The Loophole in LSAT Logical Reasoning: A Splendidly Comprehensive LSAT Study Guide to Master LSAT Self-Study

I've been studying for the LSAT for a while now. While I haven't gotten my dream score and I haven't finished studying, I feel that this book has been an invaluable aid in my LSAT journey. I started out with Mike Kim's LSAT Trainer, which was big and daunting (in fairness, you don't have to read the Logic Games sections anymore). I remember chugging through the book and feeling semi-dazed after completing it. I thought I would be ready to take the test after finishing his book, yet I still didn't feel confident when I approached the questions. While I will probably review his section on RC, I found his extensive categorization of different LR questions to be hard to remember and harder to implement. My next phase of studying was with 7Sage. I completed the Foundations course offered by J.Y., and it was certainly informative. I'm grateful for the level of depth that J.Y. went into in his videos. He covered loads of interesting and useful concepts on the test, and he's a really intelligent guy. The problem for me was that it just became a little too theory-heavy, and at some point, after watching hours and hours of his curriculum, my eyes would start to glaze over. It reminded me of watching Zoom lectures during COVID. Even after completing Foundations, I still (!) felt shaky with LR questions. I found myself misreading the stimulus, making simple mistakes, and failing to understand what I was reading. And that's where The Loophole comes in. After poking around on the LSAT subreddit (as one does), I saw Ellen's book recommended by a couple of folks. I was intrigued by the notion of focusing primarily on the stimulus rather than the question stem (the stimulus, after all, is where the majority of information in a given question is contained). As someone who studied English in college, this approach just felt more intuitive to me. I realized that a lot of the trouble that I've been having with LR questions is just understanding what in the world these dense little blocks of cryptic prose are saying, under time pressure! (I can read John Milton or James Joyce, but seriously, some of these LSAT stimuli are infuriating.) I'm currently practicing Translation + CLIR drills. For the uninitiated, this means putting the stimulus into your own words and breaking it down. Ellen describes the CLIR process in an approachable and thoughtful way. While I will transition to taking practice tests soon, these translation drills have been important for me in building confidence in reading and understanding (or at least, attempting to understand) these challenging stimuli. It is worth noting that, while the book does encourage you to write out your translations by hand, the Elemental team now encourages you to time yourself and record yourself speaking out loud. For the monstrous stimuli, I will still jot a few notes down on scratch paper. I found Ellen's book to be highly readable. She uses some funny examples in earlier sections and has (in my opinion) a good sense of humor. Other reviewers have noticed that the margins of the book are rather narrow, such that the text runs rather close to the binding. This can be easily remedied by purchasing and using a wooden book stand (I got mine from H&S on Amazon), which also makes reading more enjoyable in general. While working through The Trainer felt like a slog (a little like Murakami's 1Q84), I didn't feel that way while reading The Loophole. Perhaps it's because I had a foundation already, but it felt much smoother to read and work through. I think the book manages to be informative and clear as well as relatively fun to read, which is something I never thought an LSAT prep book could be. If you're just starting your LSAT journey, or if you've been studying for a while now but are feeling stuck with how to approach LR, you should consider trying The Loophole. I think it's worthwhile to hear Ellen's perspective, and the book is filled with plenty of valuable nuggets, like the CLIR or SW SCCER. Even her breakdown of sufficient-necessary was much easier to understand for me than 7Sage. Plus, there are funny jokes in the margins. Give it a shot.

This is the best LSAT book I found BY FAR. Get it!!! I'm so grateful to have found it. I studied for 3-4 months using other materials and found that the more I studied, the worse my score got?? This was confusing and demoralizing, and I was considering canceling my scheduled test. Then, I stumbled upon this book in my last month of studying. It helped me realize I needed to focus less on memorizing question types ("is it a must be true?") and more on reading the passage accurately (and retaining it) on the first try. This shift in attitude helped me break through my plateau. The book has a few excellent reading & retention drills (which I've never seen in any other test prep material) that wildly improved my ability to keep the passage accurately in mind after one read. Ellen also offers a very useful strategy for *predicting* the answer to the LR questions before looking at the answer choices. This strategy worked super well for me. During my practice tests, I counted how often this "prediction" was actually literally the correct answer (or close to it) - it ended up being correct for around 20/25 questions in each section. That's huge and saved me so much time (and stress) looking at answer choices. I ended up taking the April test and got a 175! I felt confident in my LR sections during the test and attribute this largely to Ellen! More about the book: - It helps you improve your reading (and retention)!!!! This was the game changer for me. I'd always thought of myself as a fast and accurate reader, but skimming to save time was causing me to waste time in the answer choices. I'd often end up stuck between two answer choices, because of slight misreads in the passage. Ellen offers two drills to help you read passages accurately and retain them on the first try. I dropped all other studying for two weeks to just do those drills and single-handedly raised my score by 5 points. Her reading drills also helped me finish sections on time! When I took the test, I ended up having extra time on the LR sections (which was a big jump up from previously not finishing sections on time at all). - The book gives you a strategy for decoding the horribly written sentences on the LSAT. I used this to great effect when I hit passages that felt like the passage could have been read two different ways and so I couldn't initially answer the questions. - The book has useful high-level categories for common questions. I found these categories more accurate and less confusing than the categories that 7-Sage or The LSAT Trainer offered. - It helps you recognize common *trap* answer choices. Most other test prep materials I used didn't talk much about answer choices. Having Ellen lay out common incorrect answers helped me feel more confident eliminating. - It helps you find flaws with arguments and guess answers in advance. This saves a lot of time in the answer choices. Other test prep materials also emphasize this, but Ellen's CLIR framework goes one level further in teaching you how to predict answers/find flaws for each of the 4-main types of LR questions. As one simple example: previously, I was trying to find flaws in arguments where I should have been making inferences / diagramming (and I hesitated to make inferences, because I was worried I'd waste time). Learning when to make inferences right off the bat instead of try to figure out what's wrong with the argument saved me time. - I really appreciated Ellen's dedication to understanding the test and test-taker failure modes. I found her tone inspiring and her advice fit me like a glove. It's clear she studies her students to figure out where they need help, then develops generalizable frameworks and strategies. I sometimes felt like other test prep materials were brushing off my lack of understanding - essentially just saying "well the answer is this, okay" or providing explanations that felt like cop outs. When I was stuck, this was frustrating and not helpful. By trying hard to understand the mentality of the student, I felt like Ellen's book was the thing that offered me a concrete and actionable path to a higher score. Thanks, Ellen, for your book, your thoughtfulness about the test, and your all around love of the LSAT!!

I have read several LSAT prep books including The LSAT Trainer, the Power Score Bibles to name a few and taken in person prep courses. I was stuck forever improving little above my first diagnostic test. However NOTHING has improved my score more than The Loophole. Ellen's writing style is an enjoyable read, framing the LSAT as fun and exciting challenge rather than a daunting exam. Her translation drills have improved my score an additional 10 points after I had read and gone through full prep courses for the exam. I loved reading her book. It changed my entire approach and made me enjoy studying for the LSAT - something I never thought could be possible. Additionally, her team has also the same level of dedication as she does to helping readers improve. I emailed [email protected] to see if I could gain access to reading comp translation drills (not mentioned in her book but discussed by some of Ellen's students who received tutoring from her) and within a few short hours I received an extensive email describing the drills along with additional helpful literature to help improve my skills. They also provided helpful advice to approaching the drills and methods to apply when utilizing the tools written within The Loophole. Absolutely amazed by this book, the Elemental Prep team, and Ellen Cassidy's dedication to the LSAT and also the needs of readers. If you're considering any LSAT material, The Loophole is your best bet.

This excellent book was my only resource for the LSAT’s Logical Reasoning sections, and I’m grateful and fortunate to have come across it early in my preparation. Its main virtue, among many, is its accessibility, a result of the author’s hard-won effort in every explanation to be direct, clear, and understood. This extends even to the presentation of the material, and that is no small thing, since well laid out books are the ones that actually get read and re-read. It is a mark of generous teaching on the part of the author that the student’s task of distilling and organizing information is already done for them. The Loophole provides an overview of Logical Reasoning from the ground up, complete with exercises along the way. Its approach is to build up your mastery of the questions in manageable increments. First comes understanding what you read, then knowing how to analyze it, and finally preparing for what will be asked of you. Every step toward acquiring these skills, starting from the very basics, is addressed and covered, and what might seem elementary, like working on reading and recall, actually creates necessary foundations and improves performance. (It was surprising to me, for example, to discover how many questions I was missing simply for failing to register or retain the content of the question prompts). With its examples and quizzes and suggested practice drills, the book also encourages participating actively throughout the process, and this of course requires considerable time and effort. But those who commit themselves to studying in this way, even if they start as beginners, are sure to be able to follow the concepts as they become more advanced. In addition to being step-by-step and systematic, The Loophole is thorough. It provides coverage of Logical Reasoning topics in all of their difficulty and complexity. Particularly helpful to me were the chapters on Conditional Reasoning and Parallel Questions, which in my own preparation caused me the most problems. Typical of the rest of the book, the treatment of these areas demonstrated how to break them down into approachable units, and then proposed logical and workable methods for handling them. I especially appreciated the emphasis here, as everywhere, on problem-solving skills rather than on theoretical knowledge for its own sake. Simplicity and practicality, made sufficient to meet even the hardest challenges of the LSAT, are what this book is all about, to the benefit of the reader. If there were a competition to determine the best model of the saying, “everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler,” I would nominate The Loophole.

VERY in depth on the theory behind the lsat, main downside for me is that i do not mesh well with diagramming and this book pushes it heavily. without that, the loophole and translation methods work well for me.

I purchased The Loophole in LSAT Logical Reasoning for a law student preparing for the LSAT, and it has been an outstanding resource. Among the many LSAT prep materials available, this book stands out because it doesn't just teach test-taking strategies—it teaches you how to think through logical reasoning questions in a way that actually makes sense. What impressed me most is how clearly the concepts are explained. Logical reasoning can be intimidating and frustrating, but the author breaks down complex ideas into manageable, easy-to-understand lessons. The writing style is engaging and approachable, making it much easier to stay motivated during long study sessions. The book focuses on understanding arguments, identifying flaws, and developing the analytical mindset needed for LSAT success. Rather than relying on memorization, it helps students build critical thinking skills that are valuable not only for the LSAT but also for law school and legal practice. The exercises and examples are thoughtfully designed and reinforce the material effectively. Each chapter builds upon previous lessons, creating a structured learning experience that helps improve confidence and accuracy over time. For students who have struggled with logical reasoning sections, this guide provides a fresh perspective that can dramatically improve understanding and performance. It's easy to see why so many LSAT students recommend this book. As a gift for an aspiring law student, it was very well received and quickly became one of their most-used study resources.

I cannot recommend The Loophole and Loophole Online enough. Before finding The Loophole, I had spent several months studying for the LSAT using more traditional methods (i.e. drilling question types, taking practice tests, deeply reviewing explanations). Despite putting in a lot of time and effort, I was stuck in the high 160s and could not figure out how to break into the 170s. Reading The Loophole completely changed the way I approached the LSAT. Instead of just teaching me how to recognize question types or eliminate answers, it fundamentally changed the way I read stimuli and processed arguments. For the first time, I understood how to think through questions rather than simply memorizing strategies. That shift alone helped me break into the 170s. Then I started Loophole Online, and it took my score to another level because it not only continued to improve my LR, but also provided invaluable RC resources. That course singlehandedly brought me to consistently PTing in the mid-to-high 170s. Like the book, what makes this platform so different and so effective is that it does not rely on the traditional drilling/PTing model. It changes the way you read stimuli, passages, and approach questions at a foundational level. The homework assignments are also incredibly thoughtful and targeted. Rather than assigning busywork, they are designed to identify and address your specific weaknesses in a way that feels personalized and intentional. I have never encountered another LSAT resource that diagnoses problems this effectively. Ellen Cassidy has clearly dedicated an incredible amount of time and care to understanding the challenges LSAT students face and building systems to address them. You can feel how intentional the process is. That said, the Loophole method is not magic it is a grind. You have to be willing to put in the work and fully commit to the process. But if you trust the system, follow the instructions, and genuinely invest in learning the method, the results can be remarkable. It completely transformed my LSAT performance, and I absolutely would not be scoring where I am today without it.

This book SINGLE HANDEDLY improved my LSAT score by 5 points in less than 2 weeks. I was struggling with logical reasoning. And having used 7Sage and LSATdemon, something felt off in the way they explained the test. I was in Boston on vacation at their beautiful library and my kid noticed someone studying and said “mom, they are studying for the LSAT too!” She was not taking a practice test, so I talked with her about the test, and struggles we had encountered. She credited her personal LSAT success to this book by Ellen Cassidy. I took a picture of her screen. I ordered the book immediately. I STOPPED all other LSAT prep, including practice tests. I simply read her book, and ran out of time before the test to finish because I had like 2 weeks or so. But this book just CLICKED! It made logical reasoning make sense. It was fascinating, funny, and easy to read. The book helped break down the common sense behind something that didn’t have to be so complicated. I am indebted to Ellen Cassidy. She is a wonderful human fighting the good fight to help people understand a test that made no sense to me until I met her brilliant work. Thank you for those extra 5 points! They got me scholarships!!!

The Loophole helped me a lot with my understanding of LR in general. Translation and CLIR drills made me realize that I need to predict an answer before attempting the answer choices. And now I’m planning to use the method for RC. Thank you!

Awesome and straight forward book for the LSAT. Easy to follow and understand the content of each chapter.

Before I started my lsat journey, I did a ton of research about what book I should buy to really understand logical reasoning because I STRUGGLED! And everything pointed towards this book and I bought it and WOW I FREAKING LOVE THIS BOOK SO MUCH!!! This book is literally priceless!! Every single chapter of this book has helped me tremendously with logical reasoning (and you can use a lot of the things that you learn in here and apply them to reading comprehension as well). Just make sure to read all the chapters and take your time with them if you struggle and DO NOT skip anything in between! This book has also made me look towards studying everyday because of how entertaining Ellen has made the book to be which has made learning fun rather than boring! When reading the book, I felt like Ellen was sitting right beside me tutoring me! And I feel connected to her through her book as her student! :’) I legit can’t stop talking about this book to everyone around me, and how much it has helped me, so do yourself a favor and get this amazing book NOW!!

I have read many books in my pursuit to master LR and I am glad I came across Ellen's after a while! This book is all you need to master LR (Forget everything else - including PowerScore etc., these books need major overhaul). Here's how to get best out of this book and put an end to LR for once and for all, these are in particularly useful for non-native test takers: 1. Read page to page (DO NOT SKIP) 2. Do all exercises 3. Highlight, take notes and 4. Most importantly - Read this book a second time (over a weekend), you will be surprised to see how many more thing you pick up on second/third phase of reading! Continue to keep an error log of every question you do, I personally made an Excel where I categorize each question type, time etc. that way I can analyze my weak areas and track my progress in terms of accuracy. Do not roam around and try multiple method, end of the day you only need one, trust the process, read the book - once, twice and if required if third time, incorporate the strategy mentioned in the book, eventually after you do over 500 or so Questions, your muscle memory will pick up and you will run in auto pilot mode. Again, Be patient, trust yourself and trust the process, best of luck!

When I decided to start prepping for the LSAT, the first thing that stressed me out was the sheer number of resources out there—books, courses, practice tests— some of which costing hundreds or thousands of dollars. I didn’t know where to start. But since the new LSAT format eliminated logic games in favour of an additional logical reasoning section, I figured I should focus my efforts on mastering LR. This book was the highest rated LR resource I could find, and three months later I fully understand why. Everyone’s journey with this text will probably be different. It’s very multifaceted, covering the topic from many different angles that build on each other and then eventually converge. You may get more mileage from some concepts than others. In my case, I found that the breakdown of different question types (namely “powerful” vs. “provable” questions and the different things to consider for each) really made things click for me. I went from getting more LR questions wrong than right at the diagnostic stage, to consistently swinging 22-23 out of 25 on full LR practice sections. This improvement carried over into my final test score. So my main point is this: amongst all the other LSAT prep options out there, I would highly recommend just buying this book. Since there are less “tricks” to nailing reading comprehension (aside from lots of practice), there’s a good chance this is will be the only resource you will need to spend money on. I know there are courses out there that back up their high cost with big promises. I was as tempted by them as you might be. But if this book can carry me to the finish line, I’m sure it can do that for you too.