Preparing for the Logical Reasoning section can be hell on your social life. No, not just because you’ll be spending solitary hours mastering and applying the techniques in this section—that’s to be expected, and no one will give you grief for that. But as you begin to internalize the thought processes outlined in the following pages and learn to spot flaws in a large assortment of arguments, you might just find yourself incorporating a new way of thinking into your everyday interactions in a way not likely to be appreciated by those around you.

When you find yourself saying things like . . .

“No Uncle Charlie, arguing that ‘because drinking makes Aunt Selma loopy, she must therefore be drunk right now because she’s acting loopy’ shows your obvious inability to differentiate between necessary and sufficient conditions . . .”

. . . you’ll know you’re ready to do battle with Logical Reasoning on test day.

Much to the chagrin of unsuspecting friends and family, this chapter will enable you to:

Is this a good thing? Absolutely. You can afford a bit of unpopularity and endure a few nasty looks, at least until your LSAT is over. Just think how popular you’ll be when you’ve aced the test and are heading off to the law school of your dreams—unless of course your friends are envious, in which case they’ll hate you even more.

So bid farewell to the lazy linguistic conventions and infuriating imprecision that often dominate advertising, journalism, letters to the editor, and plain old everyday written and verbal communication. Say hello to a thorough analysis of evidence, conclusions, assumptions, and logical flaws.

Embrace your inner Spock. Let’s get logical.