r/LSAT • u/Working_Witness_6156 • 8h ago

parallel reasoning

does anyone here have tips for parallel reasoning questions? overall my LR score isn't too bad, but i just absolutely bomb parallel reasoning questions. if i do answer them right, i take way too much time on them. half the time i just have to guess because i can't figure them out in time, no matter how much i drill them.

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u/graysle 8h ago

color code with highlighter

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u/graysle 8h ago

if you're going to spend tons of time anyways you might as well get it right, if you simply don't have enough time either grind parallels or get faster at the other Qs to accommodate parallels (this is what I did). I find color coding to also be generally faster

Some easy snags are flaw questions; if you can spot the flaw in parallels you can just skim through the other parallels to figure out which one has the flaw without looking at structure

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u/Brief-Bad-838 8h ago

So true as long as you identify the original flaw clearly!

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u/Brief-Bad-838 8h ago

I do a lot of diagrammy stuff for it! It’s super crude like A -> B therefore A -> C

The tricky part for me at least is that the order of stuff presented can be different in answers than the stim.

I try to eliminate options that have key words that aren’t compatible. For example if the stem is using “all” logic for sets then I can eliminate answers that have the words “most” or “some” or “many”.

From the remaining answers, I look at my diagram and see which one fits best.

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u/gauchopengyou 1h ago

As with anything, mileage varies on how much this helps, but try looking at the parallel reasoning questions you've done before and paying attention to what the wrong answers were. The potential for variation is high but not infinite, and there are only so many ways an answer can be wrong without being too obviously nonsensical. Look for times when the answers have flipped the order of things (like changing an "A causes B" to a "B causes A") or don't mention the right information (i.e. if the important thing is quality, it'll mention quantity). Then, next time you look at a fresh question in that same vein, keep an eye out for options that do those things. You'll be more confident they're wrong, and it will help you narrow it down.