The Official September 2016 Study Group - WAKE ME UP WHEN SEPTEMBER ENDS Forum

[ashrice13]

Extremely happy. Took my last 2 practice tests today back to back.

PT75 (first test): 174/-6 (-5 would've been a 176)

LR1: -2
LR2: -1
LG: -1 (arrgghhh misbubbled from testbook to answer sheet)
RC: -2

PT78 (second test): 178/-3

LR1: -1
LG: -1
LR2: -0
RC: -1

Absolutely shocked that I went -1 on PT78 RC. I spent the first 22 minutes on passages 2+3 (I always do comparative last) then basically just went with my gut on all the questions in the science passage to finish on time. Finished PT78 LR2 in 22 minutes. Finished both LG sections in ~28 minutes so VERY upset that I missed a question on both of them.

Was gonna take PT77 tomorrow but I think I'm happy calling it good and just leaving that as unexhausted. I'm done for today. I've cut out all of the questions I've missed in the past two months from drilling LR. Gonna do all of those tomorrow + drill maybe 5-10 RC passages and 5-10 games. Friday I'm just gonna do a couple hours of games and call it good.

If you got a 178 on PT78...I'd for sure call it good. -1 on the RC is impressive. Congrats!!!

[Instrumental]

Realistically I feel like I shouldn't be disappointed with scores mostly ranging in 94-96 percentile... but I am. Goddamn goals and aspirations.

[Mikey]

Extremely happy. Took my last 2 practice tests today back to back.

PT75 (first test): 174/-6 (-5 would've been a 176)

LR1: -2
LR2: -1
LG: -1 (arrgghhh misbubbled from testbook to answer sheet)
RC: -2

PT78 (second test): 178/-3

LR1: -1
LG: -1
LR2: -0
RC: -1

Absolutely shocked that I went -1 on PT78 RC. I spent the first 22 minutes on passages 2+3 (I always do comparative last) then basically just went with my gut on all the questions in the science passage to finish on time. Finished PT78 LR2 in 22 minutes. Finished both LG sections in ~28 minutes so VERY upset that I missed a question on both of them.

Was gonna take PT77 tomorrow but I think I'm happy calling it good and just leaving that as unexhausted. I'm done for today. I've cut out all of the questions I've missed in the past two months from drilling LR. Gonna do all of those tomorrow + drill maybe 5-10 RC passages and 5-10 games. Friday I'm just gonna do a couple hours of games and call it good.

i'm so jealous, good shit tho!

[Mikey]

LG section, -1

-1 LG? TTTT here comes sweettort! jk bro, lol. 22 mins is great though, which PT's LG was it?

[tofuspeedstar]

Went from 167 on PT77 two days ago to 162 on PT78 today.

Just gonna review, try not to think about it, and rest. I've reached my target score (166) a few times while PTing, but I still have this nervous feeling wondering if I should just wait until December, but I really don't want to wait that long to apply and continue to study for this test (this week is going to be my third time taking it).

No reason you can't just go for both. Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.

I can't do both this week and December because this week will be my third time. I think I would just apply with the numbers I have at that point instead of waiting another cycle.

You're on the same boat as me then broski. We got this! I've hit my target score twice (both in last 3 PTs) I still feel like garbage but I'm gonna finish up 78 today, BR score and review. Possibly cry.

First LR was unusually hard, or maybe it was cause I wasn't 100% I had a hard time reading

[appind]

Extremely happy. Took my last 2 practice tests today back to back.

PT75 (first test): 174/-6 (-5 would've been a 176)

LR1: -2
LR2: -1
LG: -1 (arrgghhh misbubbled from testbook to answer sheet)
RC: -2

PT78 (second test): 178/-3

LR1: -1
LG: -1
LR2: -0
RC: -1

Absolutely shocked that I went -1 on PT78 RC. I spent the first 22 minutes on passages 2+3 (I always do comparative last) then basically just went with my gut on all the questions in the science passage to finish on time. Finished PT78 LR2 in 22 minutes. Finished both LG sections in ~28 minutes so VERY upset that I missed a question on both of them.

Was gonna take PT77 tomorrow but I think I'm happy calling it good and just leaving that as unexhausted. I'm done for today. I've cut out all of the questions I've missed in the past two months from drilling LR. Gonna do all of those tomorrow + drill maybe 5-10 RC passages and 5-10 games. Friday I'm just gonna do a couple hours of games and call it good.

solid work.

22 mins on 78 LR2. that has 26q. teach us your LR/RC ways..how do guys get through LR so quick? I am usually at 16-17q at 22 min mark.

[Mikey]

solid work.

22 mins on 78 LR2. that has 26q. teach us your LR/RC ways..how do guys get through LR so quick? I am usually at 16-17q at 22 min mark.

same, idk how some people do it so fast

[thatlawlkid]

Taking a pt untimed and like actually pushing for every answer to be right is exhausting. If this isnt a 175+ i'm just gunna ED cooley.

[littlewing67]

.

[Instrumental]

Anyone scoring 170+ wanna switch brains for Saturday or nah?

I only got 170+ 3 times in the 56 tests I've taken. You can have mine if I can have Sweet Tort or Shemp's.. or maybe that guy that just got a 178 on PT78


I think I'm going to take PT78 tomorrow. I want to see what all the hubbub is about its RC. Maybe it's a bad idea to risk getting a soul crusher as the last fresh PT before the test.

[bearedman8]

Extremely happy. Took my last 2 practice tests today back to back.

PT75 (first test): 174/-6 (-5 would've been a 176)

LR1: -2
LR2: -1
LG: -1 (arrgghhh misbubbled from testbook to answer sheet)
RC: -2

PT78 (second test): 178/-3

LR1: -1
LG: -1
LR2: -0
RC: -1

Absolutely shocked that I went -1 on PT78 RC. I spent the first 22 minutes on passages 2+3 (I always do comparative last) then basically just went with my gut on all the questions in the science passage to finish on time. Finished PT78 LR2 in 22 minutes. Finished both LG sections in ~28 minutes so VERY upset that I missed a question on both of them.

Was gonna take PT77 tomorrow but I think I'm happy calling it good and just leaving that as unexhausted. I'm done for today. I've cut out all of the questions I've missed in the past two months from drilling LR. Gonna do all of those tomorrow + drill maybe 5-10 RC passages and 5-10 games. Friday I'm just gonna do a couple hours of games and call it good.

solid work.

22 mins on 78 LR2. that has 26q. teach us your LR/RC ways..how do guys get through LR so quick? I am usually at 16-17q at 22 min mark.

This one had an unusually large number of identify the conclusion/method of reasoning questions, which I'm normally able to answer pretty quickly on first readthrough. The two parallel questions were also pretty easy for me (one was a simple inference chain and the other confused numbers and proportions). I'd say I average about 25 minutes to do an LR section though, so here's my advice. A lot of it has to do with drilling so it might not be as relevant to September takers, but hopefully it will help someone!

1. I always read the question stem before the stimulus and then attack the question systematically based on what type of question it is. On flaw questions, for example, I primarily try to understand the argument and flaw then prephase an answer. But on main conclusion questions, I don't really care about understanding the argument and its strengths/weaknesses as long as I can find the conclusion. On early-section MC conclusion questions, for example, sometimes I don't even finish reading the stimulus if I've found the conclusion - and according to 7sage I have a 100% accuracy on MC questions across my last 20 practice tests.

2. Drill flaw questions until they're second nature to you and feel like "gimme" questions. They're the most common question type in LR, so a strong basis in them will really help your performance. For flaw questions in particular, prephrasing an answer really goes a long way since you can almost always prephrase exactly what the flaw is. I normally prephase them abstractly (confuses a necessary condition with sufficient, part to whole, appeal to authority, etc.) as opposed to prephasing them in the context of the question (Mickey mistakenly believes that something that ensures he will be a good student guarantees him being a good student), but I'm sure that either way is fine. You should also be able to identify SUPER quickly what all of the LSAT's abstract incorrect answer choices actually mean and can eliminate them very quickly. Formal/abstract language can slip a lot of people up but the LSAT only has so many ways of describing different flaws and it's normally very evident when one of these is not appearing in the argument.

3. Drill strengthen/weaken questions a ton until these are also second nature to you. There's normally ~7 combined strengthen/weaken questions per LSAT. Unlike flaw questions, it's a bit harder to prephase the exact answer (although definitely possible, especially on earlier questions in the section), but it should always be possible to think of what parts of the argument need to be bolstered/weakened. Imo, prephasing is the most important factor in my success on flaw/strengthen/weaken questions.

4. Necessary assumption questions normally have the correct answer be something that'll make you say "oh, of course the author thinks that..." and sufficient assumption questions normally link two portions of the stimulus. On NA questions, do a really quick runthrough of the answers to see if any of them jump out as "oh duh, obviously he thinks that..." If none of them jump out as that, then go through each of the answer choices more thoroughly. As a corollary, NA correct answers often have pretty weak language while SA correct answers normally have pretty strong language.

5. I don't read all the answer choices on the first 10-15 questions of each LR section. If I'm confident enough in my answer choice, I'll circle it and move on. I definitely wouldn't recommend this for everyone, but if you're consistently maybe -5 between the two LR sections, it might benefit you to be confident in your answers to the earlier questions so you can spend a bit more time considering the harder ones. If you EVER don't finish an LR section in time, then don't do this.

6. I skip all PR/PF/long principle questions and then come back to them at the end. I find that these questions disrupt my tempo throughout the exam. I finish more confidently and quickly if I skip these and then do them all at once at the end.

7. I circle every question that I don't feel 100% on but I think I got right and star every question that I'm unsure of. Once I finish my first runthrough of the section, I check my answers on all starred questions and then on all circled questions. If I have time, I'll then check the first ~10 questions to make sure that I didn't make any really dumb mistakes. Come up with a system to denote to yourself when you don't feel confident on an answer choice and to what degree.

[Mikey]

Trying to see if I can find a new analog watch. My grandfather took it upon himself to take mine with him on his trip.

You're cool, bro

[carasrook]

Anyone scoring 170+ wanna switch brains for Saturday or nah?

I only got 170+ 3 times in the 56 tests I've taken. You can have mine if I can have Sweet Tort or Shemp's.. or maybe that guy that just got a 178 on PT78


I think I'm going to take PT78 tomorrow. I want to see what all the hubbub is about its RC. Maybe it's a bad idea to risk getting a soul crusher as the last fresh PT before the test.

RC is my weakest section and I bombed the June LSAT...and yet... somehow I did better on RC on PT 78 both during the actual administration and when I took it again recently than I ever do (-3 and -1, respectively). Anyway - just saying maybe it won't be so soul crushing!

[carasrook]

i'm reaaaaal ready to get this test over with, y'all

[34iplaw]

#1-7

Thanks for this. Not quite on your level but...

#1 - I'm all about that. Testmasters (my class) is really against it, but it's just my nature to want to know what I'm looking for. I think that you also develop a hypersensitivity to bad arguments when you study the LSAT, and I think that, because of that, it can actually really help to know what you are looking for.

#2 - I think this is actually where my score started to really go up. I just did a ton of abstract flawed method of reasoning questions, and I tried to understand what ever answer actually entailed. The other thing I would add is be aware of equivocation and ad hominem. They are almost always an answer choice and are, relatively, rarely the right answer. Ad hominem, when they do it, is usually very blunt. Equivocation can be a little trickier to spot IMO. Circular reasoning is pretty rare too and has a very rigid definition. The conclusion must repeat a premise IIRC... it can't just sort of feel that way.

#5 - I'm definitely on the opposite side of this, but I find that I have enough time to finish sections adequately with maybe a minute less than I'd like to really give every single question I wasn't 100% sure on a once over. I just notice that I, somewhat oftenly, flag a B, pick D, and I'm right.

#7 - I think that's really important. Finding a system that works for you.

The only other thing I would say is that it is absolutely imperative that you see every LR question, especially if you are in the 90-95%+ accuracy range. For me, I typically move on from any question that just isn't clicking with a light bubble or tick on the answer that feels right so that I don't need to totally blind guess. If there is one that I'm pretty sure about, I'll do a light tick on the number if I'd like to come back and double check... these ones are the ones I typically re read at the end of the section (maybe 20s) just to make sure. I will say that, occasionally, I will jump from the first question that gives me trouble on the last spread of the section to the last question in the section. It's a weird habit that I've always had taking tests.

[Alexandros]

Trying to see if I can find a new analog watch. My grandfather took it upon himself to take mine with him on his trip.

You're cool, bro

Oh no! D:
Hope you can find a good one.

[Alexandros]

I think what really fucks me up in LR is getting a question early on, especially in the first five, that you just cannot see the answer to. You end up behind on time and in panic-mode/rush-mode early on.

[Mikey]

i'm reaaaaal ready to get this test over with, y'all

Cara you ready to KILL IT this Saturday???

[Mikey]

Trying to see if I can find a new analog watch. My grandfather took it upon himself to take mine with him on his trip.

You're cool, bro

Oh no! D:
Hope you can find a good one.

Gonna try.

What kind of watch do you use?

[34iplaw]

I think what really fucks me up in LR is getting a question early on, especially in the first five, that you just cannot see the answer to. You end up behind on time and in panic-mode/rush-mode early on.

The one you overthink. This happened to me a frustrating amount, so I committed that if an answer in the first ten doesn't click on the first read through that I come back. It's always something stupid. For me, the really early point of disagreements throw me off because they just seem too obviously easy.

[Alexandros]

Trying to see if I can find a new analog watch. My grandfather took it upon himself to take mine with him on his trip.

You're cool, bro

Oh no! D:
Hope you can find a good one.

Gonna try.

What kind of watch do you use?

Just one of the Casio ones. Ordered it off amazon.

[34iplaw]

Trying to see if I can find a new analog watch. My grandfather took it upon himself to take mine with him on his trip.

You're cool, bro

Oh no! D:
Hope you can find a good one.

Gonna try.

What kind of watch do you use?

Get the complication 6102P... anything less is going to really put you at a disadvantage for the test.

[Rupert Pupkin]

Just did LG 3 (alphabet words--circular) from PT Feb 1994 and wtf. Some of these "Forgotten Few" are so weird. I can figure it out, but in the beginning im so stumped when I see games that weird. But the more I go through these again in my PS Drill book, the more familiar I guess it gets. Hoping nothing too weird in LG come Sat

That may be your problem. IIRC, it's an operation game. It's basically just rule driven. I think for those games you somewhat have to be just comfortable with trying to understand what the mechanics are actually doing.

[+] Spoiler

In that one, (IIRC) it's you can add, swap, or remove, but never repeat. Basically, this means that, at most, you can gain a letter every other turn or remove a letter every other turn. That's the trick to 2-3 of the questions. The others are just making sure that some combination of the operations can get you there.

All that said, make sure you do all the most recent games sections you can. TBH, there are a lot of weird games. IMO, they aren't really all that hard. The difficulty is in the unfamiliarity of them. If you get over that initial, 'WTF IS GOING ON' they are kind of easy... like game 4 June 2015 and some other one were actually some of the easier games in their sections IMO... you just had to get over that initial weirdness.

Ahh Okay, duh! Thanks for the input -- I will definitely make sure I focus on those more

[Instrumental]

Went back to all the questions I got wrong in PT77 and got em all right second time around. urgh wtf brain, get it right the first time.

[Alexandros]

I think what really fucks me up in LR is getting a question early on, especially in the first five, that you just cannot see the answer to. You end up behind on time and in panic-mode/rush-mode early on.

The one you overthink. This happened to me a frustrating amount, so I committed that if an answer in the first ten doesn't click on the first read through that I come back. It's always something stupid. For me, the really early point of disagreements throw me off because they just seem too obviously easy.

I've had it happen a few times where I overlook something small in the stim or the one of the answer choices, and cross all the answer choices off for being equally implausible, and I read it again and it still just doesn't click.

I think it's good practice though, in a way? I used to have it drilled into my head that if I'm 10 min in and at question 6, or spend 10+ minutes on the first passage, there's no way I'm going to be able to finish in time. It's good to realize that, no, you can finish in time and a perfectly good score even if you've screwed up the earlier questions.