Point at Issue Method
Find the exact claim they pull in opposite directions.
Point at issue questions give you two speakers and ask what they disagree about. The method is short: paraphrase, find the clash, and test each choice.
The traps are predictable. Wrong answers are things they agree on, things only one of them says, or claims neither of them addresses.
Two tools go with this guide: the miss-pattern analyzer and the blind review worksheet.
Examples on this page are original. They are not real LSAT questions.
The method, step by step
- Paraphrase speaker A. Reduce the first speech to one plain sentence. What is A actually claiming?
- Paraphrase speaker B. Do the same for the second speech. Keep it to one sentence.
- Find the clash. Lay the two sentences side by side. The point at issue is where they pull in opposite directions.
- Run the yes-no test. For each choice, ask: does one speaker say yes and the other say no? If not, eliminate it.
- Prefer the narrow choice. The point at issue is usually narrower than either full speech. Broad restatements overshoot it.
Worked example
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."
Paraphrase. A: the bike lane will cut traffic. B: the bike lane will not cut traffic.
The answer
Answer: whether the bike lane will cut traffic.
A says yes, B says no. That is the exact claim they dispute. A choice like "whether bike lanes are pleasant" fails the test because neither speaker addresses it.
The agreement trap
The most tempting wrong answer is something both speakers accept. Test writers love shared ground because it sounds central.
Example
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 is whether organic food is healthier. "Whether it tastes better" is something they agree on, so it cannot be the disagreement.
Traps to memorize
- Agreement: both speakers say yes, or both say no. Not the point at issue.
- One-sided: only one speaker addresses the claim. Disagreement needs two sides.
- Unaddressed: neither speaker takes a stand on it.
- Too broad: restates a whole speech instead of the exact disputed claim.
The partial-agreement trap
The hardest wrong answers on this type describe something the speakers partly agree on. Speaker A says the plan will fail because it costs too much. Speaker B says the plan will fail because it is poorly designed. They agree the plan will fail. They disagree about why. A choice that says "whether the plan will fail" is wrong, even though both speakers talk about failure.
This is why the yes-no test has to be run on the exact proposition in the choice, not on the general topic. Ask: does Speaker A say yes to this sentence, and does Speaker B say no to this same sentence? If you cannot quote the part of each speech that answers the question, you do not have the point at issue yet.
Next steps
Drill the yes-no test on every choice until it is automatic. It resolves most point at issue questions in seconds.
Put it into practice
The free diagnostic scores every question type and shows exactly where you are losing points.