LSAT Reading Comprehension flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Purpose versus main idea

Primary purpose names the author's rhetorical action, such as explaining, evaluating, or refuting; main idea states the central claim the whole passage supports. Both must fit the entire text.

Whole-passage scope test

A main-idea choice is correct only when every paragraph contributes to it; a true statement confined to one paragraph is too narrow to be the main idea.

Purpose verb mismatch

A purpose answer fails when its verb misstates the passage's stance, for example calling an explanatory passage a defense of a theory or a critique a summary.

Paraphrase over verbatim

Correct explicitly-stated answers restate the text in different words; verbatim choices are often traps because they quietly drop a qualifier present in the original.

Cite-the-line rule

If no specific sentence in the passage supports a choice, that choice is answering an inference question rather than a question about explicitly stated information.

Assertion vs. reported view

A passage may report other people's claims without endorsing them; only the author's own assertions count as stated content attributable to the author.

Must-be-true standard

A valid inference follows necessarily from the stated facts; an answer that is merely plausible, likely, or consistent with the passage is incorrect.

Correlation is not causation

From the fact that two events co-occur or occur in sequence, causation cannot be inferred unless the passage supplies a mechanism linking them.

Contrapositive inference rule

From 'all A are B' one may infer that anything not B is not A; inferring B therefore A reverses the conditional and is invalid.

Substitution test for meaning

To check a vocabulary-in-context choice, replace the term with each option in the original sentence and keep only the option that preserves the sentence's logic.

Stipulated definition controls

When a passage assigns a technical term its own definition, that definition governs the answer even if ordinary usage of the word differs.

Pronoun referent test

Words like 'this' or 'such a view' refer to the nearest preceding expression that yields a coherent sentence, often a whole clause rather than a single noun.

Concession-then-claim structure

Markers such as 'admittedly' or 'to be sure' introduce a point the author grants, and the author's actual claim typically follows 'but' or 'yet.'

Paragraph function labels

Each paragraph performs one move: introduce a view, supply evidence, raise an objection, concede a point, or draw a conclusion; structure answers name these moves in order.

Transition words as structure

'Thus' signals a conclusion, 'for example' signals illustration, and 'however' signals reversal; these markers locate the joints of the passage's organization.

Structural match not topic

Application answers are judged by whether the same relationship holds, such as undermining or exemplifying, even when the new case has an entirely different subject matter.

Trigger conditions of rules

Restate the passage's principle as an if-then rule and test each new case against its trigger; cases that fail the trigger fall outside the rule.

Missing necessary condition

If the passage treats a factor as required, an application that omits it is invalid even when all the other features of the case match.

Implicit licensing principle

The unstated general rule that, if granted, allows the passage's evidence to support its conclusion is the principle such questions ask you to identify.

Is versus ought

Descriptive claims report how things are, while principles prescribe how things should be; an answer that crosses this line is unsupported by the passage.

Generality calibration

A correct principle is broad enough to cover the passage's specific case yet narrow enough to exclude cases the passage treats as irrelevant.

Label the relation abstractly

Before comparing, name the original relation, such as cause-effect, means-end, part-whole, or instance-class; the analogy must preserve that label.

Order reversal trap

If the passage says A produces B, an analogy in which B produces A reverses the relation and is therefore an incorrect answer.

Attitude carried by adverbs

Words like 'merely,' 'crudely,' 'ingeniously,' and 'surprisingly' reveal the author's evaluation more reliably than the passage's stated topic does.

Hedged endorsement

Qualifiers such as 'arguably,' 'it seems,' and 'tends to' indicate cautious agreement rather than firm commitment or neutrality.

Dismissive qualifiers

Terms such as 'so-called,' 'alleged,' and 'purported' signal that the author doubts or distances from the claim being labeled.

Weaken a premise first

New information contradicting a premise damages an argument more than information contradicting a supporting example, because the conclusion rests on premises.

Rival hypotheses trade off

When two explanations are presented as competitors, evidence favoring one usually counts against the other; check whether the passage frames them as rivals.

Hedged conclusions survive

A qualified or conditional conclusion can withstand new evidence that would refute an unqualified version of the same claim.

Separate main points first

Determine each passage's central claim independently before judging how the two passages relate, since conflating them distorts the reading of both.

Same-question test

Two passages disagree only if they address the same question; differences in scope or topic make 'the authors disagree' answers incorrect.

Shared evidence different reading

One passage may accept the other's data while rejecting its interpretation, so agreement about facts does not amount to agreement about conclusions.