October 2010 Test Prep Forum

[Pleasye]

Taking June 2007 today. I heard its got a killer curve but hopefully I can smoke it. Feel really good about this. 170+

Are you kidding me......

June 2007
LG -2 Was perfect until like always, needed an extra 1 or 2 mins to finish the last 2 or 3 questions....
LR -2
LR -2
RC -3 Freakin pollen. Took way too long on Passage 1 (11 mins) which ran out of time passage 4. Same ole stuff...

91/169 My best raw score ever and tie for my best scaled score. If I can figure out how to get a little faster on RC and LG looks good. Also I looked up this test when I first decided to take the lsat, last July. While some of it was vaguely familiar, i didnt remember any particular answer and I think if anything it served to mess me up by vaguely remembering something about it. It was more I remembered that I had read the question about police/morality before, but nothing to the sort of what I answered/got wrong/right ...

Wow. What the heck is the curve on that test?! Congrats on that score though.

[gdane]

The curve screwed me. I think I got like 81 correct, but it only came out to a 159 or something like that.

[Pleasye]

The curve screwed me. I think I got like 81 correct, but it only came out to a 159 or something like that.

Oh my god I would cry...

The curve must be really harsh because with a -9 Sandro got a 169...

[Sandro]

Taking June 2007 today. I heard its got a killer curve but hopefully I can smoke it. Feel really good about this. 170+

Are you kidding me......

June 2007
LG -2 Was perfect until like always, needed an extra 1 or 2 mins to finish the last 2 or 3 questions....
LR -2
LR -2
RC -3 Freakin pollen. Took way too long on Passage 1 (11 mins) which ran out of time passage 4. Same ole stuff...

91/169 My best raw score ever and tie for my best scaled score. If I can figure out how to get a little faster on RC and LG looks good. Also I looked up this test when I first decided to take the lsat, last July. While some of it was vaguely familiar, i didnt remember any particular answer and I think if anything it served to mess me up by vaguely remembering something about it. It was more I remembered that I had read the question about police/morality before, but nothing to the sort of what I answered/got wrong/right ...

Wow. What the heck is the curve on that test?! Congrats on that score though.

-8 was a 170. Didnt think it was a hard test.

[Pleasye]

Does anyone have advice for Parallel reasoning q's? I know everyone hates them but what has really helped you with them?

I'm way too impatient for them and usually end up just guessing which doesn't usually work out.

[CGI Fridays]

PT 53. 169 First exposure to the new reading comparison thang. First exposure to LSAT cacophony, which was actually worse for me than the public library, because there were periods of unrealistically long silence. The coughs etc. would always throw me off, but the scribbling was fine.

So silly that one problem is the difference for me between auto reject and auto admit via ED at UVA. It's 170 or bust

No LSAC rants today...

[gdane]

Does anyone have advice for Parallel reasoning q's? I know everyone hates them but what has really helped you with them?

I'm way too impatient for them and usually end up just guessing which doesn't usually work out.

Focus on the structure of the argument and how each part of it relates to the other parts. Do the premises support or counter the conclusion? Is there a subsidiary conclusion? Whats the argument saying as a whole?

PR questions really arent that difficult once you get into a groove. I used to stuggle with them, but I went over that section in the logical reasoning bible and drilled the questions in Kaplan Mastery and Ive found that Im doing very well on them.

[CGI Fridays]

Does anyone have advice for Parallel reasoning q's? I know everyone hates them but what has really helped you with them?

Here's my method:

1) Leave it, or both of them (lord help us if there are three in a section come test day), for the end. Mark them in the booklet with a star and mark on the answer sheet with a small dot (does anyone know if minor marks like this are allowed?)

2)When you're finished with the section, work backward to the closest-from-the-end Question, hopefully on the last or second-to-last page.

3) Diagram it with A, B & C portions of the argument. Be careful not to be thrown off by the order of appearaance of variables; if the 1st sentence reads "A if B", diagram it "B --> A" (as in, if B, then A). There are generally three sentences or clauses, usually with two premises & one conclusion.

Once you have it fully diagrammed, read the questions & cross out ones that are just clearly off as you go. If you come to one that seems legit and you aren't sure, diagram it. Sometimes I'll have to diagram 3 potential answers before being sure.

4) If you still have time, work backward and do the second one similarly.

Good Luck!

While this method is extremely time consuming, IF you have the time to do it I feel it's worth it. I almost never miss one of these anymore.

Edit: so you'll break down the three sentences into something like this:

Premises
All A's Are B's
B --> C

Conclusion
DA, thus DC

[gdane]

Im glad the last part was added by CGIF because I was going to say not to do follow his/her advice. Its well meaning, but way too complicated and unnecessary. Seldom do you need to diagram anything on PR questions. You dont need to rely on tricks to do these questions.

Also, you can totally write whatever you want, wherever you want on the test booklet. Dont worry about it.

[JJDancer]

edit: got it. Thanks.

[CGI Fridays]

Im glad the last part was added by CGIF because I was going to say not to do follow his/her advice. Its well meaning, but way too complicated and unnecessary. Seldom do you need to diagram anything on PR questions. You dont need to rely on tricks to do these questions.

Not complicated.
Unnecessary for some, sure (especially those who get down to the wire on time), but helpful for me & perhaps others.
I don't remember the last time I got one of these wrong.

Also, you can totally write whatever you want, wherever you want on the test booklet. Dont worry about it.

I was wondering about marking little dots on the answer sheet, to the left of question numbers.

[Sandro]

Parallel Reasoning usually isnt that hard because you can eliminate around 2 answers right off the bat. I would only reccomend diagramming if faced with a stimulus with heavy if/without/unless statements. Even with those, you can come up with quick generic prephrases that only 1 of the answers should fit into exactly...

[Pleasye]

Im glad the last part was added by CGIF because I was going to say not to do follow his/her advice. Its well meaning, but way too complicated and unnecessary. Seldom do you need to diagram anything on PR questions. You dont need to rely on tricks to do these questions.

Not complicated.
Unnecessary for some, sure (especially those who get down to the wire on time), but helpful for me & perhaps others.
I don't remember the last time I got one of these wrong.

Also, you can totally write whatever you want, wherever you want on the test booklet. Dont worry about it.

I was wondering about marking little dots on the answer sheet, to the left of question numbers.

Thanks CGI for your advice! I'm a little wary of skipping questions and leaving them blank because I'm scared to death of misbubbling :/ but I think I will try your method on a PT.

Also, it says in the instructions NOT to make any stray marks on the answer sheet but I doubt that little dots will matter.

[gdane]

Dont mark anything on the answer sheet other than the bubbles. Like any "scantron" type test, stray marks can throw off the grading computer. Dont mark anything on the answer sheet.

[CGI Fridays]

Thanks CGI for your advice! I'm a little wary of skipping questions and leaving them blank because I'm scared to death of misbubbling :/ but I think I will try your method on a PT.

You're welcome. As others have said, it may be overkill if you can manage another way.
If you're not accustomed to diagramming formal logic, your first attempt will make it seem harder, more complicated & more time consuming than it has to be. 5 minutes should be enough for 2 of them. If you want help with diagramming a specific question from your next PT, PM me.

Also, it says in the instructions NOT to make any stray marks on the answer sheet but I doubt that little dots will matter.

Gdane says it might. Any other input here?

Also, don't we get a single sheet of scrap? You could rip off a corner and put it on top of your desk with question #'s.
Even if you don't diagram, I strongly suggest skipping & leaving them for the end. I have a much easier time concentrating on them when they're my last questions.

[Sandro]

no scrap except on writing, when you dont need it.

[northwood]

if there are a lot of conditional statements, then diagram it. I skip those questions, and put B on the scantron( but very lightly) That way i wont mis bubble, and if i get around to it and change my response, it wont be that bad.
What i do, is i look at the 2 parallel questions. if there is one with conditionals, or seems extra wordy, i skip it, and do the other one. I dont diagram it on paper, but identifdy the conc and premises, and circle signal words ( if the signal word changes the statemnt to negative, i put negative or if a person disagrees, etc- still confusing, but it works for me). When i underline the conclusion, i then go right to the answer choices and immediatley cross off any that dont have the same tone or go against the one ( if the passage conc is negative, i cross off any positve answers). This eliminates at least one choice. For the remainders i do the same as the original passage,compare themn and go with the best fit.

i;ve timed myself doing this, and it takes about 2- 2 and a half minutes. I get the answer right, but for me its not worth the time. IF i havent circled any other questions in the section ill do them. otherwise i re check any question that i wasnt 100% sure on, double check my bubbling ( takes a whole 30 seconds), then if time allows tackle the question.

[Pleasye]

Also, don't we get a single sheet of scrap? You could rip off a corner and put it on top of your desk with question #'s.
Even if you don't diagram, I strongly suggest skipping & leaving them for the end. I have a much easier time concentrating on them when they're my last questions.

We get absolutely no scrap...only whatever room we have on the test booklet.

Yeah I think I'm going to need to leave them as my last questions...and stop burning time reading them and then just guessing.


Thanks for your input Northwood!

[Pleasye]

Gosh I'm blowing up this thread today but...

If anyone could help me with diagramming the 4th game in PT # 54 I'll love you forever.

[aesis]

PT 55 (my other report said PT 55 but I didn't realize I had taken PT 56 instead)
LR -2/-2
RC -2
LG -0 (did anyone else have trouble with this? I thought it was unusually hard, or time consuming)
LG exp -1
94 --> 174.

Interesting curve. Striving for that perfect RC section that will keep me in mid 170s.
10 days?

[DasBoot]

PowerScore's chapter on PR is pretty helpful. Before I even read the stimulus I look to see if the conclusion is clearly announced by a word like "Thus, So, Therefore, etc" then I look for words of degree in that sentence "Most, all, some, every, only." Then I scan the answers and eliminate any choices that don't match up. This can usually get me down to 3 choices. Then I read the stimulus and I mentally create an abstract version of the argument. If it is talking about parts of a whole, or if there are multiple clear components, causality, etc. Then I just go through the answers and clear out the ones that don't match up. Since I started this method I haven't missed a PR or Flawed PR question yet. The most important advice I could give about any of these is: DON'T PANIC.

[northwood]

your welcome.. If you want to practice them, take about 10 parallel questions and try diagramming them. Do a couple untimed ( around 2) then time yourself. That way you will know how much time you have to do them, or if that time would be better spent doing something else.

BY the way, is it me, or has RC gotten easier on the newer exams?

[northwood]

LSthankyou( pun intended)

the 4th game on pt 54 is a 2 dimension linear/ sequencing game. I set up the clues as a pure sequencing game, and noted that bid 2 or 3 has to be K or R.

i set it up like this

- - - - - - - - (columns 1-8)
n/a
under column 2 and 3 noted that its accepted
for columns 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, wrote n for non accepted ( or you can put d for ding ha!)

diagram the clues as you normally would ( but i put a * next to K and R- so you know they're the 0nly ones that can be accepted

make your deductions, and enjoy destroying the game

[3|ink]

PT 55 (my other report said PT 55 but I didn't realize I had taken PT 56 instead)
LR -2/-2
RC -2
LG -0 (did anyone else have trouble with this? I thought it was unusually hard, or time consuming)
LG exp -1
94 --> 174.

Interesting curve. Striving for that perfect RC section that will keep me in mid 170s.
10 days?

[Blumpbeef]

Does anyone have advice for Parallel reasoning q's? I know everyone hates them but what has really helped you with them?

I'm way too impatient for them and usually end up just guessing which doesn't usually work out.

Go faster on the rest of the test, be patient with them.

There is no way around it.