🐝 LSAT Logical Reasoning Cheat Sheet

The Burton Method Quick Reference

📩 Every LR Question Has Two Parts

Part What It Is Your Job
Stimulus The short paragraph Find the conclusion + premises
Question Stem The actual task Know what they’re asking

🎯 Question Type Quick Guide

MUST-KNOW QUESTION TYPES

Type What They Ask Your Move
Main Conclusion “What’s the main point?” Find the claim everything supports
Weaken “What hurts this argument?” Attack the assumption
Strengthen “What helps this argument?” Support the assumption
Flaw “What’s wrong with this logic?” Name the reasoning error
Assumption “What must be true for this to work?” Find the hidden link
Inference “What must be true based on this?” Stay close to the text
Parallel “Which argument uses similar logic?” Match the structure

🧠 The “Just Because
 Doesn’t Mean
” Test

Use this for EVERY argument:

“Just because [PREMISE]
 doesn’t mean [CONCLUSION].”

If that sounds like a fair criticism → you’ve found the assumption.

Example: - Premise: “Coffee drinkers perform better on tests” - Conclusion: “Law students should drink more coffee” - Test: “Just because coffee helps test performance
 doesn’t mean it’ll help law students specifically.”

🔍 Conclusion Indicator Words

These usually signal the main point:

Word Example
Therefore “Therefore, we should invest.”
Thus “Thus, the plan will fail.”
So “So it follows that
”
Hence “Hence the conclusion.”
Consequently “Consequently, action is needed.”
It follows that “It follows that X is true.”

🔍 Premise Indicator Words

These usually signal support:

Word Example
Because “Because sales dropped
”
Since “Since the data shows
”
Given that “Given that X occurred
”
For “For the study revealed
”
Due to “Due to budget cuts
”
As “As the evidence indicates
”

⚠ Common Flaw Types

Flaw Plain English
Causation ≠ Correlation “They happened together, so one caused the other” (nope)
Overgeneralization “It worked once, so it always will” (nope)
Necessary vs Sufficient “It’s required, so it’s enough” (nope)
Ad Hominem “You’re wrong because you’re biased” (attacks person, not argument)
Circular Reasoning “It’s true because it’s true” (no real support)
Sampling Error “This small group did X, so everyone does” (unrepresentative)
Equivocation “This word means one thing here, another there” (slippery terms)

⏱ Timing Strategy

Phase Time Goal
Questions 1-10 ~12 min Bank time (these are easier)
Questions 11-20 ~15 min Stay steady
Questions 21-26 ~8 min Don’t panic, make educated guesses

Rule: Never spend more than 2 minutes on one question. Flag and move.

🎯 Burton Power Moves

For Weaken Questions:

  1. Find the conclusion
  2. Identify the assumption
  3. Predict: “What could make this less likely?”
  4. Match your prediction

For Strengthen Questions:

  1. Find the conclusion
  2. Identify the assumption
  3. Predict: “What could make this MORE likely?”
  4. Match your prediction

For Flaw Questions:

  1. Find the conclusion
  2. Spot the logical leap
  3. Name it in plain English
  4. Match your description (even if wording is abstract)

For Inference Questions:

  1. NO conclusion to find — just facts
  2. Stay CLOSE to the text
  3. Avoid extreme answers (“always”, “never”, “all”)
  4. The right answer MUST be true

đŸš« Wrong Answer Traps

Trap What It Looks Like
Too Extreme “All,” “never,” “always,” “impossible”
Out of Scope Introduces new concepts not in stimulus
Reverses Logic Gets the direction backwards
Irrelevant True statement, but doesn’t answer the question
Half Right Starts good, ends bad

💡 When You’re Stuck

  1. Re-read the question stem — make sure you know the TASK
  2. Re-identify the conclusion — are you sure?
  3. Eliminate obviously wrong answers
  4. Between two answers? Pick the one closer to the stimulus
  5. Flag and move — don’t waste time

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