Point at Issue Questions
Two speakers. One real disagreement. Find it.
Two tools pair with this method. The miss-pattern analyzer shows which question types cost you the most points, and the blind review worksheet gives you a second pass at every miss.
What the question asks
The question asks what the two speakers disagree about. The stem says something like "The speakers disagree about whether..." or "The point at issue is..."
The right answer is a claim one speaker affirms and the other denies. If both agree, or if only one of them addresses it, it is not the point at issue.
Step-by-step method
- Paraphrase each speaker. Reduce each position to one plain sentence. Two clear sentences make the conflict visible.
- Find the clash. Ask where the two sentences collide. The point at issue is the exact claim they pull in opposite directions.
- Run the yes-no test. For each choice, ask: does speaker A say yes and speaker B say no, or the reverse? If not, the choice is wrong.
- Reject agreements. Anything both speakers accept is not in dispute. Agreement is never the point at issue, no matter how central it sounds.
- Reject one-sided claims. If only one speaker addresses a claim, they cannot be disagreeing about it. Disagreement needs two sides.
Worked examples
Both examples are original. They are not real LSAT questions.
Example 1
A: The city should build the bike lane. It will cut traffic. B: A bike lane will not cut traffic. Drivers will not switch from cars.
The speakers disagree about whether...
The answer: the bike lane will cut traffic.
Why: A says yes, B says no. That is the exact point of conflict. Note they might both agree bike lanes are pleasant. That agreement is not the disagreement.
Example 2
A: Organic food is worth the price because it is healthier. B: Organic food is not healthier, though I agree it tastes better.
The point at issue between the speakers is whether...
The answer: organic food is healthier than conventional food.
Why: They disagree on health and agree on taste. The health claim is affirmed by A and denied by B. The taste agreement is a trap.
The trap: two people talking past each other
The hardest point-at-issue questions are the ones where both speakers sound like they disagree but never address the same proposition. Speaker A says the policy will cost too much. Speaker B says the policy is unfair. Those are two different complaints. There is no point at issue between them, because neither one answers the other.
To find the real disagreement, write down what each speaker commits to, in the shortest possible sentence. Then check: do these two sentences contradict each other? The right answer is the one proposition where one speaker says yes and the other says no. If a choice describes something both speakers would agree on, it is the most tempting wrong answer on the page.
Scope matters. The point at issue is usually narrower than either speech. Speakers may talk for a paragraph, but they collide on one sentence. When a choice restates a whole position instead of the collision point, it is too broad. Look for the exact claim they answer differently.
Common traps
- Something both speakers agree on. Shared ground is the most tempting wrong answer.
- Something only one speaker mentions. One voice is not a debate.
- A restatement of one speaker’s whole position. The point at issue is narrower than either speech.
- A claim about a related topic neither speaker takes a stand on.
Practice the method
The free diagnostic scores every LR question type and shows exactly where you are losing points.