🐝 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:

Find the conclusion
Identify the assumption
Predict: "What could make this less likely?"
Match your prediction

For Strengthen Questions:

Find the conclusion
Identify the assumption
Predict: "What could make this MORE likely?"
Match your prediction

For Flaw Questions:

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

For Inference Questions:

NO conclusion to find — just facts
Stay CLOSE to the text
Avoid extreme answers ("always", "never", "all")
The right answer MUST be true

🚫 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

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

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