Lsat Must Be True Strategies

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Must Be True Questions

Back 1

The correct answer to a Must Be True question can always be proven
by referring to the facts stated in the stimulus.

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Paraphrased Answers

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Paraphrased Answers are answers that restate a portion of the stimulus in
different terms. Because the language is not exactly the same as in the stimulus, Paraphrased Answers can be easy to miss. Paraphrased
Answers are designed to test your ability to discern the author’s exact meaning. Sometimes the answer can appear to be almost too obvious since it is drawn directly from the stimulus.

Front 3

Answers that are the sum of two or more stimulus statements
(Combination Answers)

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Any answer choice that would result from combining two or more
statements in the stimulus will be correct.

Front 4

Could Be True or Likely to Be True Answers

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Because the criteria in the question stem requires you to find an answer choice that Must Be True, answers that only could be true or are even
likely to be true are incorrect.

These answers are attractive because there is nothing demonstrably wrong with them (for example, they do not contain statements that are counter to the stimulus). Regardless, like all
incorrect answers these answers fail the Fact Test. Remember, you must select an answer choice that must occur based on what you have read.

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Exaggerated Answers

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Exaggerated Answers take information from the stimulus and then stretch that information to make a broader statement that is not supported by the stimulus. In that sense, this form of answer is a variation of a could be true answer since the exaggeration is possible, but not proven based on the information.

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“New” Information Answers

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Because correct Must Be True answers must be based on information in the stimulus or the direct result of combining statements in the stimulus,
be wary of answers that present so-called new information—that is,
information not mentioned explicitly in the stimulus. Although these
answers can be correct when they fall under the umbrella of a statement made in the stimulus, they are often incorrect. For example, if a stimulus discusses the economic policies of Japan, be careful with an answer that
mentions U.S. economic policy. Look closely at the stimulus—does the information about Japanese economic policy apply to the U.S., or are the test makers trying to get you to fall for an answer that sounds logical but is not directly supported? To avoid incorrectly eliminating a New Information answer, take the following two steps:

1. Examine the scope of the argument to make sure the “new”
information does not fall within the sphere of a term or concept in
the stimulus.

2. Examine the answer to make sure it is not the consequence of
combining stimulus elements.

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The Shell Game

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The LSAT makers have a variety of psychological tricks they use to
entice test takers to select an answer choice.

One of their favorites is one we call the Shell Game: an idea or concept is raised in the stimulus, and then a very similar idea appears in the answer choice, but the idea is
changed just enough to be incorrect but still attractive.

This trick is called the Shell Game because it abstractly resembles those street corner gambling games where a person hides a small object underneath one of
three shells, and then scrambles them on a flat surface while a bettor tries to guess which shell the object is under (similar to three-card monte).

The object of a Shell Game is to trick the bettor into guessing incorrectly by mixing up the shells so quickly and deceptively that the bettor mistakenly selects the wrong shell. The intent of the LSAT makers is the same.

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The Opposite Answer

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As the name suggests, the Opposite Answer provides an answer that is completely opposite of the stated facts of the stimulus. Opposite Answers are very attractive to students who are reading too quickly or carelessly.
Because Opposite Answers appear quite frequently in Strengthen and
Weaken questions, we will discuss them in more detail when we cover
those question types.

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The Reverse Answer

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Here is a simplified example of how a Reverse Answer works, using
italics to indicate the reversed parts:
The stimulus might state, “Many people have some type of security
system in their home.”
An incorrect answer then reverses the elements: “Some people have
many types of security systems in their home.”

The Reverse Answer is attractive because it contains familiar elements from the stimulus, but the reversed statement is incorrect because it rearranges those elements to create a new, unsupported statement.

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Fact versus Opinion

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When you are reading a stimulus, keep a careful watch on the statements the author offers as fact, and those that the author offers as the opinion of others. In
a Must Be True question, the difference between the two can sometimes be used to eliminate answer choices.