For LSAT purposes, a premise can be defined as:
“A fact, proposition, or statement from which a conclusion is made.”
Premises support and explain the conclusion. Literally, the premises give the
reasons why the conclusion should be accepted. To identify premises, ask
yourself, “What reasons has the author used to persuade me? Why should I
believe this argument? What evidence exists?”
A conclusion is the point the author tries to prove by using another statement.
A conclusion can be defined as:
“A statement or judgment that follows from one or more reasons.”
Conclusions, as summary statements, are supposed to be drawn from and rest
on the premises. To identify conclusions, ask yourself, “What is the author
driving at? What does the author want me to believe? What point follows from
the others?”
Because language is the test maker’s weapon of choice, you must learn to
recognize the words that indicate when a premise or conclusion is present. In
expressing arguments, authors often use the following words or phrases to
introduce premises and conclusions:
Premise Indicators Conclusion Indicators
because thus
since therefore
for hence
for example consequently
for the reason that as a result
in that so
given that accordingly
as indicated by clearly
due to must be that
owing to shows that
this can be seen from conclude that
we know this by follows that
for this reason
Make sure to memorize these word lists. Recognizing argument elements is
critical!
Because there are so many variations in the English language, these lists
cannot be comprehensive, but they do capture many of the premise and
conclusion indicators used by LSAT authors. As for frequency of appearance,
the top two words in each list are used more than any of the other words in the
list.
When you are reading, always be aware of the presence of the words listed
above. These words are like road signs; they tell you what is coming next.
Consider the following example:
Humans cannot live on Venus because the surface temperature is
too high.
