The Official October 2015 Study Group Forum

GauchoMarx · Post by **GauchoMarx** » Sat Jul 11, 2015 11:35 pm

Checcckkkkiinnnnggggg in.

My second take. Got a 172 last fall and would love gaining even a couple points this October. Started studying this past week and discovered that I was realllllly rusty on games. Any other re-takers out there that have a particular strategy for studying this time around?

The Abyss · Post by **The Abyss** » Sat Jul 11, 2015 11:40 pm

ltowns1 wrote:
cub1014 wrote:
ltowns1 wrote:
RZ5646 wrote:
ltowns1 wrote:Hey guys I'm curious, for anyone that's really good in LR, when you eliminate wrong answers do you focus on the conclusion on the first round of eliminations, and then go back to argument core to find the better of the last few remaining answers? I feel like I'm having this inner battle of whether its better to eliminate all 5 answers with the entire argument core, or just eliminate focusing on the conclusion to eliminate the first two or three answers, and then going back to focus on evidence and conclusion for the last two or three answers?
Can you give an example of where you would use this method?
It's not really focused on any specific question type. Just a general elimination approach for assumption family questions. The questions that just tend to be plain hard, or those questions where you can't get a solid hold on the gap that's being exploited..but you can, of course, identify the conclusion
I'm going through the Manhattan Assumptions Family chapters right now so it's fresh in my head. Based on that and on my previous LSAT experiences, I suggest having the entire argument core rather than just the conclusion in mind. Remember that for these types of questions generally the flaw or the assumption is the gap between the premises and the conclusion, right in the middle of the argument core. For time's sake I think you're better off drilling into your mind how to work with that more fuller picture.
I should have re-worded my question, but you guys don't find that you can eliminate answers based mostly on the conclusion simply because they don't seem to relate to the conclusion( not SOLELY, but focusing mainly on the conclusion)

2. I was discussing this point just a moment ago with R5646. Cub1014, (go Cubs!!!! Lol) on page 171 fhere is a great example of what I'm referring to. Am I interpreting that wrong???? I could be...

Cubs fans are cool, but I hate the Sox and that asshole Hawk.

SirArthurDayne · Post by **SirArthurDayne** » Sun Jul 12, 2015 12:32 am

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mornincounselor · Post by **mornincounselor** » Sun Jul 12, 2015 1:18 am

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GnosisExchange · Post by **GnosisExchange** » Sun Jul 12, 2015 1:24 am

GauchoMarx wrote:Checcckkkkiinnnnggggg in.

My second take. Got a 172 last fall and would love gaining even a couple points this October. Started studying this past week and discovered that I was realllllly rusty on games. Any other re-takers out there that have a particular strategy for studying this time around?

If it makes you feel better, I took the test only two weeks ago (June 28--Asia test) and I'm already rusty.

ltowns1 · Post by **ltowns1** » Sun Jul 12, 2015 1:31 am

mornincounselor wrote:Lots of questions involve a gap between the premises and the conclusion. If you feel more conformable first eliminating choices that don't relate at all to our conclusion, thats okay, but it is not the most efficient method. For some questions that method will be all that's required to eliminate our four incorrect choices. The better method though is to either fill the gap (like in sufficient assumption questions) or to highlight that gap (like in flaw questions). How's your timing?

and you know on those specific questions, I don't really have a problem doing just that. It's stregthening/weakening and to some extent necessary assumption questions where that becomes a problem. I'm doing pretty well on timing in terms of necessary/flawed/sufficient questions. Flawed, and sufficient problems are not really that bad in terms of me finding the gap in the argument.

Zel · Post by **Zel** » Sun Jul 12, 2015 12:02 pm

Checking in! It's going to be my first time writing the LSAT (aaaah). I started studying in June, with a cold timed diag of 160 (Blind Review 172). I'm hoping for 170 (+/- 2) in Oct.

Not sure how realistic this is, but I got -11 on games on my diagnostic and did decently in the other sections. I'm just mad drilling LG + LR right now, so hopefully I can see some large gains! If not there's always December...

I work full time + am taking summer classes but all my free time is LSAT. Hopefully I can pull out a decent score in the end!

Wishing everyone else the best of luck w/ studying

ltowns1 · Post by **ltowns1** » Sun Jul 12, 2015 12:11 pm

Zel wrote:Checking in! It's going to be my first time writing the LSAT (aaaah). I started studying in June, with a cold timed diag of 160 (Blind Review 172). I'm hoping for 170 (+/- 2) in Oct.

Not sure how realistic this is, but I got -11 on games on my diagnostic and did decently in the other sections. I'm just mad drilling LG + LR right now, so hopefully I can see some large gains! If not there's always December...

I work full time + am taking summer classes but all my free time is LSAT. Hopefully I can pull out a decent score in the end!

Wishing everyone else the best of luck w/ studying

You can...you'll be ok.just keep drilling games...A LOT. Also make sure that your skills in the other sections don't suffer, so keep practicing/reviewing those as well

RZ5646 · Post by **RZ5646** » Sun Jul 12, 2015 1:49 pm

My game times vary from 4:00 to 20:00. Sigh.

For those familiar with the 7sage course, does JY Ping ever show what his actual LG papers look like? I'm curious about how much he rewrites for each question and how his paper process differs from the electronic whiteboard work in the explanation videos.

mornincounselor · Post by **mornincounselor** » Sun Jul 12, 2015 2:37 pm

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Op_Diom · Post by **Op_Diom** » Sun Jul 12, 2015 3:30 pm

So after not thinking about the LSAT for about a month now, I just started prepping again a couple days ago. I reviewed all of my mistakes thoroughly, reviewed the Manhattan LR, and LGB, along with some extensive drilling which I admittedly did not do enough of for June and thereafter I felt a new sense of clarity. Since I had a couple of the Powerscore deconstructed LSAT tests available, I decided to take one of these practice test (PT 62, I only had a few in the 60 range PTs) and this allowed me to thoroughly review explanations for wrong/difficult questions. Well, ultimately I ended up with the highest score I have ever received on a PT, which was a 177. A few months ago my average varied from 168-172 for PTs, so evidently burnout is real because looking back it seems as though I definitely had some sort of tunnel vision or dulled logical intuitions around test time as a result of continually being absorbed in the material. Has anyone else experienced this in regard to huge jumps in test scores after a long hiatus/breaks in studying? Maybe that is a catalyst for internalization of the test methods? I don't know but it was certainly a momentum booster today. Just thought I would share.

Zel · Post by **Zel** » Sun Jul 12, 2015 4:22 pm

ltowns1 wrote:
Zel wrote:Checking in! It's going to be my first time writing the LSAT (aaaah). I started studying in June, with a cold timed diag of 160 (Blind Review 172). I'm hoping for 170 (+/- 2) in Oct.

Not sure how realistic this is, but I got -11 on games on my diagnostic and did decently in the other sections. I'm just mad drilling LG + LR right now, so hopefully I can see some large gains! If not there's always December...

I work full time + am taking summer classes but all my free time is LSAT. Hopefully I can pull out a decent score in the end!

Wishing everyone else the best of luck w/ studying
You can...you'll be ok.just keep drilling games...A LOT. Also make sure that your skills in the other sections don't suffer, so keep practicing/reviewing those as well

Thanks

Yeah going the pretty standard route of ~4 fresh games, 4 repeats, and 30 LRs/day until I've drilled all q's from PTs 1-38. Haven't been able to fit in too much RC practice though. Will try and kick that into gear — your post is a good reminder that I should be giving all sections some love.

RZ5646 · Post by **RZ5646** » Sun Jul 12, 2015 5:29 pm

I'm really disappointed that even with unlimited time I still always miss one or two questions per PT.

By the way, I found a weaken question that doesn't use the word "most" in the stem, so we can add that to the "can multiple ACs weaken/strengthen" debate. 6.2.19.

pittsburghpirates · Post by **pittsburghpirates** » Sun Jul 12, 2015 10:23 pm

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lollsat · Post by **lollsat** » Sun Jul 12, 2015 10:27 pm

Anyone ever watch an lsat pro actually take the test in real time?

I saw a tutor take a timed LR section on youtube and found it surprisingly helpful watching him go through the processes.

ltowns1 · Post by **ltowns1** » Sun Jul 12, 2015 10:34 pm

lollsat wrote:Anyone ever watch an lsat pro actually take the test in real time? I saw a tutor take a timed LR section on youtube and found it surprisingly helpful watching him go through the processes.

Is there a link, is it still up??? I would love to see that!

RZ5646 · Post by **RZ5646** » Sun Jul 12, 2015 11:30 pm

pittsburghpirates wrote:I'm starting to hit a wall in my PTing a little bit. Most of my study time recently has been spent simply doing PTs. Is this lull in scores something lots of people have seen? Would I be better served taking down my number of PTs/week and starting to do more drilling with Cambridge packets? Any advice at all would be much appreciated, but I'm definitely a little bummed out after the couple PTs I took this weekend...

Like someone said earlier in this thread, burnout is a real problem. I think we lose sight of the fact that the LSAT is very difficult. Intensely focusing on questions like that for hours is hard work and very stressful, and fatigue can set in quickly. (And then you incorrectly infer from your low scores that you need to study harder, and it's a downward spiral.)

ETA:

What's the best LSAT timer app for Android? I want something that I can use in a library without disturbing anyone, so I'd prefer that it only used vibration or visual feedback.

ETA:

Looks like the one called simply "LSAT Timer" has this functionality.

SirArthurDayne · Post by **SirArthurDayne** » Sun Jul 12, 2015 11:48 pm

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lollsat · Post by **lollsat** » Mon Jul 13, 2015 1:26 am

ltowns1 wrote:
lollsat wrote:Anyone ever watch an lsat pro actually take the test in real time? I saw a tutor take a timed LR section on youtube and found it surprisingly helpful watching him go through the processes.
Is there a link, is it still up??? I would love to see that!

Sorry to leave you guys hangin', took me awhile to find here you go enjoy:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HQaBWziYvY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4vY0KpviJw

MrBalloons · Post by **MrBalloons** » Mon Jul 13, 2015 10:49 am

Op_Diom wrote:So after not thinking about the LSAT for about a month now, I just started prepping again a couple days ago. I reviewed all of my mistakes thoroughly, reviewed the Manhattan LR, and LGB, along with some extensive drilling which I admittedly did not do enough of for June and thereafter I felt a new sense of clarity. Since I had a couple of the Powerscore deconstructed LSAT tests available, I decided to take one of these practice test (PT 62, I only had a few in the 60 range PTs) and this allowed me to thoroughly review explanations for wrong/difficult questions. Well, ultimately I ended up with the highest score I have ever received on a PT, which was a 177. A few months ago my average varied from 168-172 for PTs, so evidently burnout is real because looking back it seems as though I definitely had some sort of tunnel vision or dulled logical intuitions around test time as a result of continually being absorbed in the material. Has anyone else experienced this in regard to huge jumps in test scores after a long hiatus/breaks in studying? Maybe that is a catalyst for internalization of the test methods? I don't know but it was certainly a momentum booster today. Just thought I would share.

I'm in a similar situation (identical PT range, took the June test after not enough drilling) and took my first post-June PT yesterday. Haven't scored it yet, because I haven't gone back through it, but it certainly felt like a 172+.

Interesting.

MrBalloons · Post by **MrBalloons** » Mon Jul 13, 2015 10:53 am

pittsburghpirates wrote:I'm starting to hit a wall in my PTing a little bit. Most of my study time recently has been spent simply doing PTs. Is this lull in scores something lots of people have seen? Would I be better served taking down my number of PTs/week and starting to do more drilling with Cambridge packets? Any advice at all would be much appreciated, but I'm definitely a little bummed out after the couple PTs I took this weekend...

It could be burnout, but it could also be something you're messing up in the fundamentals. Are you consistently missing the same types of questions (roughly the same number within each section)? Or is it mostly random? Because I think the latter would more directly suggest burnout.

Op_Diom · Post by **Op_Diom** » Mon Jul 13, 2015 11:39 am

pittsburghpirates wrote:I'm starting to hit a wall in my PTing a little bit. Most of my study time recently has been spent simply doing PTs. Is this lull in scores something lots of people have seen? Would I be better served taking down my number of PTs/week and starting to do more drilling with Cambridge packets? Any advice at all would be much appreciated, but I'm definitely a little bummed out after the couple PTs I took this weekend...

Yeah if you took a couple this weekend, then it's safe to say you are taking too many. Take two or three at most a week. Review difficult or hard questions, and constantly review the chapters dealing with your weaknesses in the guide books. I have spent more time just sitting around thinking about my wrong/difficult questions, and taking a more relaxed approach. It has really helped, so that's would I would suggest.

ugg · Post by **ugg** » Mon Jul 13, 2015 11:39 am

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RZ5646 · Post by **RZ5646** » Mon Jul 13, 2015 1:17 pm

theugg wrote:Eugh. This is thread is so on topic.

pittsburghpirates · Post by **pittsburghpirates** » Mon Jul 13, 2015 1:35 pm

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