Blueprint LSAT Prep's ongoing ask-an-instructor extravaganza Forum

[bp shinners]

1) Does "many" count as "some?" or is it "most?"

"Some". Many people live in China, but not over half the world's popularion.

2) PT 45, LR Section 1, #19 (environmental policies): Kind of lost me here on why A is the answer. I picked B but looking back I know it's wrong because the resources are talking about social programs.

So the columnist argues that the bigger forest/less acid rain lends proof to excessive restrictions possibly diminishing a country's wealth. Well, there really isn't any proof connecting those two ideas - excessive restrictions leading to less money. So in my answers, I need to connect them.

(A) connects them by saying that wealth is largely derived from the sale of natural resources. If that's the case, then excessive restrictions that prevent the sale (which is one way to use the resources) might threaten the wealth.

(B) is all over the place - social policies, increased levels of technology, etc... While a + question can bring in outside information, that outside information has to have an impact on the conclusion. This one doesn't.

3) PT 45, section 4, #20 (9 year olds and cigarettes): So my thought looking into the answer choices was that the flaw dealt with unrepresentative sample. I was between A and D, but I ended up picking D because I thought that the answer choice only dealt with men, and not everyone.

[/quote]

Well, you do have an unrepresentative sample, but the problem is more specific than that - you're not looking at a group during the proper time frame. Nine-year-olds aren't representative, but not because they're not people - it's because they can't buy cigarettes until they're older. I'm looking for an answer choice that deals with that temporal element.

There's also a bigger problem with (D) (other than the fact that the sampling fallacy is different) - it also includes a huge equivocation. My premises are about life span; my conclusion is about good health. Those aren't the same thing - I could live a healthy 50 years; I could live to be 90, coughing and wheezing my way through the second half of my life. When a Parallel Flaw answer has a flaw that doesn't show up in the stimulus, I have an incorrect answer.

[Hotguy]

For the newer games, what is more efficient, to diagram on the first or second page?
Edit: talking about main diagrams.

[bp shinners]

Hey bp,
Is there a solid reason why 63.3.11 has B as a necc assumption? It seemed that "exclusively" in B makes prevents it from being a necessary assumption and the argument doesn't break even if B negated.

Yep - it's the "likely" in the conclusion, coupled with a complete lack of talking about how many people on the web come across both quackery and actual medical advice.

I know that people often can't tell between quackery and real advice. I also know that people like the quackery better because it's written more clearly. From this, I conclude they're going to do more harm than good.

The assumption here is that they'll believe the quackery and harm themselves because of it. (B) impacts that. And it's necessary because that "unless" really says "if not". So that answer choice reads, "If you don't rely exclusively on scientifically valid information, then you're likely to hurt yourself." While "exclusively" is strong, when you negate it, it actually becomes quite weak.

Question 63.1.15 uses 'if x then y unless z' in choice B. It so happens that this construct has the same meaning whether you align 'unless y' with only 'y' or with 'if x then y'. Isn't then choice B just as good as choice C in justifying the argument?

First off, this isn't a necessary assumption question, so that might explain it right there.

And it's not just as good because I don't know that the physician was owed an apology. Hagerle apologized to the physician sincerely, but that doesn't mean that the physician was owed an apology. So since (B) doesn't tell me if the apology was owed, I can't pick it to justify a conclusion that the counselor is owed an apology.

This same 'if x then y unless z' construct is also used in 62.sec4.18; how to parse it?

I usually treat those as a second sufficient condition - in your example: "If Sentient Beings and Not As Intelligent As Us --> No ET Experience"

[bp shinners]

For the newer games, what is more efficient, to diagram on the first or second page?
Edit: talking about main diagrams.

Varies from person to person. I try to do my setup on the right-hand side of the left-hand page, so it's right in the middle. Then I do my question hypos on the right-hand page.

[OVOXO]

Do you see a set of recurring habits your highest scoring students adopt the last 2 weeks of the test. This includes non-study habits (exercise, relaxation, strategies to avoid burnout etc)?

Thanks! I’m scoring right in the range I want (92-95 raw score) and want to make sure I’m heading into these last two weeks with the highest chance of replicating this on the 7th.

[flash21]

shinners not so much LSAT advice, but was wondering if you wouldn't mind sharing a student that you've had in the pasts story about stating with a low score and eventually achieving a good score . sometime I think reading this type of thing is almost as helpful as getting actual advcie on the test itself

[muzzy]

.

[Hotguy]

For the newer games, what is more efficient, to diagram on the first or second page?
Edit: talking about main diagrams.

Varies from person to person. I try to do my setup on the right-hand side of the left-hand page, so it's right in the middle. Then I do my question hypos on the right-hand page.

Thanks Matt. That sounds like a great idea.

[lawschoolplease1]

Hi BP,

I have a question on RC strategy.
I tend to get a lot of detail questions wrong. questions like...

XXX is based on which of the following?
passage mentions all except ...?
which of the following is supported by the passage?

how should i fix my strategy? right now- i read for structure and always ask myself what the point of each paragraph is. At the end, I remind myself in my head how it all fits together. While this strategy works for main point questions and general opinion questions, it's messing me up when it comes to details...

any suggestions?

[bp shinners]

Do you see a set of recurring habits your highest scoring students adopt the last 2 weeks of the test. This includes non-study habits (exercise, relaxation, strategies to avoid burnout etc)?

Thanks! I’m scoring right in the range I want (92-95 raw score) and want to make sure I’m heading into these last two weeks with the highest chance of replicating this on the 7th.

They exercise, regulate their sleep schedules, avoid stimulants (unless they're prescribed them/have had the habit for years), and stop studying a ton for the last 3-4 days.

[bp shinners]

shinners not so much LSAT advice, but was wondering if you wouldn't mind sharing a student that you've had in the pasts story about stating with a low score and eventually achieving a good score . sometime I think reading this type of thing is almost as helpful as getting actual advcie on the test itself

A student in my first class started out somewhere in the 140s. He was an overachieving sophomore who really wanted to go to a top school. This being my first class, I didn't want to stomp on his dreams and tell him that a 30-point score jump was exceptionally unlikely. So, instead, I gave him a huge reading list (magazines, books, etc...). I also checked his homework to make sure he was doing it all. And he bought some extra books so that he could compare methods and get extra explanations.

After 3 months of this, he was in the 170 range.

Hard work absolutely pays off.

[bp shinners]

If it's any help, my last PTs have been, in reverse order since I started studying again, 177, 177, 175, 172, 178, 177, 176.

Step 1: Stop worrying! You're in good shape.

Just to summarize:

1. More recent PTs seen in full worth more than slightly older PTs that I've seen (but never in full)?
2. Volume of PTs in the next two weeks?

Don't worry about drilling - you're in the range where you don't need it. Focus on full PTs. Take the older ones you've never seen in full as complete tests. Review the newer tests (and retake them as sections).

Try to hit one every other day, with the 7th day off.

[bp shinners]

how should i fix my strategy? right now- i read for structure and always ask myself what the point of each paragraph is. At the end, I remind myself in my head how it all fits together. While this strategy works for main point questions and general opinion questions, it's messing me up when it comes to details...

any suggestions?

2 suggestions.

1) Use what you know of the viewpoints to help rule out some of the answers. If they question is asking for a specific mentioned by the author to prove their point, you can almost always eliminate the answers that wouldn't help prove their point.

2) Use your tags to find the area the question is referencing. When they're asking a question like that (especially the EXCEPT ones), it should come from a pretty contained area of the passage, where a list of traits/characteristics is brought up. You should have a tag on it (or the list written out, since they're so often asked about) so you can quickly find it.

[dreamofNYC]

Hi BP, in RC, I often get these questions wrong: "the passage mentions or suggests all of the following EXCEPT". I feel like for 2 of the answer choices I need to re-read the passage again carefully. What's a good way to approach these questions? And what's the best strategy when I'm down to two answer choices that both may sound right? I have a feeling that these questions are similar to MBF questions, whereby the correct answer choice directly conflicts with info from the passage. Thank you.

[bp shinners]

Hi BP, in RC, I often get these questions wrong: "the passage mentions or suggests all of the following EXCEPT". I feel like for 2 of the answer choices I need to re-read the passage again carefully. What's a good way to approach these questions? And what's the best strategy when I'm down to two answer choices that both may sound right? I have a feeling that these questions are similar to MBF questions, whereby the correct answer choice directly conflicts with info from the passage. Thank you.

Those questions are tough, and they really require you to understand both what the LSAT is likely to ask AND the structure of each passage.

When the passage asks that, it's usually related to either a list of characteristics located in a single place, or a list scattered throughout the passage. The former is something you should just tag - "List of Kahlo's imagery" - and then go back to for that question. The latter is what we call a classification structure - the passage splits something up into categories, and it then lists features of each category. Sometimes, though, the lists are spread throughout the passage. If you see this structure developing, it's important to actually write out the list. It will take a bit of time, but it will also make these questions trivial, and they can be some of the more time-consuming passages. Writing out this list will also make it a lot easier to see the structure of the passage overall.

[bp shinners]

I'm here until 8!

[dreamofNYC]

I did PT 42 yesterday and PT 40 today. I am hopeful b/c I made some progress with timing on all sections, and managed to at least eliminate some stupid mistakes (in LR checking conclusion and paying full attention to each answer choice really helped; in LG I move more fluidly through questions even if I feel like I don't get the entire game right away; and in RC I get an easier grasp of the structure/main point, etc of paragraphs, which helps w/timing).

But here is what I need help with:

I have a hard time getting started with the sections at 9am right after I wake up. The 2nd section flows much better than the first for example. I miss ~5 LR questions on the first section, while on the 2nd LR questions I miss 1. The day of the exam I should probably just get to the test center earlier and run through a LR or RC section (or less) just to warm up.

Also yesterday I scored -1 on the LG section of PT 42, while today on PT 40 I ran into a game that I absolutely didn't know how to approach (while with the rest I was comfortable...). PT40.Game3. "Each nonstop flight offered by Zephyr Airlines departs from one and arrives at another of five cities...". It's a groping game with elements being groups of each other. Never seen anything like it and had no idea how to set it up, and therefore lost 6 points. While yesterday I didn't have a problem with the games. So I don't want this to happen on test day.

Look forward to your predictions for Dec 2013 test.

Thanks for all your help.

[dreamofNYC]

Hi BP, in RC, I often get these questions wrong: "the passage mentions or suggests all of the following EXCEPT". I feel like for 2 of the answer choices I need to re-read the passage again carefully. What's a good way to approach these questions? And what's the best strategy when I'm down to two answer choices that both may sound right? I have a feeling that these questions are similar to MBF questions, whereby the correct answer choice directly conflicts with info from the passage. Thank you.

Those questions are tough, and they really require you to understand both what the LSAT is likely to ask AND the structure of each passage.

When the passage asks that, it's usually related to either a list of characteristics located in a single place, or a list scattered throughout the passage. The former is something you should just tag - "List of Kahlo's imagery" - and then go back to for that question. The latter is what we call a classification structure - the passage splits something up into categories, and it then lists features of each category. Sometimes, though, the lists are spread throughout the passage. If you see this structure developing, it's important to actually write out the list. It will take a bit of time, but it will also make these questions trivial, and they can be some of the more time-consuming passages. Writing out this list will also make it a lot easier to see the structure of the passage overall.

The lists that are spread throughout the passage are the ones I had trouble with. It's comforting to know that there is some order to them. I'll pay attention to the overall structure next time. Thanks!

[bp shinners]

I have a hard time getting started with the sections at 9am right after I wake up. The 2nd section flows much better than the first for example. I miss ~5 LR questions on the first section, while on the 2nd LR questions I miss 1. The day of the exam I should probably just get to the test center earlier and run through a LR or RC section (or less) just to warm up.

Yep, that's a logistical problem. Sounds like you have a good solution.

Also yesterday I scored -1 on the LG section of PT 42, while today on PT 40 I ran into a game that I absolutely didn't know how to approach (while with the rest I was comfortable...). PT40.Game3. "Each nonstop flight offered by Zephyr Airlines departs from one and arrives at another of five cities...". It's a groping game with elements being groups of each other. Never seen anything like it and had no idea how to set it up, and therefore lost 6 points. While yesterday I didn't have a problem with the games. So I don't want this to happen on test day.

I would not classify that as a grouping game. We call it a Mapping game - it's best to just draw out each destination and connect them with lines, as if you had a map and were trying to plan out Zephyr airlines routes. Trying to group it up will create...issues.

Good news - I wouldn't expect to see one on the December test. There are like 4 mapping games in the history of the LSAT, and that one (from 30 PTs ago) is the most recent.

[dreamofNYC]

I have a hard time getting started with the sections at 9am right after I wake up. The 2nd section flows much better than the first for example. I miss ~5 LR questions on the first section, while on the 2nd LR questions I miss 1. The day of the exam I should probably just get to the test center earlier and run through a LR or RC section (or less) just to warm up.

Yep, that's a logistical problem. Sounds like you have a good solution.

Also yesterday I scored -1 on the LG section of PT 42, while today on PT 40 I ran into a game that I absolutely didn't know how to approach (while with the rest I was comfortable...). PT40.Game3. "Each nonstop flight offered by Zephyr Airlines departs from one and arrives at another of five cities...". It's a groping game with elements being groups of each other. Never seen anything like it and had no idea how to set it up, and therefore lost 6 points. While yesterday I didn't have a problem with the games. So I don't want this to happen on test day.

I would not classify that as a grouping game. We call it a Mapping game - it's best to just draw out each destination and connect them with lines, as if you had a map and were trying to plan out Zephyr airlines routes. Trying to group it up will create...issues.

Good news - I wouldn't expect to see one on the December test. There are like 4 mapping games in the history of the LSAT, and that one (from 30 PTs ago) is the most recent.

Thank you. At this point I feel like I have the knowledge I need for the test next Sat; I feel a bit burned out though, so I will try to relax as much as I can before test day.

Look fwd to reading your predictions - sometime next week hopefully!

[Baby_Got_Feuerbach]

BP, I'll be blunt: I suck at inference questions (both RC and LR) along with necessary assumption. Anything better to do than drill baby drill?

[bp shinners]

Look fwd to reading your predictions - sometime next week hopefully!

Wednesday!

[bp shinners]

BP, I'll be blunt: I suck at inference questions (both RC and LR) along with necessary assumption. Anything better to do than drill baby drill?

INFERENCE QUESTIONS
LR
-Focus on conditional, causal, and comparative statements. They will give you 90% of the answers.
-Unless there is conditional (or other very strong) language, go for a weaker answer choice.

RC
-Know from whose viewpoint the question is being asked.
-Pick a weaker answer choice.
-If it's not asking for something specific in the passage ("The passage states..."; "As evidence, the author cites..."; etc...), you should be able to answer the question based on the viewpoint and general tags for each paragraph. If you can't, you missed something important.

NECESSARY ASSUMPTION
-Find the flaw. Seriously.
-If it's causal, find the answer that rules out an alternative cause. This works for almost all of them.
-If there's a new term in the conclusion (i.e. it's an equivocation fallacy), then that new term will almost certainly show up in the answer choice, so start with those answers.
-Negate the answer choice - if it kills the argument, you have your answers.
--Negation rules:
---Some <--> None
---All <--> Some don't
---Most <--> Most don't
---If it's conditional, then cross out the arrow - "If someone is blond, it's not necessarily true that they're dumb."
---Otherwise, negate the verb.

[angels2fly]

40.3.24

Call me crazy but i chose B. The last sentence of the stimulus says that there were serious social problems at the time but that they resulted from the dry spell (the environmental factor we are supposed to strengthen is the cause of the societal collapse). If B is true and the social problems were serious to cause the collapse, then doesn't this strengthen that the collapse was caused by environmental problems? Because these problems were, in the end, the result of the drought?

[bp shinners]

40.3.24

Call me crazy but i chose B. The last sentence of the stimulus says that there were serious social problems at the time but that they resulted from the dry spell (the environmental factor we are supposed to strengthen is the cause of the societal collapse). If B is true and the social problems were serious to cause the collapse, then doesn't this strengthen that the collapse was caused by environmental problems? Because these problems were, in the end, the result of the drought?

This one's a little tricky because the conclusion throws a curveball at you - it's not just that environmental catastrophe caused the collapse, but also that societal upheaval did NOT cause the collapse.

So you're right in your assessment - social problems were caused by environmental problems, and (B) says that could have led to the collapse. However, by allowing social problems to be a part of the causation, it weakens the conclusion because the conclusion specifically states that this social upheaval was NOT part of the cause.