The Perils of Extraneous Information
If you’re studying for the Logical Reasoning section of the LSAT, you’ll quickly realize that one of the most important skills you need to develop is the ability to deconstruct arguments. The LR section is full of arguments, and your job as a test taker is to (carefully) read each stimulus and, if there is an argument present, identify its conclusion and the premise(s) — and, ideally, any assumptions that underlie them. This is a challenging task in its own right, but it is made even more challenging by the fact that not everything in a Logical Reasoning stimulus is a part of the argument. What if the stimulus is full of extraneous information? How do you separate the wheat from the chaff?
One of the keys to success in LR is being able to identify the essential claims of an argument and put aside any extraneous information that may be presented in the stimulus. This can be easier said than done, especially if you’re not used to reading complex texts or analyzing arguments. But it’s a skill that can be developed with practice, and it’s absolutely essential if you want to do well on the test.
Why is it so important to be able to put aside extraneous information? First of all, it helps you focus on what really matters in the argument. When you’re reading an LSAT stimulus, you don’t have time to waste on information that doesn’t directly relate to the conclusion or the premises. By ignoring extraneous information, you can zero in on the core claims of the argument and evaluate them more effectively.
Second — and perhaps more importantly — ignoring extraneous information can help you avoid getting distracted by wrong answer choices. The LR section is full of answer choices that sound appealing but don’t actually have any logical bearing on the argument. These answer choices often include bits of information from the stimulus that are irrelevant to the argument but are included to distract test takers who aren’t paying close attention. By being able to put aside extraneous information, you can more easily recognize when an answer choice has no logical bearing on the conclusion and is therefore wrong.
Finally, being able to put aside extraneous information can help you save time on the test. The LSAT is a timed test, and you don’t have the luxury of being bogged down by extraneous (and often convoluted) details that have no direct bearing on the underlying argument of the stimulus. By focusing only on the essential claims of the argument, you can read more quickly and efficiently without sacrificing accuracy.
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Consider, for instance, the stimulus from a question that might be familiar to many of you:
High blood cholesterol levels are bad for the heart. Like meat, eggs, and poultry, shellfish contains cholesterol. But shellfish is not necessarily bad for the heart; it is very low in saturated fat, which affects blood cholesterol levels much more than dietary cholesterol does.
Which one of the following, if true, most strengthens the argument?
The conclusion of the argument is:
shellfish is not necessarily bad for the heart
….and the premises:
it is very low in saturated fat, which affects blood cholesterol levels much more than dietary cholesterol does
Everything else is extraneous and designed to distract you. In fact, of the five answer choices presented, you can easily eliminate three of them if you are adept at putting aside extraneous claims. See if you can identify which ones:
(A) Meat and eggs are high in saturated fat.
(B) Small quantities of foods high in saturated fat are not bad for the heart.
(C) Shellfish has less cholesterol per gram than meat, eggs, and poultry do.
(D) Foods low in saturated fat promote low blood cholesterol.
(E) A serving of meat or poultry is typically larger than a serving of shellfish.
The correct answer is (D). You can eliminate all the answer choices that make reference to meat, eggs, and poultry. That includes (A), (C), and (E).
So how do you develop this skill? One of the best ways is simply to practice. As you “drill” through LSAT questions, pay attention to the information that really matters and ignore anything that doesn’t directly relate to the argument. Over time, you’ll get better and better at identifying the essential claims of an argument and putting aside extraneous information.
In sum, being able to put aside extraneous information in Logical Reasoning stimuli is a crucial skill for success on the LSAT. By focusing on the essential claims of an argument and ignoring distractions, you can evaluate arguments more effectively, avoid wrong answer choices, and save time on the test. With practice and persistence, you can develop this skill and give yourself a better chance of acing the LSAT.
