October 2010 Test Prep Forum

[Hedwig]

A little motivation

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6wRkzCW5qI

I love the shot of the Grinch saving Christmas in the end there. My favorite part.

[ram10]

I just started a testmasters course and my cold diagnostic was 164, how high do you guys think it is realistic for me to aim? Half of my missed questions were on logic games, so I'm gonna be working on getting that down to a science. Also, any advice on what outside materials I should be using to supplement the prep class (I'm defintely going to pick up the logic games bible)?

I always say a ten point increase is a good goal (although mine is 11)

Yeah, I was thinking 175 is a good goal, but I wasn't sure if that was overly ambitious.

[Hannibal]

Just took Preptest 30, and got a 173. BOOYAH, granny. There was a really hard RC that I got two wrong on, and my roommate was talking really loudly to her boyfriend on Skype and then sung along to some Disney songs so I was all prepared to make excuses for myself.

WOOHAH.

[maddox86]

Hey guys,

I started wanting to take the test in October but I'm thinking of December now, I really need to ace it and compensate for my GPA..

Do you think it's worth it? or will finalizing my apps in December disadvantage me?

thanks.

[Hannibal]

Since the test is in December your score will be there in January, which is a bit late for comfort. Take a diagnostic and see where you are, if you can dive into it intensely you could pull it out.

What's your GPA?

[merc280]

Im studying for the October LSAT too. Took the test in June and got a 150, but with my low GPA (2., I am gonna try and make at least a 165 if not more

[shannon111]

U will be fine jst make sure u are taking tests and timing sections it really does make a huge difference by taking a test a week.

[Hedwig]

I just posted in the motivational thread, but wanted to share my personal favorite with all my lovely October test takers:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rL37snqMJx8

[surfermikedude]

Took the both LR Sections from preptest 11 tonight.

LR Section 2 -3
6)Strengthen
12)Must be True
24)Assumption

LR Section 4 -6
15)Assumption
16)Must Be True
19)Flaw
20)Parallel
22)Parallel
24)Role in Argument

Ugh, looks like I pretty much ran the gambit. The only conclusion I can draw from the questions I missed is that I need to work on assumption/weaken/strengthen questions because they are all in the same family. I also need to work on the last 10 or so questions (the hardest on the test). Problem is, I usually reach question 16 with 20 minutes to go, leaving me with 2 minutes per question.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

I am thinking I might just practice assumption/strengthen/weaken before proceeding to another timed section. I am also thinking of implementing the "negate the possible assumption and see if it weakens the conclusion" strategy for assumption questions.

[maddox86]

Since the test is in December your score will be there in January, which is a bit late for comfort. Take a diagnostic and see where you are, if you can dive into it intensely you could pull it out.

What's your GPA?

It's a bit tricky, foreign student so LSAC didn't give me a GPA (none from my university), just a description, "above average".. they give superior, above average, average, below average.. solid addendum, I think..

I am working on my applications now to have them ready by October in any case.. So should I risk it and go for December? Hoping to get into a T14

[Hedwig]

I found negating the assumption worked quite well. I tried it out today and I got the questions I used it on right. It helps you see the effect of the sentence, I think. Also remember that for some weaken/strengthen questions, the right answer might be one that has no effect on the argument - this depends on question choice, but if the question is an EXCEPT question ("each of the following, if true, would weaken the author's conclusion EXCEPT"), then the answer might not strengthen it, it might just have no effect on it. I don't know if that's an obvious thing to watch out for, but it tripped me up a couple times in early prep.

I find Parallel questions the most difficult to answer. I hope the LRB provides me with a little more clarity as to what's going on in LR. I find I can get between -2 and -5 on a single LR section, but half the time I have no idea how I got all those right answers.

[Gemini]

If you are having trouble and don't know HOW you get the right answers right, you need to stop doing pacing and go back to working on accuracy.

Personally right now, I have not been doing any pacing, just focusing on trying to be more accurate when I do a question. I feel like once I have that down, I'll start incorporating regular pacing sessions.

[TMT90]

I am also just focusing on accuracy rather than pacing. Although it takes me a considerable amount of time to complete a PT this way, it really seems to be helping me understand which questions are right and wrong. I recently missed -5 in LR1 in PT 9, compared to missing twice that amount per section in PT 7. However I feel like i've been slacking in my studying because i've been spreading out sections in a span of a few days, so i'm probably going to move my studying to the library and see if a change of location motivates me to do more questions at a time.

[Hedwig]

I'm not really worried about pacing right now. August was supposed to be the month I upped my speed - but I always finish LR/RC with time to go back and check difficult questions, and LG I've just started to finish with a minute or two left (so I do need practice on that, but I think just practicing games will help with that). I want my LRB to come so I can start working on learning some strategies for LR, since currently I have none.

[ashtharkun]

Hey guys, I started studying for the October test (but I might switch it to Feb. because of other priorities) a couple of weeks ago and I'm almost done with the LRB and LGB. I have a question for the ones taking sections/complete PTs: are you still focusing on accuracy or are you taking them timed?

[thegrayman]

Hey guys, I started studying for the October test (but I might switch it to Feb. because of other priorities) a couple of weeks ago and I'm almost done with the LRB and LGB. I have a question for the ones taking sections/complete PTs: are you still focusing on accuracy or are you taking them timed?

Start with accuracy until you learn the ropes, then take off the training wheels and do timed.

[northwood]

I am still focusing on accuracy, not speed./ The Sufficient assumption, necessary assumptions are tripping me up the most right now. I am doing sections of untimed pts, using my notes and references to help answer the questions. I also make up my own sections, using old last questions that focus on each type of question ( 2 types/ section, 12 questions each). I will work on pacing in the last half of august, through september using pts 48-60 as a reference.

I am doing the same thing on games and rc. Is anyone spending more time on lg and lr, and kind of neglecting rc ( only looking at it 1 or 2 times a week)? I want to make sure i get lr down ( 2 sections) and lg down before i go onto rc ( my strongest area)

[Hedwig]

RC is irritating the heck out of me. I can't get it down below -3. My goal is -0 - -2 on each of the four sections (shooting high... I think that's generally a 170+ score haha).

I just took Prep Test #20, after reviewing Prep Test #19. The first LR was very good, I only got 2 wrong. RC kind of sucked, three wrong as per usual. LG was very good, especially because I finished with 5 minutes to spare and went back and fixed a couple wrong answers on the first game, because I wrote down a rule wrong :O. I only got one wrong LG. Then LR again - I should have had only -2, but I changed my answer to question 11.

I felt like D and E were both right, and originally picked D. AH I just figured it out! John works FIVE days a week, four at an insurance company, and on Fridays he is a blacksmith, and he takes no days off if he's not on vacay and it's not a national holiday. So if it's not a holiday/he's not on vacation, the days he works at the insurance company are MTWR ... I originally picked D which says he doesn't work on Sat or Sun, which is the correct answer. But E was pretty tempting - no days on which JOhn worked at the insurance company and at the Blacksmiths. But that's not an assumption, really - he works five days a week, so he can't work at two jobs on one day or he'd only work 4 days which wouldn't work. So the Sat/Sun answer must be correct.

If I had figured that out during the test, I would have scored a 174 instead of a 173. But I'm cool with that.

[queenlizzie13]

I'm currently reviewing Prep Test 11 - I can't figure out Section 4 #11 on LR for some reason.

I'm stuck. Can anyone help? PM or post in here please. I'm not seeing why the correct answer is (b).

So far, in logging all of the missed questions the three weakest are:
Must be true
Weaken
Flaw

[dub]

I'm currently reviewing Prep Test 11 - I can't figure out Section 4 #11 on LR for some reason.

I'm stuck. Can anyone help? PM or post in here please. I'm not seeing why the correct answer is (b).

So far, in logging all of the missed questions the three weakest are:
Must be true
Weaken
Flaw

b) If much of the tree is unusable and made into products that quickly decompose, and we know that when old trees decompose -> releases CO2, then much of the harvested old tree is going to contribute to more CO2, not less.

a)Irrelevant
c) How much CO2 is contained doesn't matter because the stimulus doesn't say anything about it.
d) Strengthens since it would imply leaving old trees around -> more CO2.
e) Size of tree and absorption of CO2 are not necessarily related.

[queenlizzie13]

I'm currently reviewing Prep Test 11 - I can't figure out Section 4 #11 on LR for some reason.

I'm stuck. Can anyone help? PM or post in here please. I'm not seeing why the correct answer is (b).

So far, in logging all of the missed questions the three weakest are:
Must be true
Weaken
Flaw

b) If much of the tree is unusable and made into products that quickly decompose, and we know that when old trees decompose -> releases CO2, then much of the harvested old tree is going to contribute to more CO2, not less.

a)Irrelevant
c) How much CO2 is contained doesn't matter because the stimulus doesn't say anything about it.
d) Strengthens since it would imply leaving old trees around -> more CO2.
e) Size of tree and absorption of CO2 are not necessarily related.

Okay, I see what I did. For some reason I thought answer choice (b) was saying something else, and thus I eventually went with (c) though when I did this question, I didn't really like any of the answer choices.

So basically (b) says that because much of the trees are not being used, they are decomposing and thus releasing their CO2, instead of being reworked into usable materials/items.

Oh and by the way, thanks that was very helpful.

[pattymac]

lemme in here! wrote June 1997 today... hit a 157, feeling okay about it.

-4 on RC
-16 on LR combined
-10 on LG

69 Raw. Little rattled about -10 on games....usually around -8 to -6. I still have yet to hit an LG where I have a shot at all three games. I'm not kidding when I say I hit a game where I have NO clue where to start. Fortunately these are pattern & mapping games, most often...not so popular anymore. This is keeping me out of the 160's!

[surfermikedude]

Took the LR Sections from PT 10

LR Section 1 -1
22)Must Be True / Formal Logic

LR Section 4 -4
9) Strengthen X
13) Flaw
19)Weaken
25)Parallel

Conclusion - I am still missing the strengthen/weaken/assumption questions. Time to take a break from timed PTs and start relearning the strategies with these types of questions.

Does anyone else find it frustrating finding a balance between timed PTs and untimed questions? I guess I am the stereotypical millennial who is obsessed with instant results. Whenever I sit down to study I feel like I need to take a PT to assess where I am at. UGH!

[3|ink]

Took the LR Sections from PT 10

LR Section 1 -1
22)Must Be True / Formal Logic

LR Section 4 -4
9) Strengthen X
13) Flaw
19)Weaken
25)Parallel

Conclusion - I am still missing the strengthen/weaken/assumption questions. Time to take a break from timed PTs and start relearning the strategies with these types of questions.

Does anyone else find it frustrating finding a balance between timed PTs and untimed questions? I guess I am the stereotypical millennial who is obsessed with instant results. Whenever I sit down to study I feel like I need to take a PT to assess where I am at. UGH!

If you haven't read the logical reasoning bible, I highly recommend it. Their sections on strengthen and weaken questions are very strong.

[ashtharkun]

I am doing the same thing on games and rc. Is anyone spending more time on lg and lr, and kind of neglecting rc ( only looking at it 1 or 2 times a week)? I want to make sure i get lr down ( 2 sections) and lg down before i go onto rc ( my strongest area)

Haha yeah. I took a few lr and lg sections (untimed) and I generally miss -4/-5 and -2/-3. I can't say rc is my strongest area but I should start doing more of that from next week.