap is vague.

The fix

1. Name the gap: what new term or idea appears in the conclusion but not in the premises?
2. For necessary assumptions, negate the answer; if the argument falls apart, it is required.
3. For sufficient assumptions, add the answer to the premises; the conclusion should follow with nothing missing.

Assumptions drill blockIn the book: Chapters 11 and 12

Prefer to watch first? Video lessons: Assumptions

Principle questions

You notice

• You pick a principle that sounds right but does not fit the case.
• Matching principles take too long.

The fix

1. Reduce the principle to a conditional: which conditions must hold, and what does it permit or require?
2. Check the case against each condition; one unmet condition rules the answer out.
3. Keep the principle’s force exact: “may” is not “must”.

Matching Structure and Principles drill blockIn the book: Chapter 12

Prefer to watch first? Video lessons: Matching Structure and Principles

Strengthen and weaken

You notice

• You pick answers that are relevant to the topic but do not affect the reasoning.
• You weaken the premise instead of the link.

The fix

1. Accept the premises as true; aim at the link between premises and conclusion.
2. Predict the gap first, then look for the answer that closes it (strengthen) or widens it (weaken).
3. Watch for direction traps: an answer that would strengthen in a weaken question.

Strengthen or Weaken drill blockIn the book: Chapter 13

Prefer to watch first? Video lessons: Strengthen or Weaken

Explain a discrepancy and evaluate

You notice

• Your answer explains one fact but not the other.
• Evaluate questions feel open-ended.

The fix

1. State the paradox in one sentence: both facts are true, yet they seem to conflict. The answer must make both true at once.
2. For evaluate questions, test each answer with two opposite responses; useful information changes the argument in one direction or the other.
3. Ignore answers that merely repeat one side of the puzzle.

Explain or Resolve drill blockIn the book: Chapter 14

Prefer to watch first? Video lessons: Explain or Resolve

Flaw questions

You notice

• You see the problem but cannot match it to the abstract wording of the answers.
• You pick a flaw the argument did not commit.

The fix

1. Name the flaw in plain words before reading the answers, then translate each answer back into plain words.
2. Check that the answer describes something the argument actually did; a real flaw from a different argument is still wrong.
3. Learn the common families: causal leaps, unrepresentative samples, term shifts, attacks on the source, and treating absence of evidence as proof.

Flaws drill blockIn the book: Chapter 15

Prefer to watch first? Video lessons: Flaws

Parallel reasoning takes forever

You notice

• You compare every answer sentence by sentence.
• You match the topic instead of the structure.

The fix

1. Abstract the stimulus first: its conclusion type (certain, likely, recommendation) and its logical shape.
2. Eliminate on conclusion type alone; it often removes two or three choices in seconds.
3. For parallel flaw questions, name the flaw, then find the answer with the same flaw.

Matching Flaws drill blockIn the book: Chapter 16

Prefer to watch first? Video lessons: Matching Flaws

Disagreement and agreement questions

You notice

• You pick a point only one speaker addresses.
• Negative questions (“except”) catch you out.

The fix

1. The answer must be something both speakers take a position on; check each speaker separately.
2. Before an “except” or “cannot be true” question, restate the task as the opposite: four answers will do X, find the one that does not.
3. Mark speakers’ concessions; a speaker who concedes a point cannot disagree about it.

Conclusions and Disputes drill blockIn the book: Chapter 17

Prefer to watch first? Video lessons: Conclusions and Disputes

I finish the passage and cannot say what it was about

You notice

• You read every sentence with equal weight.
• You reread paragraphs while answering questions.

The fix

1. After each paragraph, write a three-to-five-word note on its job: background, the author’s claim, an objection, a reply.
2. Track viewpoints: who believes what, and where the author stands.
3. Before the questions, state the main point and the author’s attitude in one sentence each.

Reading Comprehension drill sectionsIn the book: Chapter 18

Prefer to watch first? Video lessons: Reading and mapping a passage

Detail and inference answers trap me

You notice

• You choose an answer with the passage’s words but a changed meaning.
• You pick inferences that go one step too far.

The fix

1. Return to the lines for every detail question; never answer from memory.
2. Watch for distortions: right words, wrong relationship.
3. For inferences, prefer the answer the passage almost states outright.

Reading Comprehension drill sectionsIn the book: Chapter 19

Prefer to watch first? Video lessons: Detail and inference questions

Comparative passages confuse me

You notice

• You mix up which passage said what.
• Relationship questions take too long.

The fix

1. Read Passage A and write its main point; read Passage B and note how it relates: agrees, disagrees, extends or applies.
2. For each question, check which passage, or both, the answer must come from.
3. Expect one or two questions that ask how the authors would respond to each other.

Reading Comprehension drill sectionsIn the book: Chapter 20

Prefer to watch first? Video lessons: Comparative passages

Dense passages slow me down

You notice

• Science or law passages feel unreadable.
• You spend six minutes on the first read.

The fix

1. Read for structure, not mastery: you need to know where the details are, not to understand every one.
2. Simplify each hard sentence into a plain claim before moving on.
3. Set a first-read budget and practice it in timed sections; go back to the text only for the question in front of you.

Reading Comprehension drill sectionsIn the book: Chapter 21

Prefer to watch first? Video lessons: Reading and mapping a passage

I run out of time

You notice

• The last five questions are guesses.
• One question can eat four minutes.

The fix

1. Use a stopping rule: if you cannot name what would decide between two answers, choose one, flag it and move on.
2. Look at your per-question times after each section; the fix is usually a few very long questions, not reading faster.
3. Answer every question before time runs out. A blank earns nothing.

Take a timed section in exam modeIn the book: Chapters 23 and 29

Prefer to watch first? Video lessons: Timing and pacing

I review but do not improve

You notice

• You read the explanation, nod, and miss the same kind of question next week.
• Your error log is a list of question numbers.

The fix

1. Blind review first: rework flagged questions untimed before you see the key, to separate knowledge gaps from time pressure.
2. For each miss, write the trap name and a one-line rule you will use next time.
3. Redo missed questions a week later without looking at your notes.

Blind review and the error logIn the book: Chapter 24

Prefer to watch first? Video lessons: Blind review and the study cycle

I keep falling for the same traps

You notice

• Your misses cluster under one trap label.
• You pick “too strong” or “out of scope” answers repeatedly.

The fix

1. Count trap labels in your error log every week; the top one is your next study target.
2. Learn the test that exposes each trap, for example checking the strength of every quantifier or comparing scope word by word.
3. Practice eliminating out loud: name the trap before you cross an answer out.

Explanations name the trap for every wrong choiceIn the book: Chapter 26

I narrow to two and pick the wrong one

You notice

• Most of your Logical Reasoning misses are between your last two choices.
• Your second choice is usually the credited one.

The fix

1. Find the exact difference between the finalists, then go back to the stimulus for the word that decides it.
2. Prefer the answer that does the task over the one that merely sounds true.
3. In review, record what separated the two; the pattern becomes a rule.

Logical Reasoning drill blocksIn the book: Chapter 27

I run out of time on the last passage

You notice

• The fourth passage gets a rushed read.
• You spend too long on the first set.

The fix

1. Budget about eight to nine minutes per passage set and check the clock at each set boundary.
2. Do not reread the whole passage for one question; reread the lines that question needs.
3. If one set is going badly, finish it with your best answers and protect the next set’s time.

Reading Comprehension drill sectionsIn the book: Chapter 28

Prefer to watch first? Video lessons: Timing and pacing

Test day goes differently from practice

You notice

• Nerves cost you the first section.
• An interface surprise breaks your rhythm.

The fix

1. Rehearse the exact flow: directions, timer, flags, the review screen and the break, in exam mode on full-length tests.
2. Have a reset routine for a bad question or a bad section: breathe, flag, move, and treat the next question as a fresh start.
3. Confirm current check-in and equipment rules with the official LSAC instructions a week before.

Full-length practice tests in exam modeIn the book: Chapter 30

Prefer to watch first? Video lessons: Format, scores and test day

Anxiety and focus

You notice

• A hard question early in a section stays with you.
• Your concentration fades after an hour.

The fix

1. Use a short pre-section routine and a reset cue after any question that rattles you.
2. Build stamina gradually: single sections, then two back to back, then full tests.
3. Protect sleep in the final week; it does more for test day than late cramming.

Back-to-back timed sectionsIn the book: Chapter 31

My score has stopped improving

You notice

• Several practice tests in a row land in the same range.
• You add study hours without results.

The fix

1. Diagnose the plateau: knowledge, process, timing, endurance or test-day, using your error log and per-question times.
2. Change the kind of practice, not only the amount: more blind review and targeted family blocks, fewer full tests.
3. Use official practice tests for score estimates; our original tests are built for practice and are not equated to the official scale.

Targeted family drill blocksIn the book: Chapter 32

Prefer to watch first? Video lessons: Blind review and the study cycle