Which first - LSAT question stem or stimulus?

Hey everyone! I was fortunate enough to get to interview Dr. Stephen Harris, who is a former LSAT question writer as well as the author of a fantastic book called Mastering Logic Games. We got into a lot of good stuff in the interview, but one of my very first questions for him was a simple one that I’ll bet you’ve asked yourself too: Should you read the stimulus or the question stem first?   Here’s what Dr. Harris had to say: “Always, always, always read the stem first. To begin with, the stem typically tells you what the task is that’s associated with the item, so you don’t know what you’re supposed to do (or even if you want to try) until you’ve read the stem. This is especially important since what you want to pay attention to in the stimulus depends on the task at hand. For example, you should approach the stimulus of a conclusion question completely differently than that of a flaw question or an inference question. And even within a particular item type, say inference items, subtle differences in wording can suggest different things to look for in the stimulus. For example, if an inference stem says “…must be true that …” you have a strong hint that formal logic (“P ---> Q” stuff) may be involved and will look for it in the stimulus; but if instead the stem reads “…provides the most support for…” you would expect that the process of elimination will be involved, and you would pay attention to the relative strength of the answer choices as you worked through them.”    So there you have it, straight from the horse’s mouth. You can read the rest of the interview right here ------->   Or, if you really enjoy these sort of things then you can real ALL the interviews I’ve done with him. Spoiler alert: there are a lot. I’ve compiled those on this page. ’Til then, Steve, the “Oprah Winfrey” of the LSAT …because I do a lot interviews. P.S. Next time, we’ll get to hear from someone who improved their score over 20 points!  Recommended Resources: 1. LSAT Courses The best of my LSAT material with exclusive access to attend my Live Online LSAT Master Classes + Q&As, and on-demand video lessons you can watch anytime. Plus, LSAT study plans to keep you on track. Save hundreds of dollars with an LSAT course package. 2. Logical Reasoning Explanations The explanations that should have come with the LSAT. These don't just fall back on "out of scope," but actually tell you why the wrong answers are wrong, why the right answers are right, and the easiest way to get the correct answer. 3. Logical Reasoning Cheat Sheet Based on what I'd typically do in college: read what the professor emphasized and condense it all onto a single piece of paper. It gave me a quick reference, making things a lot less threatening and a lot more manageable. Free Stuff | YouTube | Podcast | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Books | Courses