Method of Reasoning (Describe the Argument)
Recap: Phase 2 Begins
Phase 1 built the raw tools. Phase 2 spends nine weeks turning them into fluency on every LR question type, grouped by family. Method of Reasoning is the first Describe-family type: instead of finding the conclusion (Main Point) or the role of one statement (Role), it asks you to describe the argument's overall reasoning strategy.
CS Bridge
Method questions ask for the algorithm, not the output. "The argument proceeds by citing a counterexample to a general claim" is a description of technique, independent of whether the specific counterexample is true — like describing an algorithm as "binary search" without evaluating whether it was implemented correctly.
1. Common Reasoning Strategies
Citing a counterexample, appealing to an authority, drawing an analogy, ruling out alternatives one by one (process of elimination), generalizing from a sample, or using a conditional chain. Learn to recognize these patterns by shape, not by topic.
2. Answer Choices Are Abstract
Like Role questions, correct answers describe technique in the abstract ("by showing that an alternative explanation is inconsistent with the evidence") rather than restating content.
3. Distinguishing Method From Flaw
Method asks "how does it argue," neutrally. Flaw (starting tomorrow) asks "what's wrong with how it argues." The same stimulus often supports a very similar-sounding Method answer and Flaw answer — the difference is whether the description includes an implicit criticism.
Practice items on this page are curriculum-authored in LSAT style; they are not official LSAC questions. Real drilling happens on LawHub — see the assignment below.
Q1. Argument: "Some claim no diet can be sustainable long-term. But my neighbor has followed the same diet for fifteen years." What method does this argument use?
LawHub drill-tier LR section, untimed. Scan for Method-of-Reasoning stems only.
Flaw is next — three straight days on it, starting with causal flaws, because it's the single largest LR question type and shows up in some form on nearly every section.