Sharing my LSAT knowledge - ask my anything Forum

[jrsbaseball5]

Thanks for doing this!

I am planning on taking the LSAT this coming June and am looking to get started on my studying pretty soon. With all the materials out there and all the possible ways of studying I am a little bit confused on how to get started. That being said, what would you recommend as the first couple steps in beginning my study?

Thanks again.

[LSAT Hacks (Graeme)]

Could you give me some pointers on how exactly to study effectively for the LSAT?

For example, do I just lock myself inside my room when I do not have class and just study for the LSAT until late at night? (Although I tried that it's hard to stay motivated; the only thing that's keeping me motivated at times like those is thinking about me living on the streets if i don't get into a good law school haha)

And how do you stay motivated? Because let's be honest, to some people (including me), on some days, it's just hard to focus because you feel drained.

Do I suck it up and hammer it through?

......

Anyway, back on topic. So like I said, what's the best schedule (or what did you do and if you could go back in time, what could you have done better) to study for the LSAT, for someone with my time schedule.

A lot of students struggle with this. There are too errors to avoid. Which one is a bigger problem for you depends on your personality type.

Pushing Too Hard: This is the most common problem. You need rest. Learning a new skill is like athletic training. You need skill work, endurance work, and recovery time. Neglect the last one and you won't make progress. If you feel guilty when you're not studying, are constantly checking TLS in off-time, and always thinking about the test, this is probably you.

If overwork is your issue:

• Try to study when you're mentally freshest, probably early in the morning.
  If you feel like a zombie, stop studying.
  Take breaks.
  Now and again, take a day off.
  Meditate.

Not Pushing Hard Enough: If you have trouble motivating yourself to do work, this may be you. Likewise if you have days without studying, by accident, this is probably you. You'll know if you're this type.

Motivation is hard if you don't have it. It has to come from within. Why do you want to go to law school? That's why you're writing the LSAT. Focus on that goal, and remind yourself that doing well on the LSAT will get you there.

You'd work hard for $300,000, right? Doing well on the LSAT is likely worth at least as much. Consider that a higher LSAT score gets you into a better school, which leads to a higher salary. Let's say it adds $10,000 per year. Stretch that over 30 years, and you have $300,000.

I'm fudging the math a bit due to interest rates, but that's a very conservative salary increase estimate. Likewise, a higher score can get you tens of thousands of dollars in scholarships. If you're at all motivated by money, there is NOTHING more profitable that you could be doing than studying for the LSAT. Just pretend someone is paying you $100 an hour to study.

And of course, there are all the hopes and dreams you have attached to law school and being a lawyer. You NEED a good LSAT score to fulfil those.

------------
Practical Study Schedule

I'm not a fan of fixed, rigid schedules. Some days, you can work 8 hours, without noticing the time. Other days, more than an hour and you're done.

Learn to know when you're high energy. Do a lot of LSAT work then.

You've got a lot of dull work you have to do as well. Save that for days when you're drained, and do less LSAT work those days.

Sleep, exercise, and eat. This will make you twice as effective at LSAT studying.

Don't study only in one place (this advice works well for most, but not all people). Study in cafes sometimes, or the library. The change of scenary will help you stay focussed, and it's useful to learn to work with distractions, because the test center has distractions.

I'm not a fan of "sucking up and hammering through". But if you're the type prone to not working hard enough, you may have to. Use your own judgment to figure out which type you are.

Hope that helps. I can be more useful if you've got a specific followup.

[ElectricSheep]

Don't study only in one place (this advice works well for most, but not all people). Study in cafes sometimes, or the library. The change of scenary will help you stay focussed, and it's useful to learn to work with distractions, because the test center has distractions.

I can try that. Right now, I've just been studying at home in my room and it does get tiresome. Most times, I'll see my bed and crash for like 10 minutes right after I finish a logic a game or what not. Staying motivated and being concentrated without distractions is also one of my biggest issue that I am trying to overcome.

[olivia.h]

Hi Graeme,
I'm taking the LSAT for the first time in December. I have worked through two different prep books (Princeton Review and Kaplan). As of this moment, I have one month left to study! I have been working on the Logic Games questions as these were the ones that completely freaked me out two months ago when I first started studying. I have managed to master this section and I am quite confident in the Reading Comp. However,I am finding the Reasoning Questions very challenging, I am usually getting at least 10 questions wrong every time! I try my best to go over what I have done wrong but I am not seeing any improvement! Any advice you can give on this topic would be VERY HELPFUL!
Thank you very much!
olivia.h

[LSAT Hacks (Graeme)]

Thanks for doing this!

I am planning on taking the LSAT this coming June and am looking to get started on my studying pretty soon. With all the materials out there and all the possible ways of studying I am a little bit confused on how to get started. That being said, what would you recommend as the first couple steps in beginning my study?

Thanks again.

Hey, sorry for the delay. I wrote a substantive reply, but it looks like it didn't get posted.

A good first step is checking out the free materials from the LSAC. In particular, you should take the June 2007 LSAT timed. It's a bit hard to find everything on the LSAC website, I summarized the important bits in a blog post: http://7sage.com/free-lsat-practice-materials/

I agree there are a lot of companies. How you study depends on your preferences. The most important thing is to get a lot of real LSAT preptests, and use those. Check out the books of ten LSATs on amazon. In particular get LSATs 29-38, 52-61 and 62-67. Total cost is about $80.

Beyond that, the way to go depends on your learning preference and budget. You'll see a lot of companies recommended here. I'd use this site as a filter. It's hard to truly compare different methods, because no one tries two different methods fresh. But any method recommended here is probably pretty good.

1. Like reading? Try Powerscore or Manhattan
2. Like videos? Try Velocity or 7Sage
3. Like learning in a classroom (and have money)? Try Manhattan, Blueprint, Powerscore or Testmasters. Decide between them based on reviews of your local instructor.
4. Are you self-motivated? Just use the preptests, and supplement them with either #1 or #2 as reference materials. Hire a tutor for a few lessons to fine tune your approach, and ask questions here.

I can give more specific advice if you tell me more about your situation and which materials you're considering.

[cynthiad]

I have a question about Preptest #61, Section 1, Question #17. Choice D is the correct answer, and an explanation I read said it was because lines 11-17 suggested that animal vocalization (frog calls) were a conditioned response rather than conscious behavior. However, when I read choice D and the corresponding lines in passage A, they seem only to assert that there is no evidence that the frog is consciously signaling, not that there is any evidence that he isn't consciously signaling. Thus, D seems only to imply a lack of evidence against Maritain's view in one case (frogs) not the existence of any evidence that supports his view. Choice B seems slightly more plausible because it states that animal vocalization may have evolved because it alters listeners' behavior to benefit the signaler, which provides an explanation for why animals would vocalize without a conscious intention to affect the listeners' behavior, but still isn't completely right because an evolved response isn't the same as a conditioned one. Any guidance you can provide on this would be very helpful.

[mvonh001]

How valuable are the early PT's (pre-40) for Logic Games. I know they are different now, but im reviewing by going over every LG section of every PT and these first couple of ones I have done are a bit confusing and not like the current LSAT, so my question is this, Would you recommend I do PT's 40-65 3x or 1-65 1x... obviously im going over the LG sections after i finish them and again 3 days later, but then im moving onto the next section. I dont want anyone to think im just doing each section only once, the 1x means how many times im doing it now, and the 3x means 3 times the amount im doing each one now.

Also, would you say that the LR sections of the tests have been the same relatively over the past 65 PT's. So if i was doing PT20-65 for LR that would be ok compared to 40-65 x 2?

Thanks

[LSAT Hacks (Graeme)]

Hi Graeme,
I'm taking the LSAT for the first time in December. I have worked through two different prep books (Princeton Review and Kaplan). As of this moment, I have one month left to study! I have been working on the Logic Games questions as these were the ones that completely freaked me out two months ago when I first started studying. I have managed to master this section and I am quite confident in the Reading Comp. However,I am finding the Reasoning Questions very challenging, I am usually getting at least 10 questions wrong every time! I try my best to go over what I have done wrong but I am not seeing any improvement! Any advice you can give on this topic would be VERY HELPFUL!
Thank you very much!
olivia.h

I wouldn't use Kaplan or Princeton Review books. They make up their own questions. Better to use real LSAC tests. Manhattan and Powerscore books use real LSAT questions as well. That's why they cost a bit more, but it's worth it to be able to work with real materials.

Reading comprehension is tricky. When I teach this to students, I only have 30-40 minutes of material. That covers everything I do on that section.

I wrote a few guides to Reading Comprehension on Reddit. Hopefully you'll find them useful:

http://www.reddit.com/r/LSAT/comments/1 ... on_guides/

In the main guide, I talk about increasing your reading speed. I want to be clear that I am talking about increasing your baseline reading speed. I don't want you to read faster, with less comprehension. I want you to read faster with the same level of comprehension, or better.

[yoonhyun]

Thank you for doing this!
I've read your memory method for RC and I'm trying to do it every day! I think it's a great method! Just wondering, on average how long does it take until the method actually helps improve my memory?

My questions are regarding general practicing for RC. I've done all past exams so past passages aren't very useful for me because while I don't remember all questions I do feel familiar with the content, and it's a big help for me. My biggest problems with RC are following: 1) When I see an unfamiliar jargon or content (words ending with --ism or long dinosaur names etc), my brain gets really complicated and I blank. I try to simplify them by looking at its first alphabet character, for instance, but I still get confused. Would you recommend making a note in the margins? Or any other strategies? 2) As a solution to my brain going blank when I encounter unfamiliar topics (which include geology, astronomy, art/music history), I'm reading articles from Scientific American to familiarize myself with some science materials. Do you think this is a good method? Could you suggest any materials/sources for art/music? I've read some NYT and The Economist articles, but I felt NYT articles' paragraphs are too short to be LSAT passages and The Economist has only few. 3) Sometimes there are words or sentences that I simply can't understand (or I know will take too much time to understand). If this happens, would you recommend just skipping them and focus on the rest and try to figure out paragraphs' main ideas?

Also, I have one question regarding a word 'prefer' in LR. In LSAT, when it says someone 'prefers' something, can we infer that he/she will choose it? Or can we not know because he/she may be unable to afford or something? For instance, when a stimulus says "People prefer product X than Y. So X will have higher sales than Y," would this be an error because although people prefer X, more people may still buy Y because Y is cheaper? Or does a word 'prefer', by definition, mean that more people choose X? It might be a strange question, but for some reasons this has been confusing me lol

Lastly, do you have videos for RC tips/advice/techniques? I've seen your memory improvement one, but I wonder if there are more:)

P.S.: Your 7sage LG and other posts are by far my FAVORITE lsat sources! Thanks a lot!:)

[LSAT Hacks (Graeme)]

I have a question about Preptest #61, Section 1, Question #17. Choice D is the correct answer, and an explanation I read said it was because lines 11-17 suggested that animal vocalization (frog calls) were a conditioned response rather than conscious behavior. However, when I read choice D and the corresponding lines in passage A, they seem only to assert that there is no evidence that the frog is consciously signaling, not that there is any evidence that he isn't consciously signaling. Thus, D seems only to imply a lack of evidence against Maritain's view in one case (frogs) not the existence of any evidence that supports his view. Choice B seems slightly more plausible because it states that animal vocalization may have evolved because it alters listeners' behavior to benefit the signaler, which provides an explanation for why animals would vocalize without a conscious intention to affect the listeners' behavior, but still isn't completely right because an evolved response isn't the same as a conditioned one. Any guidance you can provide on this would be very helpful.

You hit on an important distinction: the absence of evidence vs. evidence against a position. You're correct that passage A would provide stronger support by showing evidence that frogs were making conscious calls.

There are different levels of absence of evidence however. There's no obvious reason that frogs' awareness of other frogs' mental state should be hidden. So the fact that we looked for this skill, and couldn't find anything ('no evidence'), suggests that frogs actually do lack the ability to attribute mental states to other frogs.

On the other hand, suppose I wanted to investigate whether a pesticide causes cancer. I look, and I find no evidence that it does. Here, my conclusion is different. I don't think the pesticide causes cancer, but I still can't rule it out. Cancer is a complex process that we don't fully understand. So in this case, absence of evidence of harm isn't significant. I can't rule *anything* out as a cause of cancer unless I have actual proof that it is *safe*.

We have no expectation that the pesticide will show immediate and obvious harm, so the lack of harm shown isn't significant.

Make sense? I'll give one more example. Suppose I know that you have a lottery ticket. If you win the jackpot, you're probably going to tell people, celebrate, buy new things, etc. Now suppose I ask your friend if you won, and he says 'there is no evidence cynthiad won the lottery'. That almost certainly means you didn't win, unless you decided to hide it.

Here again, the expectation is important. The frog's unawareness and the lack of lottery celebration go against expectations, so lack of evidence is significance. We have no expectations about harm caused by a random pesticide, so no evidence isn't significant.

To be clear, we can't be *100%* sure about the frogs or the lottery win. But we can't be *100%* sure about ANYTHING, except in abstract logic. That's why D gives support, even though there is some uncertainty.

Answer B is wrong because it talks about animals benefitting themselves, whereas the bees in Maritain's example aren't looking for a benefit to themselves. While choice B may explain the evolution of animal signalling, it does nothing to support Maritain's example that the bees aren't conscious in this case.

[yoonhyun]

Hi, I already asked you for advice on RC but I have an additional one:/ (It's sort of related to my previous question tho) When I encounter passages on topics that I am completely unfamiliar with, I end up retaining barely any details because I am unfamiliar with the topic/jargon and spending too much time in the questions (on top of spending too much in reading the passage). Even when I remember where to locate the details, it takes too much time either because I still have to search within the paragraph or have to re-read to understand again

As a possible solution (I haven't tried yet but I will), I was thinking about the following method, at least when I read those science or detail-oriented passages: Reading one or two paragraphs and then going to questions to see if I can solve any, going back to reading next passages and then looking at the questions to see if I can solve any (based on what I read so far), and so on. How does it sound? And could you give any advice for me? Thanks in advance!:)

[natashka85]

Hi,I looked trough your method,pretty close to mine,anyway i am scoring in 167,168,169 today,i am missing in LR section 4 questions in each section,which is serious for me,i need to get rid of those,can u give me advice what i should do,i basically miss careless questions just because i didn`t take another 10 seconds to go back to the stimulus and recheck my answer ,RC and Games i am ok,miss 0 in games,but 4-2 in Rc,however i hope i can make it 0 when the test approaches.

[JDAviator]

Can you explain PrepTest 38, Section 1, question 10? I am not sure what type of question it is and why the credited response is correct and the other four are wrong. I narrowed it to A or B. but can't say why either would be wrong.

[LSAT Hacks (Graeme)]

How valuable are the early PT's (pre-40) for Logic Games. I know they are different now, but im reviewing by going over every LG section of every PT and these first couple of ones I have done are a bit confusing and not like the current LSAT, so my question is this, Would you recommend I do PT's 40-65 3x or 1-65 1x... obviously im going over the LG sections after i finish them and again 3 days later, but then im moving onto the next section. I dont want anyone to think im just doing each section only once, the 1x means how many times im doing it now, and the 3x means 3 times the amount im doing each one now.

Also, would you say that the LR sections of the tests have been the same relatively over the past 65 PT's. So if i was doing PT20-65 for LR that would be ok compared to 40-65 x 2?

Thanks

I definitely notice a difference between the logic games in 29-38 and 52-61. Those are the two sets I know the best.

29-38 are still useful. While the most recent tests are the best to use, I think the importance of using newer tests is somewhat overstated. If you had nothing but tests 29-38, you could master the LSAT by really examining each question and seeing why every answer was right or wrong + creating an optimal method for each game. That's not what you SHOULD do, but you could.

19-28 are still useful for games, but some of them get a bit weird. I'd stick to 29 onwards, and don't be shy about repeating games. I personally refined my methods by teaching each game in 29-38 about 5-10 times to different students. I learned more every time I taught a game again. This video sums up my thoughts on the value of retaking games:

http://7sage.com/how-to-get-a-perfect-s ... gic-games/

Retaking LR is less useful, and LR has changes less than games. I'd go further back into LR, rather than repeat sections. LR uses less formal logic now, but the old questions are definitely still useful.

By the way, thanks for all the questions everyone. I'm falling behind, will try to answer more of these soon.

[H0lys0cks]

Hi there,

My question is related to peaking. I've gotten about 170 on every full-length test I've taken so far(about 6). I feel like I may be stuck here and I'm starting to worry. I want to move up a few more points to give me some breathing room and the chance for better scholarships. Any ideas on how to prevent stagnation in your scores or how to break out of it? Currently, I'm strong on LG, Okay on LR(but want to improve), and weakest on RC. In case it matters, I've just begun the recent Preptests (52 and forward) this week. Generally, I've used the Pithypike guide as a reference for my studies.

[LSAT Hacks (Graeme)]

Hi, I already asked you for advice on RC but I have an additional one:/ (It's sort of related to my previous question tho) When I encounter passages on topics that I am completely unfamiliar with, I end up retaining barely any details because I am unfamiliar with the topic/jargon and spending too much time in the questions (on top of spending too much in reading the passage). Even when I remember where to locate the details, it takes too much time either because I still have to search within the paragraph or have to re-read to understand again

As a possible solution (I haven't tried yet but I will), I was thinking about the following method, at least when I read those science or detail-oriented passages: Reading one or two paragraphs and then going to questions to see if I can solve any, going back to reading next passages and then looking at the questions to see if I can solve any (based on what I read so far), and so on. How does it sound? And could you give any advice for me? Thanks in advance!:)

I would focus on understanding the passage during the first pass through. If I read something I don't understand (it happens), then I read it a second time, and a third time if necessary.

Rereading something is much faster than reading it the first time, and the increased understanding should more than make up for the time it takes.

Use your judgement of course. You can't spend 8 minutes on the passage.

I can't comment on the partial reading strategy. I'm inclined to think it won't work very well, but it might work alright on the questions that just ask about specific details. I suspect some other people on this forum have tried that strategy, you might make a post asking how it worked for them. Or just try it yourself a few times and track your score.

If it's only science passages that give you comprehension trouble, you could try reading Science magazine or other semi-technical science magazines. The underlying material in science passages isn't actually that hard, it's just that the lingo can be intimidating. There aren't a massive amount of science passages to practice with, so reading Science can be a useful way to familiarize yourself with that type of language.

[LSAT Hacks (Graeme)]

Edit: I'm adding headings, because this one is so long

General RC Resources + the Memory Method

Thank you for doing this!
I've read your memory method for RC and I'm trying to do it every day! I think it's a great method! Just wondering, on average how long does it take until the method actually helps improve my memory?

Lastly, do you have videos for RC tips/advice/techniques? I've seen your memory improvement one, but I wonder if there are more:)

P.S.: Your 7sage LG and other posts are by far my FAVORITE lsat sources! Thanks a lot!:)

Glad you like the memory method. Here's the post I wrote about it, if anyone else is interested in RC help.

The memory method is less about improving your memory skills (those are pretty fixed), and more about changing how you read to better use your existing memory skills.

Reading is pretty individual, so I can't say exactly what you're doing that prevents you from retaining information. The memory method is a metric. If you turn over the passage and CAN'T remember much, then you need to change your method. If you try the drills and start remembering more, then you're moving in the right direction.

You asked about other materials, we also have this introduction to reading comprehension:

http://7sage.com/introduction-to-lsat-r ... rehension/

We have more RC materials in our online course, that show you how to approach actual passages. Unfortunately, we can't show these for free, unlike our logic games explanations. We have to pay a licensing fee every time we show an LSAT question.

It's the same story with LR. We don't have too many free materials, but we have lots of guides that use real questions in our LSAT course.

Reading Outside Materials for Reading Comprehension

Thank you for doing this!

My questions are regarding general practicing for RC. I've done all past exams so past passages aren't very useful for me because while I don't remember all questions I do feel familiar with the content, and it's a big help for me. My biggest problems with RC are following: 1) When I see an unfamiliar jargon or content (words ending with --ism or long dinosaur names etc), my brain gets really complicated and I blank. I try to simplify them by looking at its first alphabet character, for instance, but I still get confused. Would you recommend making a note in the margins? Or any other strategies? 2) As a solution to my brain going blank when I encounter unfamiliar topics (which include geology, astronomy, art/music history), I'm reading articles from Scientific American to familiarize myself with some science materials. Do you think this is a good method? Could you suggest any materials/sources for art/music? I've read some NYT and The Economist articles, but I felt NYT articles' paragraphs are too short to be LSAT passages and The Economist has only few. 3) Sometimes there are words or sentences that I simply can't understand (or I know will take too much time to understand). If this happens, would you recommend just skipping them and focus on the rest and try to figure out paragraphs' main ideas?

I think Scientific American and Science magazine are good resources for increasing your comfort level with scientific language. The concepts in science passages aren't actually that hard, and you don't need to know about the topic discussed. But the LSAC knows that scientific language is scary to 30-50% of test takers.

Apart from reading those magazines, focus on the adjectives and phrases that describe effects. If I say 'hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a condition where the heart thickens' you don't need to know the words 'hypertrophic' or 'cardiomyopathy'. Focus on the second part: it thickens the heart.

I would read the Economist over NYT. Read back issues if you can't find enough material. And I'm only recommending this because you say you've already done almost all RC passages. Unless you're uncomfortable with specific subject matter, I think it's better to read RC passages than outside material.

I don't know of any music magazines. I think that's too niche a subject to warrant outside reading. But if you're determined, ask your local librarian or bookstore for a magazine aimed at professional musicians.

What does the word 'prefer' mean?

Also, I have one question regarding a word 'prefer' in LR. In LSAT, when it says someone 'prefers' something, can we infer that he/she will choose it? Or can we not know because he/she may be unable to afford or something? For instance, when a stimulus says "People prefer product X than Y. So X will have higher sales than Y," would this be an error because although people prefer X, more people may still buy Y because Y is cheaper? Or does a word 'prefer', by definition, mean that more people choose X? It might be a strange question, but for some reasons this has been confusing me lol

Not a strange question. The LSAT is full of little words that have precise meanings.

Prefer means that you would rather have X than Y. I would prefer to have a fully upgraded Macbook air than a cheap netbook. If I was asked to choose which one to get (for FREE), I would choose the macbook air.

But....you're right, there are other considerations. Maybe I can't afford a new Macbook air. Maybe it's out of stock. So it's a logical error to say that Macbook air sales will be greater than netbook sales, just because people prefer macbook airs.

[BlaqBella]

if and only if" v. "if but only if"...is there a difference? My instructor said there is with "if and only if" introducing just the necessary while "if but only if" introduces both the necessary and sufficient. Other prep companies state there is no such difference. What is the right approach??????

[natashka85]

if and only if" v. "if but only if"...is there a difference? My instructor said there is with "if and only if" introducing just the necessary while "if but only if" introduces both the necessary and sufficient. Other prep companies state there is no such difference. What is the right approach??????

I have been studying for the LSAT for a long time and I read every freaking book I do know that there is no difference ,I dont know what your instructor said but he is wrong.

[LSAT Hacks (Graeme)]

if and only if" v. "if but only if"...is there a difference? My instructor said there is with "if and only if" introducing just the necessary while "if but only if" introduces both the necessary and sufficient. Other prep companies state there is no such difference. What is the right approach??????

I have been studying for the LSAT for a long time and I read every freaking book I do know that there is no difference ,I dont know what your instructor said but he is wrong.

This is correct. 'And' and 'but' are effectively the same. 'But' introduces contrast, but in terms of creating a condition, it has the same effect.

Both forms create a necessary and a sufficient relationship. If I say 'You are good at the LSAT if and only if you understand this relationship.', then I get both of these forms:

• G --> U
  U --> G

It's the exact same effect if I say 'if but only if'. It just adds emphasis.

[LSAT Hacks (Graeme)]

Hi,I looked trough your method,pretty close to mine,anyway i am scoring in 167,168,169 today,i am missing in LR section 4 questions in each section,which is serious for me,i need to get rid of those,can u give me advice what i should do,i basically miss careless questions just because i didn`t take another 10 seconds to go back to the stimulus and recheck my answer ,RC and Games i am ok,miss 0 in games,but 4-2 in Rc,however i hope i can make it 0 when the test approaches.

How is your timing on LR sections?

If you've got time to spare, I can suggest three things:

1. Go back and check the stimulus when you're uncertain. I do this routinely when I'm unsure, it helps.
2. Circle any questions you're unsure about. Check them when you finish the section. The time away from them will help you get a different perspective on them.
3. If you read a stimulus and you're not clear on what it means. Rereading is a lot faster than reading, and it doesn't take as long as you think to go through a stimulus twice. The added clarity will speed you through the answers.

[LSAT Hacks (Graeme)]

Can you explain PrepTest 38, Section 1, question 10? I am not sure what type of question it is and why the credited response is correct and the other four are wrong. I narrowed it to A or B. but can't say why either would be wrong.

Here's what I wrote about that in my book, Hacking the LSAT:

-------------------------------------------


QUESTION TYPE: Weaken

CONCLUSION: Bernard says that Cora is wrong when she says the original keyboard was designed to slow us down.

REASONING: The technological limitations Cora mentions have disappeared, yet we are still using the same keyboard.

ANALYSIS: We need to strengthen the idea that the original keyboard was designed to slow people down. So we must explain why nobody has switched to a more efficient keyboard.

The right answer tells us that people want to keep buying the keyboards on which they were trained.
___________

A. CORRECT. If people learn on the original keyboard then they’ll want new machines with the same layout. It doesn’t matter if another keyboard is theoretically faster: it’s hard to switch.
B. This doesn’t explain why word-processors kept the same keyboard.
C. This might lead us to believe that it’s worthwhile to keep the standard keyboard. But some other keyboard might be even faster, so this doesn’t help Cora.
D. This means that people would have to stop typing while they learned the new layout. But it doesn’t tell us if that is particularly hard to do or how long it takes. So this doesn’t explain why we still have the old keyboard.
E. Then why haven’t we switched? This explains nothing.

http://www.amazon.com/Hacking-LSAT-Expl ... 988127911/

-------------------------------

I would add that it's an unusual type of weaken question.

[BlaqBella]

if and only if" v. "if but only if"...is there a difference? My instructor said there is with "if and only if" introducing just the necessary while "if but only if" introduces both the necessary and sufficient. Other prep companies state there is no such difference. What is the right approach??????

I have been studying for the LSAT for a long time and I read every freaking book I do know that there is no difference ,I dont know what your instructor said but he is wrong.

This is correct. 'And' and 'but' are effectively the same. 'But' introduces contrast, but in terms of creating a condition, it has the same effect.

Both forms create a necessary and a sufficient relationship. If I say 'You are good at the LSAT if and only if you understand this relationship.', then I get both of these forms:

• G --> U
  U --> G

It's the exact same effect if I say 'if but only if'. It just adds emphasis.

Thanks to you both, graeme and natashka.

[LSAT Hacks (Graeme)]

Hi there,

My question is related to peaking. I've gotten about 170 on every full-length test I've taken so far(about 6). I feel like I may be stuck here and I'm starting to worry. I want to move up a few more points to give me some breathing room and the chance for better scholarships. Any ideas on how to prevent stagnation in your scores or how to break out of it? Currently, I'm strong on LG, Okay on LR(but want to improve), and weakest on RC. In case it matters, I've just begun the recent Preptests (52 and forward) this week. Generally, I've used the Pithypike guide as a reference for my studies.

Takes lots of timed section + full tests AND review extensively. The latter is the most important part. You need to figure out WHY you're making mistakes.

There are no "stupid" mistakes on the LSAT. They're all traps built into the test.

Figure out what is going wrong. Make a name for your errors. Then watch out for them.

A few tools:

Blind Review should help you analyze your mistakes: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPhj7pUiVS8
You might find my RC guides on Reddit useful + the memory method post on 7Sage: http://www.reddit.com/r/LSAT/comments/1 ... on_guides/

[BlaqBella]

Parallel flaw v. Parallel reasoning

Many advise that in parallel reasoning we can play a matching game, where we match how a conclusion or premise(s) are worded (ie if the stimulus' conclusion uses a qualifier/quantifier, we should look for a similar qualifier/quantifier in the conclusion in an answer choice).

Does matching also apply to parallel flaws? Or is the sole task to match the flawed reasoning(s)?

Thank you in advance.