June 2011 Study Group Forum

[dr123]

Just took PT 54, ugh

[dr123]

for those interested,

LR: -11
LG - 5 (diagrammed a rule wrong and got the entire game wrong )
RC - 6

[Neidermeyer519]

I think Im going to wait until I get the LG Bible in the mail and go through it, and finish the LR Bible before I take 51-62. Typically I only miss 5 at most on games, and many times I only miss a few, but if I get confused or figure out that I missed a key deduction, I panic and it really screw up my rhythm on the section.

How do you handle really dense LR passages where you get so bogged down in the wording? Is it easier just to diagram things out and work from there?

[Ginj]

Just took PT 54, ugh

PT 54 sucks. Scientific fact.

[tehrocstar]

Anyone one on here have a study group where you meet regularly to review questions/answers?

[maxpower430]

is anyone else following lsatblog's study guide for june btw? seeing the posts about possibly delaying got me wondering, b/c at this point in the prep i'm doing like 3 timed sections at a time then review. clearly i could extrapolate a little (i.e. see how many i missed and pick a number for a theoretical 4th section) but that seems reckless, and the schedule doesn't call for 5 section preptests until about a month month and a half before test day.

[Yassig]

Anyone one on here have a study group where you meet regularly to review questions/answers?

Many of us do online.

Look back in the thread and you'll see who to contact to get signed up if you want to join us. We've got 3 or 4 different groups going.

[FloridaCoastalorbust]

Happy studying today everyone! 66 days

[Neidermeyer519]

Well, I feel a little vindicated. Took PT 55 today. I took the actual exam in October 08 and scored a 152 :/ took it today and scored a 167. It seems that my PT range has jumped from 158-160 to 166-168, and with two months to go, I'm pretty pleased by this

[LawQ5]

For those meeting tonight just wanted to let you know I dont think I'll be able to make it tonight but I'll try to be there Sunday for PT review! Going to do the next practice test Sat @ 12pm like it's the real thing.

[Yassig]

For those meeting tonight just wanted to let you know I dont think I'll be able to make it tonight but I'll try to be there Sunday for PT review! Going to do the next practice test Sat @ 12pm like it's the real thing.

Good luck with the PT LawQ!

[FloridaCoastalorbust]

Takin' Superprep A on Sat per pithypike's method

[geverett]

PT 16 passage 4 just kicked my ass. Worst than I've ever had it kicked by a passage.

[Eichörnchen]

PT 16 passage 4 just kicked my ass. Worst than I've ever had it kicked by a passage.

Hey Gev, I went -2 on that one a while ago. If you (and anyone else) want to go over it at all in the room for some extra RC analysis just let me know. I wouldn't mind reviewing some RC cause I've been neglecting it.

[FloridaCoastalorbust]

Just curious really. Do you prefer to study in the morning, afternoon, night? All 3?

[soj]

PT 16 passage 4 just kicked my ass. Worst than I've ever had it kicked by a passage.

Hey Gev, I went -2 on that one a while ago. If you (and anyone else) want to go over it at all in the room for some extra RC analysis just let me know. I wouldn't mind reviewing some RC cause I've been neglecting it.

I actually just did that one. I lucked out with 6/6 but struggled with two of the questions and had to take extra time (~10:30) that I was fortunate to have saved up from the previous passages. Here's my take on the questions:

22. I thought C was a pretty weak answer because it focused only on paragraph 3, but the only other possibility is E and E is even worse--Dexter's research wasn't insufficient, it was simply based on a simplistic assumption. I reluctantly chose C. RC sometimes does this: if the whole passage is building up to a big point made in the last paragraph, that big point can be the entire passage's main idea. (This can be confusing because many distractors in main idea questions in other passages try to pass off a summary of a single paragraph as a summary of the entire passage. Usually it's wrong, but sometimes it's not!)

23. My prephrase was "HW serves as an example of an anti-golden age historian who nevertheless agrees with golden agers that women lost status after the colonial age." That led me to eliminate A, B, and E. I couldn't eliminate C because the phrasing of lines 31-33 ("have continued to accept") seemed to imply some current (i.e. recent) scholars have been influenced by the golden age theory, but chose D because it more directly supports the influence of golden agers. This is tricky because HW himself explicitly disavowed the golden age theory, but that doesn't mean he couldn't have been influenced by it. Looking back, C could have been easily eliminated had I considered paragraph 3, which explicitly states that current/recent scholars deny that women lost status after the colonial age. Thus, the "important influence on recent scholarship" mentioned in C cannot be correct. HW must not be one of the recent scholars described in paragraph 3.

24. It's hard to detect the author's viewpoint on scholars like HW. Paragraph 3 suggests the author does not wholly agree with their view (eliminate A and B), and considers it simplistic (eliminate D). E is too strong, and C is correct because the last sentence in paragraph 2 makes clear the two slightly contradictory elements of the "there's no golden age but women's status still dropped off after this period-that's-not-a-golden-age" view.

25. A is correct because the second period, for one, discusses social factors. So we know it's not just economic factors. The first sentence of paragraph 3 also supports A. The only other ACs that are relevant to the three-part chronological division are C and E, but they require incorrect or strong assumptions.

26. The only problem I had with A is that "undermined" seemed too strong when the studies merely seemed to point out that Dexter's argument was based on simplistic assumptions. (Looking back, I suppose attacking the assumptions IS sufficient to undermine Dexter's argument.) However, A was the only AC I didn't eliminate after a read-through of the ACs. The only other possibility I considered was D, but I don't think recent publications denied any change in women's status after the colonial age. They simply imply that women's status didn't decline, and might have actually improved as a result of a mix of economic and social factors.

27. I selected B quickly based on lines 46-48. It's a bit of an unfair question because if you chose E in Q22, you're likely to choose C in Q27. Two questions wrong for a single fault in reasoning seems harsh, but we all know LSAC can be cruel.

[soj]

I just pulled off 180s in PT16 and PT17!! (0 LG, 0 LR, -2 RC in both)

Back to reality (-2 LG, -3 LR, -5 RC , 173 Scaled) on PT18, though.

[geverett]

badass. keep it up soj. spread some of your voodoo to the rest of the team when you get some time. Thanks for the analysis.

[Eichörnchen]

Oops I just realized I was unclear. I got a -2 in the RC section, not the passage. And soj, thanks for writing out those explanations. I know they weren't aimed at me but I always like seeing other people's mindsets while testing . And awesome job on the 180s!! Wow that has to feel amazing especially with two months to go!

[geverett]

Called in to work today. lsat study time.

[geverett]

When someone, who has a good grasp of RC, has a chance to do RC Passage #1 from PT 20 I would love for them to look at #3. I got it right, but I think the fact that I was so torn by the correct answer choice might demonstrate my achilles heel on RC. The correct answer says "It was characterized by rapid tempos and an emphasis on solo playing." However, the passage only states that his newer style "slowed down tempos." I just feel it to be a logical leap to go from "slowing down tempos" to inferring that it means the previous tempos were "rapid." They could have been mid-tempo and he slowed them down to be "slow." I feel like the high standard of detail developed in LR is somewhat of an impediment to me on RC.

[jim-green]

I think Im going to wait until I get the LG Bible in the mail and go through it, and finish the LR Bible before I take 51-62.

Very good plan. My mistake 1st time was not completing untimed study and questions before leaping into PTs. If you don't study before PTs, all you learn is how to beat the clock, guess and pick answers.

[jim-green]

I just feel it to be a logical leap to go from "slowing down tempos" to inferring that it means the previous tempos were "rapid." They could have been mid-tempo and he slowed them down to be "slow."

Say the tempos were mid-speed. He still slowed them down. The answer was not ambiguous to me later. I just had to figure out where it was, and couldn't find the line while doing the PT.

[jim-green]

I just pulled off 180s in PT16 and PT17!! (0 LG, 0 LR, -2 RC in both).

Hey, Soj. I'm having trouble with PT33 S2 question #19. This question is pretty tricky. A is correct because lines 17-18 say so. However, D also appears correct because of line 21. Any thoughts on why answer D is incorrect? Thanks for your help.

[soj]

Thanks, Eichörnchen and geverett. I hope we all ace the June test!

@ geverett, I didn't have trouble with that question, but I actually didn't have any trouble with this passage at all because I studied Miles Davis in school quite a bit. So I knew bebop was fast and emphasized solos, making A an easy pick once I located language to that effect. Now that you mention it, I think you're right that the passage never says bebop was fast, only that it's faster than what became West Coast cool. But as you say, that kind of assumption-finding probably isn't necessary, and you have to admit A is the only AC that came even close.

I just pulled off 180s in PT16 and PT17!! (0 LG, 0 LR, -2 RC in both).

Hey, Soj. I'm having trouble with PT33 S2 question #19. This question is pretty tricky. A is correct because lines 17-18 say so. However, D also appears correct because of line 21. Any thoughts on why answer D is incorrect? Thanks for your help.

Hey jim-green, I actually haven't done PT33 yet, and I was planning to do 43-45 next (the Deconstructeds). You might want to try asking it on the Manhattan LSAT forum, or asking it in a new thread on this forum.