The Official June 2017 Study Group Forum

[88234]

Checking in. Got a 168 last September and need to get off all these waitlists/increase my potential for scholarships.

[hcss11]

Argument flaw identification is simple. Matching them is hard. I tried to do an argument matching drill just now with "fails to consider" and "takes for granted" statements and realized I got them all wrong after looking at the solutions. Now I've erased the answers I put down and am filling them in again with the answers from the solution page.

The solutions explain why my answers were wrong but I haven't been trained on how to match argument flaws in the book I'm using. This is the first time I'm encountering this in this book.

Is answering, looking at the solution, understanding why I was wrong, then going back and filling it in again with the right answers a good way to study? Or is there a simpler way to get it right that I don't know or haven't thought of?

[Mikey]

Argument flaw identification is simple. Matching them is hard. I tried to do an argument matching drill just now with "fails to consider" and "takes for granted" statements and realized I got them all wrong after looking at the solutions. Now I've erased the answers I put down and am filling them in again with the answers from the solution page.

The solutions explain why my answers were wrong but I haven't been trained on how to match argument flaws in the book I'm using. This is the first time I'm encountering this in this book.

Is answering, looking at the solution, understanding why I was wrong, then going back and filling it in again with the right answers a good way to study? Or is there a simpler way to get it right that I don't know or haven't thought of?

I don't really know what kind of drills you're doing tbh, is it in some book?

either way, when doing question type drilling and sections, you should be doing blind review (youtube: 7sage blind review). basically, digging deep into questions before looking at what the answer is, and coming up with reasons why 4 answers are wrong and why 1 is right

[hcss11]

I'm using the LSAT Trainer by Mike Kim.

I'll look at the 7Sage tutorial you mentioned and do it that way. Thanks for the tip!

Argument flaw identification is simple. Matching them is hard. I tried to do an argument matching drill just now with "fails to consider" and "takes for granted" statements and realized I got them all wrong after looking at the solutions. Now I've erased the answers I put down and am filling them in again with the answers from the solution page.

The solutions explain why my answers were wrong but I haven't been trained on how to match argument flaws in the book I'm using. This is the first time I'm encountering this in this book.

Is answering, looking at the solution, understanding why I was wrong, then going back and filling it in again with the right answers a good way to study? Or is there a simpler way to get it right that I don't know or haven't thought of?

I don't really know what kind of drills you're doing tbh, is it in some book?

either way, when doing question type drilling and sections, you should be doing blind review (youtube: 7sage blind review). basically, digging deep into questions before looking at what the answer is, and coming up with reasons why 4 answers are wrong and why 1 is right

[tmwnn]

hi all. checking in. retaking a 163. i hope i'm not gonna bomb the real thing this time.

[cardboard0917]

.

[dm1683]

Hey guys!

I've been lurking for the last couple of weeks and figured it was time to jump in. I sat for the September test and got a 167 so I'm looking to bump that up in June. I'm 2 kinds of URM so I'm hoping that that combined with a couple more points will get me in to a T-14 with some money. Good luck to everyone who's waiting for a Feb score or just sitting in June!

Damn you should be in reeaaalll good shape if you put the work in. Good luck and welcome to the community!

I feel like us first time takers are a significant minority on this thread.

[hcss11]

Hey other first-time takers: how do you finish a diagnostic from start to end? I just tried Logic Games and sort of shut down halfway through the first question set.

I'm thinking of reading and doing all the drills in my study book, then doing my first diagnostic. I observed that, having done some drills in Logical Reasoning, I was able to answer more LR questions on the diagnostic I just tried to take than Logic Games questions, which were absolutely mind-boggling and felt like a MENSA test.

Would anyone recommend doing things this way? Let me know if anyone's had similar thoughts and/or experiences.

[Platopus]

Hey other first-time takers: how do you finish a diagnostic from start to end? I just tried Logic Games and sort of shut down halfway through the first question set.

It's just one of those things that you have to do. I told myself that I wouldn't get an accurate representation of my abilities unless I took a diagnostic, so I simply forced myself to do it, irrespective of how I thought I would perform. I was also aware that LG required diagramming, even if I didn't know any real methods, so I did some make shift diagrams, brute-forced through most questions, and knew I was going to do pretty poorly.

Keep in mind though that LG is probably the easiest section to make significant gains quickly. It will take some time to master the process, but after a month or two, it really becomes way easy.

[thewhalefish]

Hey other first-time takers: how do you finish a diagnostic from start to end? I just tried Logic Games and sort of shut down halfway through the first question set.

Make yourself do it. Even if you don't know what you are doing fully, just try your best and analyze your answers.

[thewhalefish]

Just reading the HLS Applicants page... that's some crazy stuff. I hope I get a JS2 this time next year!! Lehgoo

[blackmamba8]

I'm basically done with all of my prep books/7sage so it's going to be drilling/PTs/review for me from here on out. I'd like to up my studying to around 30 hours a week. Timing myself while I study and logging it every day has been helpful for me. I feel confident that I'll be able to hit 170 by June.

[Mikey]

I'm basically done with all of my prep books/7sage so it's going to be drilling/PTs/review for me from here on out. I'd like to up my studying to around 30 hours a week. Timing myself while I study and logging it every day has been helpful for me. I feel confident that I'll be able to hit 170 by June.

Nice! Don't forget to go back to the 7sage curriculum if you're having trouble with question types. I made some gains by doing so for a few LR Q types by going back and it helped!

[blackmamba8]

I'm basically done with all of my prep books/7sage so it's going to be drilling/PTs/review for me from here on out. I'd like to up my studying to around 30 hours a week. Timing myself while I study and logging it every day has been helpful for me. I feel confident that I'll be able to hit 170 by June.

Nice! Don't forget to go back to the 7sage curriculum if you're having trouble with question types. I made some gains by doing so for a few LR Q types by going back and it helped!

My 7sage account expires in like a week, should I go ahead and extend for 3 more months? I took notes on all the lessons but I think it would be handy to still have it to go back to if necessary.

[dj9i27]

I'm basically done with all of my prep books/7sage so it's going to be drilling/PTs/review for me from here on out. I'd like to up my studying to around 30 hours a week. Timing myself while I study and logging it every day has been helpful for me. I feel confident that I'll be able to hit 170 by June.

Nice! Don't forget to go back to the 7sage curriculum if you're having trouble with question types. I made some gains by doing so for a few LR Q types by going back and it helped!

My 7sage account expires in like a week, should I go ahead and extend for 3 more months? I took notes on all the lessons but I think it would be handy to still have it to go back to if necessary.

Do yo have the PS Bible or MH LR?

[blackmamba8]

I'm basically done with all of my prep books/7sage so it's going to be drilling/PTs/review for me from here on out. I'd like to up my studying to around 30 hours a week. Timing myself while I study and logging it every day has been helpful for me. I feel confident that I'll be able to hit 170 by June.

Nice! Don't forget to go back to the 7sage curriculum if you're having trouble with question types. I made some gains by doing so for a few LR Q types by going back and it helped!

My 7sage account expires in like a week, should I go ahead and extend for 3 more months? I took notes on all the lessons but I think it would be handy to still have it to go back to if necessary.

Do yo have the PS Bible or MH LR?

I have the Manhattan LR

[dj9i27]

I'm basically done with all of my prep books/7sage so it's going to be drilling/PTs/review for me from here on out. I'd like to up my studying to around 30 hours a week. Timing myself while I study and logging it every day has been helpful for me. I feel confident that I'll be able to hit 170 by June.

Nice! Don't forget to go back to the 7sage curriculum if you're having trouble with question types. I made some gains by doing so for a few LR Q types by going back and it helped!

My 7sage account expires in like a week, should I go ahead and extend for 3 more months? I took notes on all the lessons but I think it would be handy to still have it to go back to if necessary.

Do yo have the PS Bible or MH LR?

I have the Manhattan LR

Yeah, I'd just use that to go back and review for later drilling dates.

[Algernon]

I got a 155 diagnostic. I am pretty ambivalent about that. Oddly enough, I didn't finish the first two sections (LR and LG), but I finished with 1 or 2 minutes left in the second LR and RC. In the logic games I didn't answer the last 3 questions and in that first LR I didn't answer 6.

I'm more upset that I seem to be mediocre at everything. I missed about 6 in each section (not including the ones I didn't answer).

Now I'm in it for the long haul.

[cardboard0917]

I got a 155 diagnostic. I am pretty ambivalent about that. Oddly enough, I didn't finish the first two sections (LR and LG), but I finished with 1 or 2 minutes left in the second LR and RC. In the logic games I didn't answer the last 3 questions and in that first LR I didn't answer 6.

I'm more upset that I seem to be mediocre at everything. I missed about 6 in each section (not including the ones I didn't answer).

Now I'm in it for the long haul.

.

[dm1683]

I got a 155 diagnostic. I am pretty ambivalent about that. Oddly enough, I didn't finish the first two sections (LR and LG), but I finished with 1 or 2 minutes left in the second LR and RC. In the logic games I didn't answer the last 3 questions and in that first LR I didn't answer 6.

I'm more upset that I seem to be mediocre at everything. I missed about 6 in each section (not including the ones I didn't answer).

Now I'm in it for the long haul.

Don't be too down on yourself! The average LSAT score is 150 so you're off to a good start. You clearly have room for improvement in LG which is by the far the most learnable section and you wouldn't be here if you weren't committed to putting the work in. As long as you actually follow through with studying, you'll definitely improve your score.

Yeah CB is right. I went -13 on my initial LG section (160 overall score) and I just took that same section again after twoish months of studying. -2. And one of my wrong answers was because I was rushing and misread the stupid question.

LG improvement is not just possible but guaranteed if you put in dat werk.

[Algernon]

Thanks for all the support. I'm definitely willing to put in the work. Just need to schedule it all out since I work 40 hours a week.

[180pedia]

Hey all, hope your studying is going well.

Message in spoiler to just reduce screen space taken up by semi-marketing and opportunities.

[+] Spoiler

I just created the pages for LSAT PT 79, and I will be doing PT 80 over the next day or two. Still working on the explanation stuff, but it's still a relatively easily navigable directory of explanations from 7Sage, LSAT Hacks (well, not for this test), Manhattan Prep, PowerScore, and Velocity.

Either way, I just wanted to mention two things.

1) I'm interested in creating pages about peoples' study journeys, so, if you're inclined, try to keep good track of your progress. We can work out format, length, payment, etc. down the line. I would like to have posts of varying point increases and starting points. This content will be free online like all the other stuff on the website.

2) I may host some contests to encourage people to submit explanations for LR and RC once I fix a minor bug on my end that makes double checking submissions a little more onerous. If this is something of interest, just keep those explanations handy, and it'll be easy to pop them in when the time comes and if you're interested.

Anywho - apologies. I'm trying to market this resource and make it more useful for future students without being absolutely obnoxious. I didn't finish this resource until my study sessions had elapsed. I'm also willing to do proofreads for any of your statements with the hope you will contribute but not the need that you do. PM if interested and I'll tell you the personal account name so you can see the depth of my edits.

[Amerision]

I'm doing pretty well with my studying, but I'm having a little trouble with formal logic. Is the Logical Reasoning Bible a good way to fix this? Any way besides reading?

[180pedia]

I'm doing pretty well with my studying, but I'm having a little trouble with formal logic. Is the Logical Reasoning Bible a good way to fix this? Any way besides reading?

I don't want to misrepresent myself in that I got a 180. I'm a 17x taker, but my goal for the website isn't for the explanations to be solely my own.

That said, I'm the type of person that I learn best the second time around - i.e. I took physics and AP physics in high school... none since, and I still remember how to apply and use kinematics and a whole mess of other stuff I haven't used in the better portion of a decade.

Are you having trouble with understanding the basics of formal logic or when it gets more convoluted on the LSAT?

Basic arguments take either the form of the:

positive (we have the sufficient therefore we must have the necessary)
Sufficient -> Necessary

contrapositive (we do not have the necessary therefore we cannot have the sufficient)
Necessary NOT -> Sufficient NOT

Often in formal logic questions, this is further muddied by either adding statements that link up, quantifiers, and other logical operators like AND OR.

I think all of the prep books I read did a fairly good job of explaining this. I wouldn't go out and buy all three, but you may want to skim the first few pages of the LR books (LSAT Trainer, Manhattan Prep, PowerScore) just to see which seems to be written in a style that is more understandable to you. I can also try to clarify any of the complications mentioned above.

I will add that not many questions use terribly challenging formal logic (it may seem that way early on) and you probably won't be diagramming more than two or three (more often one or two) LR questions per section towards the ends of your studies and when you are more comfortable with LR.

[Amerision]

I'm doing pretty well with my studying, but I'm having a little trouble with formal logic. Is the Logical Reasoning Bible a good way to fix this? Any way besides reading?

Are you having trouble with understanding the basics of formal logic or when it gets more convoluted on the LSAT?

I will definitely take your advice about skimming the pages of a few books. I get sufficient -> necessary (to an extent -- sometimes I get tripped up on which is which) and definitely contrapositive, but the language of answer choices messes me up a lot. One that is especially difficult for me to is the "which of the following arguments has the same sort of structure" questions. I try to diagram the original and match up an answer to that, but oftentimes there are two that fit or my diagram is incorrect.