Hi there,

I was wondering if anybody could clarify (please) why the Substitution and Equivalence section was placed at the end of the PTs ( i have the 2nd package). Is this because these types of questions only appear on later LSATs?

I just started PT-ing so i'm at 37.

Please let me know what you guys think.

Thanks :)

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12 comments

  • Friday, Aug 28 2015

    thanks everyone.

    i just wanted to know around when they popped up so i can tell myself to skip it :).

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  • Thursday, Aug 27 2015

    @angelleung717 there is definitely a strategy! First and foremost, you have to use the standard first question acceptable list as well as your previous hypotheticals--so if you weren't convinced about the merits of working neatly before, this will do the trick. By looking at these, you can quickly move through the choices looking for 1 or 2 things: does this rule violate one of you previous hypotheticals? If so, it cannot be correct (assuming you did the work correctly on the front end). But some choices still can pass this test, so you have to also ask yourself: can I apply this rule in such a way that I can make it violate one of the original rules. These two strategies should see you all the way through, but sometimes you may have to do a little extra work.

    Other things to look out for: if a new rule is the incorrect reversal or faulty negation of your original rule, then it's wrong. Also, sometimes the correct rule will be one that you could have validly inferred at the beginning of the game, for example through a conditional chain.

    Finally, don't go into the answer choices without a clear sense of what you want the new rule to do. If you know the variable in question has to be towards the end of a sequencing chain, then look for something that makes that happen, for example "only x and y can be before Z".

    By using these 3ish techniques, you'll see that the substitution questions can often be really easy to POE your way right through.

    Try them out! And good luck!

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  • Thursday, Aug 27 2015

    Is there a generally recommended strategy for actually tackling these questions or do they mainly entail powering through each AC?

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  • Thursday, Aug 27 2015

    @coreyjanson479 Or a unicorn loses its shiny horn.

    Or a centaur gets compared with a UFO/ET and its existence is somehow conflated with belief in it. Now that's a shame (and a flaw in reasoning).

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  • Wednesday, Aug 26 2015

    @2543.hopkins Or a unicorn loses its shiny horn.

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  • Wednesday, Aug 26 2015

    Every time a LSATer wastes time/life force on a S&E, a kitten loses its fuzz.

    Think of the kittens.

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  • Wednesday, Aug 26 2015

    They exist in the 50s as well I believe... It starts a little before where it comes up in the syllabus...

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  • Wednesday, Aug 26 2015

    @2543.hopkins I draw a little sad emoticon next to every substitution problem that I see.

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  • Wednesday, Aug 26 2015

    It appears after PT 62 and before PT 63 on mine.

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  • Wednesday, Aug 26 2015

    @cliffiness543 can you say around which # it starts appearing

    The strategy on these Q's is ....

    ... unless/until you're -0 on everything else; and probably even then! (the difference will be that you skip and come back to these Q's)

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  • Wednesday, Aug 26 2015

    ok cool thank you @974 can you say around which # it starts appearing? please and thank you

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  • Wednesday, Aug 26 2015

    Yup it's because they're a newer question type that only shows in some of the more recent prep tests.

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