Logical reasoning, or LR, is one of three multiple choice questions on the LSAT. According to the official LSAT website, LSAC, questions test your ability to “analyze, critically evaluate, and complete arguments.”

An argument may be something you think of as occurring in politics (two sides arguing over an issue such as the payroll tax cut), or as part of a celebrity feud, but in LSAT terms, an argument is not a conflict at all.

An argument is simply a declarative statement backed up with examples. It can be as simple as, “One Direction is my favorite boy-band because I like pop music.” The conclusion is that this group is the author’s “favorite” and the evidence is that the author likes pop music. The assumption here is that One Direction is classified as pop music.

The LSAC states that there are ten concepts tested in Logical Reasoning:Recognizing the parts of an argument and their relationshipRecognizing similarities and differences between patterns of reasonin

• Drawing well-supported conclusions
• Reasoning by analogy
• Recognizing misunderstandings or points of disagreement
• Determining how additional evidence affects an argument
• Detecting assumptions made by particular arguments
• Identifying and applying principles or rules
• Identifying flaws in arguments
• Identifying explanations

According to this official LSAC site, the LSAT concepts will be based on a short passage accompanied by one (or occasionally two) multiple choice questions. The questions can ask about any part of the argument: the conclusion, the evidence, the assumptions, or it can ask how an outside piece of information relates to the argument (parallel reasoning, complete the passage, additional evidence, etc.)

While I don’t tutor the LSAT in its entirety, I have worked with LSAT students who need help with LSAT Logical Reasoning! Feel free to get some more free LSAT tips on this Learnboard.