LSAT Weaken Questions, Explained
Weaken questions are strengthen questions in reverse: which answer choice makes the conclusion less likely? You're looking for the missing plank's opposite — the piece of information that breaks the bridge between evidence and conclusion.
How to approach them
- Find the conclusion, the evidence, and the gap between them.
- Ask: what would have to be true for this argument to fall apart? What alternative explanation is the author ignoring?
- The right answer usually introduces that alternative, breaks the evidence-conclusion link, or shows the evidence doesn't mean what the author thinks.
- Like strengthen, you don't need to destroy the argument — just make it weaker.
The trap to watch for
The classic trap weakens the evidence instead of the reasoning. Showing one premise is shaky isn't the same as breaking the link to the conclusion. Attack the jump, not the starting point.
Know your starting point
Take the free diagnostic — you'll see exactly which question types are costing you points, including weaken.