Are the words CANNOT, EXCEPT, etc always upper case? Forum

[lsat_hopeful]

Or does the LSAT sometimes mix it up?

(Just came across LG from PT4, game 1, where "cannot" is in lower case letters - was very easy to miss.)

Thanks!

[Colonel_funkadunk]

Or does the LSAT sometimes mix it up?

(Just came across LG from PT4, game 1, where "cannot" is in lower case letters - was very easy to miss.)

Thanks!

Well it looks like you found an exception meaning they don't always capitalize them.

[lsat_hopeful]

Or does the LSAT sometimes mix it up?

(Just came across LG from PT4, game 1, where "cannot" is in lower case letters - was very easy to miss.)

Thanks!

Well it looks like you found an exception meaning they don't always capitalize them.

I did, but it was from PT4....just curious if they have done this more recently as well. (I personally haven't noticed it before on any of the more recent tests, but I'm curious if anyone else has.)

[KDLMaj]

Or does the LSAT sometimes mix it up?

(Just came across LG from PT4, game 1, where "cannot" is in lower case letters - was very easy to miss.)

Thanks!

Well it looks like you found an exception meaning they don't always capitalize them.

I did, but it was from PT4....just curious if they have done this more recently as well. (I personally haven't noticed it before on any of the more recent tests, but I'm curious if anyone else has.)

If we're talking games- they're always capitalized. There are a few things that you used to see in older PTs that LSAC eventually realized needed fixing. (They're much better about not giving you names that start with letters that look alike in games these days, for example, whereas it used to be common place)

[Christine (MLSAT)]

I think I've only ever seen this in two PTs (PT4 and PT5). Even the ones before that had the CANNOTs capitalized.

My money is on a style-guide editing fail on a few early exams.

They *ought* to always capitalize these words, but remember, it's always possible for them to have a style-guide editing fail on your exam. Because that's always a possibility, I would not get in the habit of RELYING on the all-caps to signal the cannot/except. Instead, make sure you're reading each questions pretty darn carefully, regardless.

[Lying Lawyer]

According to Powerscore words like "CAN NOT" and "EXCEPT" are always capitalized. I can't remember their reasoning right now but it probably has to do with the fact that we are trained to always find the correct answer and by doing this it's kind of like a curveball, where now the correct answer is wrong in terms of right and wrong. Like others have said, it was probably missed during editing.

[lsat_hopeful]

I really appreciate the responses.

It's hard for me to wrap my head around the idea of LSAC making an error (even if it was in the earlier days,) but I guess that's a possibility.

They *ought* to always capitalize these words, but remember, it's always possible for them to have a style-guide editing fail on your exam. Because that's always a possibility, I would not get in the habit of RELYING on the all-caps to signal the cannot/except. Instead, make sure you're reading each questions pretty darn carefully, regardless.

Agreed. Better to err on the side of caution.

Thanks again!

[KDLMaj]

I really appreciate the responses.

It's hard for me to wrap around the idea of LSAC making an error (even if it was in the earlier days,) but I guess that's a possibility.

They *ought* to always capitalize these words, but remember, it's always possible for them to have a style-guide editing fail on your exam. Because that's always a possibility, I would not get in the habit of RELYING on the all-caps to signal the cannot/except. Instead, make sure you're reading each questions pretty darn carefully, regardless.

Agreed. Better to err on the side of caution.

Thanks again!

I have surface dyslexia, and the words like "no", "cannot", "must", etc were some of the hardest for me. I actually trained myself to circle them every time. It trained my brain to actively look out for those words- which made me way less likely to miss it. Christine is 100% right (not shocking- girl gives some damn good advice) that you shouldn't rely on it because it's not always capitalized outside of LR. Also, it's still easy to accidentally disregard those words. Find ways to force yourself to connect the recognition of those words with an action- it makes you less likely to miss it. (Muscle Memory, yo)

Also, keep in mind that if your PTs were obtained from a third party (Prep Company), THEY may have made the mistake. If so, let them know. Part of the LSAC agreement requires that every single piece of the tests is reprinted with identical formatting. They're even required to have the same number of words on each line, and the size of paragraphs must be identical, etc. So you're doing them a favor by pointing it out.