June 2011 Study Group Forum

[neeko]

I see a few questions about Sunday's group. One of the members of this thread reached out to me and we set up an online room for the room to group. I'm not sure if she's checking the thread before then, so in case not, you can e-mail me - noah(at)manhattanlsat.com and I can help you out.

Yep, I'm here. Everyone except for the two people that pm'ed me today have had their info sent over to Noah. I will send any that I get between now and tomorrow over to him in the morning, along with the two that are currently in my inbox.

[accuratesite2020]

About how many pages a day in the LGB were you doing your first time around? Obviously this will be a bit different for everyone, just trying to get some idea.

LGB is a bear. It took me a solid month to get through it slowly with accurate note-taking. I read and broke down a chapter during a 3-day cycle, focusing on Chapter 2 which PS and many others on here have suggested. I went through the Grouping chapter 2x as well and I am entertaining a 3rd time since my pure grouping skills (matching, distribution, etc.) throw me off a bit. I picked up the Hybrid chapter pretty well. I also photocopied every game in the LGB 3-4x and have worked through them all 2x supplementing them with PT game sections. Focus on Chapter 2 for set-up help and also I found a good reference to be the Atlas LG book. It gave me a better understanding of pure sequencing (tree branch method). After doing most games about 2-3x I have really seen a dramatic improvement from -18 to -7. It has been a big jump and the LGB has been my saving grace. Any other questions, hit me up.

This is a great way to go through the LGB. I need go back and review some of the information in there. It's all definitely very useful, but what trips me up is usually when I'm unable to get a key inference, and when I find myself doing lots of hypotheticals instead of being able to know the answer right away more theoretically or through an inference. That really slows me down.

Yes, I know what you mean. You will get a feel for the type of game and really how the rules leave you. Sometimes the rules give you awesome limitations where you can set up a quick 2 hypotheticals. Or the rules leave you hanging - then you got to roll right to the Questions. This is typical with In/Out Games. You will just know when to stop dicking around with the rules and what-ifs and go right to the questions. I still fall into this bad habit every now and then, but I quickly right myself when I tell myself that the rules leave me hanging.

[accuratesite2020]

I've found that when I study and do individual sections, I usually do not get more than 3 wrong on each section, but when I sit down to do an entire 4 section test (I haven't done any 5 sections yet), I find myself getting very nervous, distracted, etc and do much more badly. I've taken only 2 full four-section tests so far and did far worse on both than I have done in my individual practice.

So this is leading me to think that I'm getting the techniques down okay but I'm struggling with stamina and nerves when I try to do all the sections at once.

I want to start taking more full-length 5 section practice tests but since it is only January, do you think it's too soon to do this? Should I save the full length tests for later or start doing them now?

I think you should keep working on your section practice untimed, but it wouldn't hurt you to get into a 1-2 PTS a week starting in 2 weeks or so. Do not do 4 section tests anymore. This is a complete waste. Always do at least 5 sections to mimic real thing and then do a real detailed review. The review takes me a solid 4-5 hours depending on if I review the RC section as well. I've been told that accuracy comes first, then timing. I have found that when I mix in timed 5 section practices it has helped my overall accuracy by calming down because I know how to relax more now.

[amols]

Just had to post about how excited I am for the study group tonight.

See you all in a few hours!

And does anyone know how long the session will last?

[neeko]

Just had to post about how excited I am for the study group tonight.

See you all in a few hours!

And does anyone know how long the session will last?

Me too! I'm not sure how long the teacher will be in there but people can use the room as long as they want to.

[accuratesite2020]

Just had to post about how excited I am for the study group tonight.

See you all in a few hours!

And does anyone know how long the session will last?

Hey, what time and where is the study group? thanks.

[neeko]

Just a reminder that the study group through Manhattan LSAT is starting in about 5 minutes, at 8:00PM Eastern

[neeko]

Just had to post about how excited I am for the study group tonight.

See you all in a few hours!

And does anyone know how long the session will last?

Hey, what time and where is the study group? thanks.

Have you sent me your name and email address yet? If not, that is the first step.

[Chief Littlebighead]

Hello everyone. Joining you guys in prepping for June. I took my first cold diagnostic on January 8th and sucked it up. Since then have been going at it pretty hard and I feel I'm making some gains. I wanted to share the following with everyone here because it really helped me get a better grasp of the LR questions.

I have a desk job where I'm not supposed to be studying on the clock, but no one really comes by and monitors my internet activity. So, I can't just whip out some practice tests and go to it. What I decided to do was enter all of the logical reasoning questions that I got wrong into a power point, and include an answer sheet with my original wrong answer and the right one. That way during my 12 hour shifts at the computer at work, I can go over a ton of random questions. What has really helped me though is actually typing out the questions themselves, as I have begun to notice various sneaky tricks the LSAC uses when creating the questions. Small stuff that would not immediately jump out if you weren't really taking the time to analyze the questions (as you by necessity do when typing out the stimulus, stem, and answers). Doing it this way opened my eyes to the idea that there are 4 wrong answers and 1 right one. So, hope that helps someone.

[JG7773]

Hello everyone. Joining you guys in prepping for June. I took my first cold diagnostic on January 8th and sucked it up. Since then have been going at it pretty hard and I feel I'm making some gains. I wanted to share the following with everyone here because it really helped me get a better grasp of the LR questions.

I have a desk job where I'm not supposed to be studying on the clock, but no one really comes by and monitors my internet activity. So, I can't just whip out some practice tests and go to it. What I decided to do was enter all of the logical reasoning questions that I got wrong into a power point, and include an answer sheet with my original wrong answer and the right one. That way during my 12 hour shifts at the computer at work, I can go over a ton of random questions. What has really helped me though is actually typing out the questions themselves, as I have begun to notice various sneaky tricks the LSAC uses when creating the questions. Small stuff that would not immediately jump out if you weren't really taking the time to analyze the questions (as you by necessity do when typing out the stimulus, stem, and answers). Doing it this way opened my eyes to the idea that there are 4 wrong answers and 1 right one. So, hope that helps someone.

Would you mind maybe sharing an example of a power point slide to show an example of how you lay it out? I am interested in trying to compile a list of questions that I miss, but I want to find a format that makes sense and is effective.

[GoldenGloves]

Hello everyone. Joining you guys in prepping for June. I took my first cold diagnostic on January 8th and sucked it up. Since then have been going at it pretty hard and I feel I'm making some gains. I wanted to share the following with everyone here because it really helped me get a better grasp of the LR questions.

I have a desk job where I'm not supposed to be studying on the clock, but no one really comes by and monitors my internet activity. So, I can't just whip out some practice tests and go to it. What I decided to do was enter all of the logical reasoning questions that I got wrong into a power point, and include an answer sheet with my original wrong answer and the right one. That way during my 12 hour shifts at the computer at work, I can go over a ton of random questions. What has really helped me though is actually typing out the questions themselves, as I have begun to notice various sneaky tricks the LSAC uses when creating the questions. Small stuff that would not immediately jump out if you weren't really taking the time to analyze the questions (as you by necessity do when typing out the stimulus, stem, and answers). Doing it this way opened my eyes to the idea that there are 4 wrong answers and 1 right one. So, hope that helps someone.

Would you mind maybe sharing an example of a power point slide to show an example of how you lay it out? I am interested in trying to compile a list of questions that I miss, but I want to find a format that makes sense and is effective.

+1. Definitely interested in this method. Much of my study regimen in college has involved rewriting material until I could spit it back verbatim. That's just how I learn.

[pu_golf88]

Officially starting my studying tonight, I'm actually a little excited. This is probably because I hate my job.

[Chief Littlebighead]

Re: Powerpoint method in more detail

1. Start with a blank Powerpoint slide. I begin with the "Title and caption" slide and title it Preptest X, Section X.
2. For the first question, directly under the title, number the question, then write the stimulus.
3. Skip a space, write the stem, bold it.
4. Skip a space, list the answers...A. B. C. D. E.
5. Move onto a new slide, now that you have titled the first slide, you can use all of the space for the question. What I do is start with "title and caption", remove the title portion by clicking on it and then deleting it, and readjusting the text box of "caption" to cover the entire page.
6. Number your question, repeat 2-5.
7. Once I've finished entering the questions on any given preptest, I go to the slide layout called "title and two captions" and title it with the name of the PT, and then in the two columns provided, list the answers to the questions I've typed broken up by section they came from. In parenthesis next to the correct answer I type in the original answer I chose that was wrong.
8. Note that I only use this process for the questions that I got wrong, though I suppose it could be done for all logical reasoning questions in any given preptest, it would take a very, very long time to type them all out.

So far I have just used white slides with black text, no graphics or anything. Powerpoint is cool because when you run the slideshow it fills up the whole screen with the question, and you can cycle through your questions easily. As I stated in the first post, I am using Powerpoint because it is a format that I can review with at work without physically having to cycle through pages of questions, write anything, etc. Also note that I have just been using this on logical reasoning questions, as they are essentially the most concise questions for this format.

[Rahsaan]

Re: Powerpoint method in more detail

1. Start with a blank Powerpoint slide. I begin with the "Title and caption" slide and title it Preptest X, Section X.
2. For the first question, directly under the title, number the question, then write the stimulus.
3. Skip a space, write the stem, bold it.
4. Skip a space, list the answers...A. B. C. D. E.
5. Move onto a new slide, now that you have titled the first slide, you can use all of the space for the question. What I do is start with "title and caption", remove the title portion by clicking on it and then deleting it, and readjusting the text box of "caption" to cover the entire page.
6. Number your question, repeat 2-5.
7. Once I've finished entering the questions on any given preptest, I go to the slide layout called "title and two captions" and title it with the name of the PT, and then in the two columns provided, list the answers to the questions I've typed broken up by section they came from. In parenthesis next to the correct answer I type in the original answer I chose that was wrong.
8. Note that I only use this process for the questions that I got wrong, though I suppose it could be done for all logical reasoning questions in any given preptest, it would take a very, very long time to type them all out.

So far I have just used white slides with black text, no graphics or anything. Powerpoint is cool because when you run the slideshow it fills up the whole screen with the question, and you can cycle through your questions easily. As I stated in the first post, I am using Powerpoint because it is a format that I can review with at work without physically having to cycle through pages of questions, write anything, etc. Also note that I have just been using this on logical reasoning questions, as they are essentially the most concise questions for this format.

would you mind uploading one of the slides you have done? This sounds interesting and id like to see it.

[pu_golf88]

How awesome would an LSAT iPhone app be? You could drill LR questions at *cough* work *cough*.

[geverett]

Just went through the Atlas RC guide. Far better than the Powerscore Method imo. It's much shorter as well. I highly recommend.

[pu_golf88]

Just went through the Atlas RC guide. Far better than the Powerscore Method imo. It's much shorter as well. I highly recommend.

Have you seen any results, or did you just like what it taught better?

Mind saying what some major differences are?

[GoldenGloves]

Sitting out on my porch this morning making marks in The Economist as if it's RC. I know everyone recommends reading the magazine to help with RC, but I don't believe I've heard anyone mention if they actually underline, box, or make any other sort of marks as they read through it. Anyone else done this before?

[JG7773]

Sitting out on my porch this morning making marks in The Economist as if it's RC. I know everyone recommends reading the magazine to help with RC, but I don't believe I've heard anyone mention if they actually underline, box, or make any other sort of marks as they read through it. Anyone else done this before?

Interesting concept. I had often thought about writing a small paragraph about each section to sum up any arguments, points of view, etc. Seems a bit over the top, but I am willing to endure the pain.

[stlisforlovers]

Just went through the Atlas RC guide. Far better than the Powerscore Method imo. It's much shorter as well. I highly recommend.

Have you seen any results, or did you just like what it taught better?

Mind saying what some major differences are?

I would be interested to hear as well.

[joebloe]

Sitting out on my porch this morning making marks in The Economist as if it's RC. I know everyone recommends reading the magazine to help with RC, but I don't believe I've heard anyone mention if they actually underline, box, or make any other sort of marks as they read through it. Anyone else done this before?

Interesting concept. I had often thought about writing a small paragraph about each section to sum up any arguments, points of view, etc. Seems a bit over the top, but I am willing to endure the pain.

I'd say this is a great idea.

[lawschool12345]

How awesome would an LSAT iPhone app be? You could drill LR questions at *cough* work *cough*.

i am sure if you created this you wouldnt need law school as everyone would want this and you can make billions of dollars! haha

[holden147]

Didn't know posting full questions was against the rules. Deleted post.

[99.9luft]

careful about posting full questions. that may violate copyrights laws and you will be banned by mods.

[holden147]

Thank you for letting me know. I figured it out. Just because A1 --> B5 does not mean that if B5 happens that A1 has to as well. Necessary and sufficient conditions had me a bit thrown there but I was able to figure it out