How I got a perfect score on the LSAT. Forum

[ecrew]

Thank you for your reinforcement, I'm going to really stick with the diagrams until it clicks. I just read the post on conditional reasoning. Looks good, thanks

[allison34363]

I am in a Powerscore course and just completed the second lesson. We are diagramming the conditional reasoning to death. For me diagraming is harder then doing the actual question. Should I stick with it? Right now, it is making me nuts, but I do not want to abanden it if diagraming will eventually become important.

If there's one thing you should know inside out, it's conditional reasoning and the diagramming that goes with it.

If you're an overachiever, or you just want to score better on the LSAT, this may help: http://www.top-law-schools.com/conditio ... oning.html

Good link any more like this?

[dutchstriker]

I am in a Powerscore course and just completed the second lesson. We are diagramming the conditional reasoning to death. For me diagraming is harder then doing the actual question. Should I stick with it? Right now, it is making me nuts, but I do not want to abanden it if diagraming will eventually become important.

If there's one thing you should know inside out, it's conditional reasoning and the diagramming that goes with it.

If you're an overachiever, or you just want to score better on the LSAT, this may help: http://www.top-law-schools.com/conditio ... oning.html

Good link any more like this?

Hmm... Well, I wrote that so if you have any specific requests for other topics I'd be interested to hear.

I also wrote this article (although it's a different type of article): http://www.top-law-schools.com/how-i-sc ... icle3.html

If you're interested in more conditional reasoning stuff, I actually don't know of anything else on the interwebs (which is partly why I wrote that one). There are some type-specific articles written by another TLS user that you can find at the bottom of this page: http://top-law-schools.com/articles.html

I'd be happy to hear suggestions for new content.

[allison34363]

Thanks!

[justwhisper]

I am in a Powerscore course and just completed the second lesson. We are diagramming the conditional reasoning to death. For me diagraming is harder then doing the actual question. Should I stick with it? Right now, it is making me nuts, but I do not want to abanden it if diagraming will eventually become important.

If there's one thing you should know inside out, it's conditional reasoning and the diagramming that goes with it.

If you're an overachiever, or you just want to score better on the LSAT, this may help: http://www.top-law-schools.com/conditio ... oning.html

Good link any more like this?

Hmm... Well, I wrote that so if you have any specific requests for other topics I'd be interested to hear.

I also wrote this article (although it's a different type of article): http://www.top-law-schools.com/how-i-sc ... icle3.html

If you're interested in more conditional reasoning stuff, I actually don't know of anything else on the interwebs (which is partly why I wrote that one). There are some type-specific articles written by another TLS user that you can find at the bottom of this page: http://top-law-schools.com/articles.html

I'd be happy to hear suggestions for new content.

Are you the owner of this site? Or just an admin?

[dutchstriker]

Are you the owner of this site? Or just an admin?

Neither. I just write articles for the site on occasion.

[allison34363]

Are you the owner of this site? Or just an admin?

Neither. I just write articles for the site on occasion.

Write some more lol! How's law school going?

[dutchstriker]

Are you the owner of this site? Or just an admin?

Neither. I just write articles for the site on occasion.

Write some more lol! How's law school going?

I will. Finishing the LRAP section now.

Haven't started law school yet, but I'm excited to get there.

[justwhisper]

Are you the owner of this site? Or just an admin?

Neither. I just write articles for the site on occasion.

Write some more lol! How's law school going?

I will. Finishing the LRAP section now.

Haven't started law school yet, but I'm excited to get there.

So what if you're writing a rap? And law school is overrated.

[3|ink]

Thought I would give my bit of advice. I took a more holistic than most people I think.

Here are my top three bits of advice.

1) Read all different kinds of information. I would read The Economist, The Smithsonian, and Scientific American, daily. I think this is what helped the most, and reading should be a top priority. You can re-wire the neurons in your brain to better handle written words if you read all the time. Most people's brains are probably set in "T.V. Mode" and unfortunately there is no video section on the LSAT. Turn off the television, start reading dense material, this will help you across the board not just on the reading comprehension section.

2) Pick up a good book on INFORMAL logic. I hear people saying that formal logic important, believe me, for this test INFORMAL logic is actually what you want to study. I think people are confusing the two. I am particularly fond of "Informal Logic: A handbook for critical argument" by Douglas N. Walton.

3) When you are studying, figure out why each answer choice was wrong, as well as why the correct one was in fact correct. This is kind of common sense but the tediousness of doing this causes it to be often ignored.

Cheers

I took this advice and read the hardest thing I could think of: Adam Smith's 'Wealth'. It definitely helped with my LR.

[goawaybee]

Thought I would give my bit of advice. I took a more holistic than most people I think.

Here are my top three bits of advice.

1) Read all different kinds of information. I would read The Economist, The Smithsonian, and Scientific American, daily. I think this is what helped the most, and reading should be a top priority. You can re-wire the neurons in your brain to better handle written words if you read all the time. Most people's brains are probably set in "T.V. Mode" and unfortunately there is no video section on the LSAT. Turn off the television, start reading dense material, this will help you across the board not just on the reading comprehension section.

2) Pick up a good book on INFORMAL logic. I hear people saying that formal logic important, believe me, for this test INFORMAL logic is actually what you want to study. I think people are confusing the two. I am particularly fond of "Informal Logic: A handbook for critical argument" by Douglas N. Walton.

3) When you are studying, figure out why each answer choice was wrong, as well as why the correct one was in fact correct. This is kind of common sense but the tediousness of doing this causes it to be often ignored.

Cheers

I took this advice and read the hardest thing I could think of: Adam Smith's 'Wealth'. It definitely helped with my LR.

Good points above. I was laughing to myself after I noticed I had 3 older issues of smithsonian laying around. I would say that it is a ringer for RC type of passages. The content, the topics, writing style etc...Def. keeps you in the groove. I shall research this Smith book and that Walton book mentioned above.

Thanks for pulling this thread back out.

[allison34363]

Thought I would give my bit of advice. I took a more holistic than most people I think.

Here are my top three bits of advice.

1) Read all different kinds of information. I would read The Economist, The Smithsonian, and Scientific American, daily. I think this is what helped the most, and reading should be a top priority. You can re-wire the neurons in your brain to better handle written words if you read all the time. Most people's brains are probably set in "T.V. Mode" and unfortunately there is no video section on the LSAT. Turn off the television, start reading dense material, this will help you across the board not just on the reading comprehension section.

2) Pick up a good book on INFORMAL logic. I hear people saying that formal logic important, believe me, for this test INFORMAL logic is actually what you want to study. I think people are confusing the two. I am particularly fond of "Informal Logic: A handbook for critical argument" by Douglas N. Walton.

3) When you are studying, figure out why each answer choice was wrong, as well as why the correct one was in fact correct. This is kind of common sense but the tediousness of doing this causes it to be often ignored.

Cheers

I took this advice and read the hardest thing I could think of: Adam Smith's 'Wealth'. It definitely helped with my LR.

Just reading? Or did you do the kaplan/powerscore RC outlining method for each source?

[Christina19106]

So in regards to the Testmasters course by Robin Singh, I took a testmasters course last June and improved my score from a 143 to a 160. I didn't take the June LSAT because I think I can further improve my score my employing the tactics I received from my instructor. I actually signed up to take the course again, with a different instructor to get a different perspective (and it's only half price).


The aspects of Testmasters that I really like:
- 6 volumes of Testmaster books contain every LSAT question from the last 10 years and ONLY LSAT questions.
- the Lessons and Homework breaks down the Logical Reasoning section into 15 different type of questions and the first book has a pie chart explaining how often each question comes up. This has been a huge help for my logical reasoning sections because in diagnostics i can now look at the question type and determine how to approach it.
- The resources on the members section of their website are invaluable. Many of the homework questions are explained online, I'd say around 80% of logic games and 75% of the logical reasoning questions. I found this especially great for logic games because it breaks down what deductions you could have made up front. There's also a list of 86 logical flaws that are on the lsat.
- Theres a student helpline from 1-4pm you can call when your struggling with hw, strategies, ect.

Negative things about Testmasters
- despite all these things I really like about the program, I do think that the program is overpriced and somewhat unnecessary. While the way they explain their tactics for attacking the LSAT were really helpful to me, the bulk of the work still relied in my diligence; the smallest hw section has 40 questions and the rest are around 100+.
- So if you already have a good handle on logical concepts, i.e. you know the common flaws of compare/contrast arguments or sufficient necessary conditions are second nature to you, then the only way testmasters can really help you is by telling you what questions your weakest at and pushing you to practice the problems more. Anyone with determination and the last 10 lsats could do the same things and save nearly 2 grand.
- Also I think the instructors really vary and you can get stuck with a 1yr teacher that does everything by the book and doesnt really know how to make the material more accessible.

So in a nutshell, I'm really glad that I took the Testmasters, I don't think I would ever have been able to improve so substantially without them.

[Bryan]

.

[yolanda32]

To be fair, every single thing you mentioned liking about testmasters (real and only real questions, break down of LR, vast online resources, helpline) exists at every one of the prep companies. Though by all accounts, Robin Singh is a great teacher.

I think the main advantage of prep courses is that it gives a structure to your studying. This can be really helpful if you have trouble with motivating yourself, staying organized or with taking taking initiative. They also help you identify your weaknesses through all the diagnostics and online stuff. Also, it is probably nice to be in a class of kids who are also taking the LSAT; your classmates can help your confidence and serve as a sort of support group. Everyone on here argues a whole bunch about which course is the best, but I'm pretty sure that they all offer these same advantages. Maybe they differ in strategy slightly, but I don't really see strategy as a primary reason to take the prep course. Plus, all the big companies have successful and I'd imagine fairly similar strategies. Little differences (what should i diagram during RC and LR? should i read the stem or stimulus first?) are largely an issue of personal comfort and you can play around with these sort of things on your own.

Basically, I think every company is the same so you should focus on things like price, what time of day the course is offered, ease of commute and other factors like that.

I loved the case of Testmasters v. Testmasters. Weird result, Robin Singh can't use the trademark in Texas I believe.

[allison34363]

Pretty sure any prep test company will work if you put in the work and do preptests..

[beachbum]

Pretty sure any prep test company will work if you put in the work and do preptests..

Was that really worth reviving a long-dead thread?

[allison34363]

Pretty sure any prep test company will work if you put in the work and do preptests..

Was that really worth reviving a long-dead thread?

You revived it too! And I get email notifications so I didn't know it was old, sorry.

[justadude55]

Thought I would give my bit of advice. I took a more holistic than most people I think.

Here are my top three bits of advice.

1) Read all different kinds of information. I would read The Economist, The Smithsonian, and Scientific American, daily. I think this is what helped the most, and reading should be a top priority. You can re-wire the neurons in your brain to better handle written words if you read all the time. Most people's brains are probably set in "T.V. Mode" and unfortunately there is no video section on the LSAT. Turn off the television, start reading dense material, this will help you across the board not just on the reading comprehension section.

2) Pick up a good book on INFORMAL logic. I hear people saying that formal logic important, believe me, for this test INFORMAL logic is actually what you want to study. I think people are confusing the two. I am particularly fond of "Informal Logic: A handbook for critical argument" by Douglas N. Walton.

3) When you are studying, figure out why each answer choice was wrong, as well as why the correct one was in fact correct. This is kind of common sense but the tediousness of doing this causes it to be often ignored.

Cheers

OP is right on, on informal logic. This is evident in every assumption question, and principle question among others. I took a Princeton Review and Kaplan Course, and this was never taught to us. I realized this about 3 months ago, and it was the difference in -4 in LR like on my initial test and -0 as I am getting now.

[justadude55]

What a horrible way to kill off self-potential

it's actually a very good way to kill self-potential.

It's like reading an LSAT problem.

Whether it's horrible or very good, it is still a way to kill self-potential.

like this post...

no if it's a horrible way to kill potential, it would mean it is not good at killing potential.

[allison34363]

What is the difference between formal and informal logic? I must have missed something.

[MissLucky]

Thought I would give my bit of advice. I took a more holistic than most people I think.

Here are my top three bits of advice.

1) Read all different kinds of information. I would read The Economist, The Smithsonian, and Scientific American, daily. I think this is what helped the most, and reading should be a top priority. You can re-wire the neurons in your brain to better handle written words if you read all the time. Most people's brains are probably set in "T.V. Mode" and unfortunately there is no video section on the LSAT. Turn off the television, start reading dense material, this will help you across the board not just on the reading comprehension section.

2) Pick up a good book on INFORMAL logic. I hear people saying that formal logic important, believe me, for this test INFORMAL logic is actually what you want to study. I think people are confusing the two. I am particularly fond of "Informal Logic: A handbook for critical argument" by Douglas N. Walton.

3) When you are studying, figure out why each answer choice was wrong, as well as why the correct one was in fact correct. This is kind of common sense but the tediousness of doing this causes it to be often ignored.

Cheers

OP is right on, on informal logic. This is evident in every assumption question, and principle question among others. I took a Princeton Review and Kaplan Course, and this was never taught to us. I realized this about 3 months ago, and it was the difference in -4 in LR like on my initial test and -0 as I am getting now.

for an october taker...is it worth getting that book at this point?

[justadude55]

Thought I would give my bit of advice. I took a more holistic than most people I think.

Here are my top three bits of advice.

1) Read all different kinds of information. I would read The Economist, The Smithsonian, and Scientific American, daily. I think this is what helped the most, and reading should be a top priority. You can re-wire the neurons in your brain to better handle written words if you read all the time. Most people's brains are probably set in "T.V. Mode" and unfortunately there is no video section on the LSAT. Turn off the television, start reading dense material, this will help you across the board not just on the reading comprehension section.

2) Pick up a good book on INFORMAL logic. I hear people saying that formal logic important, believe me, for this test INFORMAL logic is actually what you want to study. I think people are confusing the two. I am particularly fond of "Informal Logic: A handbook for critical argument" by Douglas N. Walton.

3) When you are studying, figure out why each answer choice was wrong, as well as why the correct one was in fact correct. This is kind of common sense but the tediousness of doing this causes it to be often ignored.

Cheers

OP is right on, on informal logic. This is evident in every assumption question, and principle question among others. I took a Princeton Review and Kaplan Course, and this was never taught to us. I realized this about 3 months ago, and it was the difference in -4 in LR like on my initial test and -0 as I am getting now.

for an october taker...is it worth getting that book at this point?

can't hurt, but id stick to tests and noticing patterns on your own.

[allison34363]

Any book review on the informal logic book?

[nStiver]

It seems like everyone on these forums gets a 180 these days

LOL thats a good point. However, as a fellow 180, I can attest to the fact that the original poster gave solid advice.