LSAT Logical Reasoning Wrong Answer Choices
Sometimes the difference between getting a point right or wrong on the LSAT test is simply a matter of being able to eliminate the wrong answers. During the extreme pressure of test day, you may not even know why the right answer is right. But thanks to your steady preparation, you know why the wrong answers are wrong. A point is a point, anyway, and no one is going to ask how you got your 172 after the fact.
This series of articles discusses how to recognize and eliminate wrong answer choices in the logical reasoning section of the LSAT test. It includes the following articles:
- LSAT Logical Reasoning Wrong Answer Choices: Introduction
- LSAT Out of Scope Answers
- Right Answer, Wrong Question
- LSAT Contradictions and Distortions
- LSAT Answers with Wrong Tone
- LSAT Practice Questions for Wrong Answers
LSAT Logical Reasoning Wrong Answer Choices
Many students are able to narrow answer choices down to the right answer and the next-most-tempting answer. If that describes you, being able to eliminate 10-20 more wrong answer choices in logical reasoning could be the difference between a 160 and a 170 on your LSAT test scaled score.
Your ability to eliminate wrong answers depends on your skill at detecting them. The LSAT has many ways of making wrong answers seem tempting; however, if you learn to think like a test maker, you won’t be fooled.
The LSAT test has 999 ways to trap you; however, most of the wrong answers on the LSAT fall into a small number of categories:
- Scope errors: These are answers that seem to fit the tone and topic, but are too broad or are outside the specific evidence discussed in the argument.
- Right answer, wrong question: The LSAT might tempt you by offering you a way to weaken an argument as an answer choice when the question stem asked you to strengthen the argument. Because the answer is in scope and deals with the evidence presented, this can be tempting if you weren’t careful with the question stem.
- Contradictions: These are tempting because they are in scope and deal with the evidence, but they actually go against what the author is saying. Unless you are trying to weaken the argument, this is a wrong answer.
- Distortions: These answers take two details from the argument and tie them together in a way the author did not intend.
- Wrong tone: These answers use strange descriptive words and extreme language that go further than the author intended.
This series of lesson articles will introduce you to these common wrong answer types, but it takes a lot of practice to think like a true TestSherpa Student. After you take your practice tests and official LSAC PrepTests and you study them thoroughly, it’s important that you study each answer choice in detail. Do this for every single question, even if you got a question right. You might have gotten a question right for the wrong reasons or even guessed your way out of a tough call. To succeed on the LSAT, you must know the test inside and out, especially the wrong answers.
We often suggest the following exercise to our students who are struggling with tempting wrong answers. It is tedious, but it will make you into an expert in LSAT Logical Reasoning. If you’re really struggling, put the clock aside. Don’t worry about your timing right now. Instead, as you got through each question, take the extra time to write down what your thinking is regarding each answer choice. Why did you pick the answer you did? Why did you eliminate other answers? Why were the wrong answers phrased the way they were. Compare your thinking with your tutor, or if you don’t have a tutor, compare with other students. Look for patterns to develop and you will start to recognize the wrong answers in logical reasoning.
The next article in this series on LSAT Logical Reasoning Wrong Answer Choices is LSAT Out of Scope Answers.