JUNE 2013 Study Group / Study Partner Thread Forum

[ready4180]

Perhaps a totally dumb question, but on PT-S3-Q1: I know E is correct, but shouldn't Mary be included in the list with John or Theresa? I guess it doesn't matter because those 2 still make the answer true, but I was thrown because it was incomplete.

PT#

Oops...that was dumb. It's PT21, thanks!

[RhymesLikeDimes]

Sup guys, I just spent an exorbitant amount of time on the logical opposition part of the LG bible, the part where you go over must be true/except, etc. how beneficial is that going to be, if at all? Does it become the norm to auto think that when reading questions?

I totally blew that off. Seems like more trouble than it's worth, and I've never had any mistake come from misreading a question. The only time I use it is on EXCEPT questions, just because the wording can be a little tricky otherwise.

[Theopliske8711]

Perhaps a totally dumb question, but on PT-S3-Q1: I know E is correct, but shouldn't Mary be included in the list with John or Theresa? I guess it doesn't matter because those 2 still make the answer true, but I was thrown because it was incomplete.

PT#

Oops...that was dumb. It's PT21, thanks!

Yea, they are doing it on purpose since they know that the fact that there are two will trip you up. Don't bother with it, since none of them are experienced, anyone of them is not experienced.

[ready4180]

Perhaps a totally dumb question, but on PT-S3-Q1: I know E is correct, but shouldn't Mary be included in the list with John or Theresa? I guess it doesn't matter because those 2 still make the answer true, but I was thrown because it was incomplete.

PT#

Oops...that was dumb. It's PT21, thanks!

Yea, they are doing it on purpose since they know that the fact that there are two will trip you up. Don't bother with it, since none of them are not experienced, anyone of them is not experienced.

That's what I thought! Thanks for the help

[A → B ⊨ ¬B → ¬A]

Sup guys, I just spent an exorbitant amount of time on the logical opposition part of the LG bible, the part where you go over must be true/except, etc. how beneficial is that going to be, if at all? Does it become the norm to auto think that when reading questions?

I totally blew that off. Seems like more trouble than it's worth, and I've never had any mistake come from misreading a question. The only time I use it is on EXCEPT questions, just because the wording can be a little tricky otherwise.

I just drew out a square of opposition. Their method is hard to visualize and a waste of time. I thought the whole book was going to be that stupid, but it's good after that part and moves faster. I don't like converting false into true either because it's an additional thing that you have to hold in your head instead of just looking at the question. I feel more like I'm playing tetris and looking for violations anyway.

[A → B ⊨ ¬B → ¬A]

We have 1k posts. Should we be proud?

ETA: Here's a square of opposition:

[warandpeace]

We have 1k posts. Should we be proud?

ETA: Here's a square of opposition:

Now that I've learned the other way, this is really diff to look at. I'll try this out later tho. Thanks!

Yes. But we're only truly successful if we hit 180,000 by the end of this

[okaygo]

Anyone else balancing LSAT studying with a full class schedule, part time work (10 hr/week), and on campus student involvement?! I feel like I'm the only person who can't devote 24/7 to my studies for this specific exam.

I work full time, if that counts. I can't imagine I would be able to devote any more time than I do, without causing burnout, even if I didn't work full time.

Yeah yesterday I was worrying about burnout, because I think I was worrying about not having enough time to review. But my study method is quite different from most of TLS. I'm finishing up on LR with January, then focusing on LG in February and then doing timed PTs from March through June. I'm really only worried about making sure I stay on top of LR while studying LG, but 80 for those bundles seem just a little pricey for my life.

[A → B ⊨ ¬B → ¬A]

Yeah yesterday I was worrying about burnout, because I think I was worrying about not having enough time to review. But my study method is quite different from most of TLS. I'm finishing up on LR with January, then focusing on LG in February and then doing timed PTs from March through June. I'm really only worried about making sure I stay on top of LR while studying LG, but 80 for those bundles seem just a little pricey for my life.

You can make your own bundles if you have all the PTs.

[warandpeace]

Yeah yesterday I was worrying about burnout, because I think I was worrying about not having enough time to review. But my study method is quite different from most of TLS. I'm finishing up on LR with January, then focusing on LG in February and then doing timed PTs from March through June. I'm really only worried about making sure I stay on top of LR while studying LG, but 80 for those bundles seem just a little pricey for my life.

Why not just make photocopies of the LRs that give you the most trouble (from the PTs)? You can organize them yourself by type. There's a master list somewhere on TLS.

[Luke81]

Hey everyone, while you work through your Bible (of choice...I'm using MLSAT, not PS), how detailed are your notes? At this point I'm wondering if my notes are too detailed and if I should be going through the books a bit faster. I suppose part of this is just personal preference, but do you find that notes are things you refer back to throughout your prep, or is it more important to just get to taking full sections and PTs?

I'm studying from the kindle versions of the books, and I think that I may be over-note taking a bit since ebooks can't be flipped through the way paper books can.

[A → B ⊨ ¬B → ¬A]

Hey everyone, while you work through your Bible (of choice...I'm using MLSAT, not PS), how detailed are your notes? At this point I'm wondering if my notes are too detailed and if I should be going through the books a bit faster. I suppose part of this is just personal preference, but do you find that notes are things you refer back to throughout your prep, or is it more important to just get to taking full sections and PTs?

I'm studying from the kindle versions of the books, and I think that I may be over-note taking a bit since ebooks can't be flipped through the way paper books can.

I write page numbers in my notes. If I find some rule form that always produces the same not laws or something like that, then I put that on a running list.

[BlaqBella]

Luke, my LR notes are very condense, noting question type and two to three pointers under each. I first grouped by three types noting direction (stim to answer choices, answer choice to stim, no arguments) and then detail approach per question.

RC and LG notes are a work in progress but I intend to break down RC by common question types and what to look for in correct/incorrect answer choices. I may or may not do anything for LG as its my strongest section and LG is best mastered by repeating a game several times in rotation.

[RhymesLikeDimes]

With the LRB, I had around 25 pages of notes. Mostly just the bulletpoints, processes, key facts, a sentence or two description of new terms, and some notes on practice problems that I had trouble with. Took me ~25 hours to go through page-by-page the first time through.

I am in the process of condensing each question type down to an index card worth of information, so there is plenty of superfluous stuff I copied down. Beats having to carry that 500+ page book around in case I missed something, though

[Daily_Double]

Hey everyone, while you work through your Bible (of choice...I'm using MLSAT, not PS), how detailed are your notes? At this point I'm wondering if my notes are too detailed and if I should be going through the books a bit faster. I suppose part of this is just personal preference, but do you find that notes are things you refer back to throughout your prep, or is it more important to just get to taking full sections and PTs?

I'm studying from the kindle versions of the books, and I think that I may be over-note taking a bit since ebooks can't be flipped through the way paper books can.

Honestly, I don't think notes are all that helpful. Most of the trouble in LR comes from the specific details in each stimulus and the corresponding details in the answer choices. For example, the identification of term shifts, flaws/gaps, the role of a sentence, etc. and how they impact the argument can only be mastered through repetition. That being said, it is very important to pay attention to the methods of identifying the argument core, the gap of the argument, and understanding the examples in that book. So if you need detailed notes to understand the concepts presented in MLAST, then by all means, summarize the entire thing. The most important part about MLAST is learning the concepts, being able to see a question, mentally identifying what question type it is, and knowing the corresponding things to look for.

For example, if weaken containing causation then the stated effect might in fact be the cause, the stated cause might not always produce the stated effect, or an alternative cause may have played a role in the development of both the stated cause and the stated effect.

In another example, for inference, most strongly supported, main point, etc., look for answer choices which are out of scope and eliminate them, narrow to two, skim the stimulus, and evaluate the two again. Again, in order to develop an idea of what is out of scope, you gotta drill.

And further, if necessary assumption, you must first identify the gap, then recognize the element which the authors reasoning hinges on, eliminate answers which don't relate to the argument core, then apply the negation test to determine which one collapses the argument.

[A → B ⊨ ¬B → ¬A]

I'm also dating everything I do, and I'm highlighting and writing a word or two explaining mistakes that I make. I figure this will be useful later on.

[theycallmefoes]

I took the October and December exams, but decided to go for June as well. I just got back into the swing of prepping about a week ago, I'm currently drilling LR, which is where my scores are a bit inconsistent, and I have the most room for improvement. But I haven't reviewed LG yet, and I'm not sure how I want to incorporate it into my prep.

My problems: I have a tendency to make careless errors. I sometimes get too wrapped up in making my initial diagram, and I tend to make unnecessary inferences. Timing stresses me out, though I'm now able to finish with ~2 minutes to spare (whereas I used to rarely finish the last game). I still panic a bit when I encounter what I perceive to be curveballs (i.e., games with odd setups or wording).

I never bothered drilling LG by type before - just did the LGB and MLG followed by full sections. Last 5 LG scores (going into the December exam):
PT 39 -1
PT 47 -2
PT 48 -0
PT 49 -0
PT 50 -1

Where should I go from here? Even though my LG scores are solid, I want to be at a point where I know I'm going to nail it. Right now, I'm still worried that I'm going to walk in there on test day and find some above-average difficulty LG that just blindsides me. Do you think I'd still benefit from drilling by type, or should I just focus on repeating tricky games and doing more timed sections?

[A → B ⊨ ¬B → ¬A]

I took the October and December exams, but decided to go for June as well. I just got back into the swing of prepping about a week ago, I'm currently drilling LR, which is where my scores are a bit inconsistent, and I have the most room for improvement. But I haven't reviewed LG yet, and I'm not sure how I want to incorporate it into my prep.

My problems: I have a tendency to make careless errors. I sometimes get too wrapped up in making my initial diagram, and I tend to make unnecessary inferences. Timing stresses me out, though I'm now able to finish with ~2 minutes to spare (whereas I used to rarely finish the last game). I still panic a bit when I encounter what I perceive to be curveballs (i.e., games with odd setups or wording).

I never bothered drilling LG by type before - just did the LGB and MLG followed by full sections. Last 5 LG scores (going into the December exam):
PT 39 -1
PT 47 -2
PT 48 -0
PT 49 -0
PT 50 -1

Where should I go from here? Even though my LG scores are solid, I want to be at a point where I know I'm going to nail it. Right now, I'm still worried that I'm going to walk in there on test day and find some above-average difficulty LG that just blindsides me. Do you think I'd still benefit from drilling by type, or should I just focus on repeating tricky games and doing more timed sections?

I would definitely do those games again until they're all -0 and under time.

[Daily_Double]

Took PT 36 today, seen at least 1/3 before due to Cambridge drilling, but I decided to do it anyways because I didn't have PT 39... Then I got PT 39-43 after grading it to review with everyone else. Pretty obvious which areas need work, RC, and I need to eliminate careless mistakes, I'm looking at you LR 2. On the positive side, I haven't missed more than five on RC in weeks.

PT 36: Raw 92, Scaled 172

LR 1: -2, #23, 24, extra time
RC: -4, #2, 8, 10, 13, rushed through
LR2: -3, #5, 8, 21
LG: -0, extra time

[crazyrobin]

Took PT 36 today, seen at least 1/3 before due to Cambridge drilling, but I decided to do it anyways because I didn't have PT 39... Then I got PT 39-43 after grading it to review with everyone else. Pretty obvious which areas need work, RC, and I need to eliminate careless mistakes, I'm looking at you LR 2. On the positive side, I haven't missed more than five on RC in weeks.

PT 36: Raw 92, Scaled 172

LR 1: -2, #23, 24, extra time
RC: -4, #2, 8, 10, 13, rushed through
LR2: -3, #5, 8, 21
LG: -0, extra time

!!!!
Excellent, now I am jealous.....

[crazyrobin]

Hey everyone, while you work through your Bible (of choice...I'm using MLSAT, not PS), how detailed are your notes? At this point I'm wondering if my notes are too detailed and if I should be going through the books a bit faster. I suppose part of this is just personal preference, but do you find that notes are things you refer back to throughout your prep, or is it more important to just get to taking full sections and PTs?

I'm studying from the kindle versions of the books, and I think that I may be over-note taking a bit since ebooks can't be flipped through the way paper books can.

Why not print it out?
You can always convert kindle to PDF....

As for you question, note isn't really necessary, I only take note when I have trouble understanding the concept.

[Daily_Double]

Took PT 36 today, seen at least 1/3 before due to Cambridge drilling, but I decided to do it anyways because I didn't have PT 39... Then I got PT 39-43 after grading it to review with everyone else. Pretty obvious which areas need work, RC, and I need to eliminate careless mistakes, I'm looking at you LR 2. On the positive side, I haven't missed more than five on RC in weeks.

PT 36: Raw 92, Scaled 172

LR 1: -2, #23, 24, extra time
RC: -4, #2, 8, 10, 13, rushed through
LR2: -3, #5, 8, 21
LG: -0, extra time

!!!!
Excellent, now I am jealous.....

Thanks, everything is going along as planned. You'll be here soon. Let me know if you ever want an extra opinion on a problem.

[warandpeace]

Took PT 36 today, seen at least 1/3 before due to Cambridge drilling, but I decided to do it anyways because I didn't have PT 39... Then I got PT 39-43 after grading it to review with everyone else. Pretty obvious which areas need work, RC, and I need to eliminate careless mistakes, I'm looking at you LR 2. On the positive side, I haven't missed more than five on RC in weeks.

PT 36: Raw 92, Scaled 172

LR 1: -2, #23, 24, extra time
RC: -4, #2, 8, 10, 13, rushed through
LR2: -3, #5, 8, 21
LG: -0, extra time

oh shitttt props. i took this same test at a kaplan test thing 2 years ago and scored a 149

[alpha kenny body]

Started my first day of work yesterday. It's a trading job so I'll be putting in about 30 hours a week, I will be prepping in the AM and reviewing in the PM (Around 930-1030 EST)

[BlaqBella]

You know you're an LSAT gunner/nerd when:

1. You start dreaming of the LSATs;

2. The first thing you do when you rise is check TLS' LSAT forum;

3. You actually enjoy studying for this test;

4. You beat yourself up for not dedicating at least some time during a day for LSAT studies/review/practice; and/or

5. Everyone in your social circles is aware you're studying for the LSATs (you've been M.I.A for far too long).


I am pleased to say I have all of the above symptoms.


Class later today. Also tackling more LG and some most supported inference questions.