Refresher for those (me) who forgot what implicit/explicit means: The question stem will contain a clue about whether that's the case (explicit) by outright stating “agree” or “disagree” without the modifier of “most strongly suggest” or “most strongly support.”
If the question stem contains modifiers like "most support" or "suggest" then the point at issue will likely be implicit. The agreement or disagreement will likely live below the surface of the text and we'll have to infer it out for one or both of the speakers.
@SarahHolmes754 I think they mean in the answer choices. Some of the answer choices include something that was not a opinion of 1 speaker . Like what we just did in PT 133, Section 1, Question 14. I was stuck on B but crossed it out because Waller never had an opinion about the Skeptics. I hope that explains it.
Getting confused on the fine line between making inferences. Is it ALWAYS bad to make an inference about what the speaker may think or feel about something, or is it sometimes reasonable?
could you please spell out acronyms at first use in each section? There are so many. I have no idea what POE means. How far back do I have to go to find it -I have no idea. This is a frequent issue.
1 = if in the stimulus it is generally stated and no assumptions or takeaways need to be made then go look for the answer you know youre looking for.
2= if the stimulus makes you make an inference or you have to figure out a little more what they are trying to say and you are having a hard time trying to infer what their main point is, then you go into process of elimination and figure it out from the answer choices.
Great analysis and explanations. However, I do not have time to draw the spectrum in 55 seconds and analyze where each answer belongs. Is there any way to give tips on how to speed up the process? I am often able to find correct answer, however, after the given time is up.
I would say the more you practice these drills and the more problems you work on, the spectrum will become a more mental process that you can do quicker in your head. If you really do need to draw it out, you can always flag the problem on the LSAT and come back to it given you have time left in the section after working on other problems. I always try to work out the easier problems first that I know take me less time then spending 5-6 minutes on a harder question and possibly giving myself not enough time to finish the section. You don't get penalized for wrong answers on the LSAT.
from your experience, after how many practice tests does it become more natural. I am trying to finish all the prep lessons before starting actual practice tests. But now you got me thinking, that I might have to switch my strategy a little bit. The only actual full length test I took was the diagnostic.
When are you taking your test? If time allows, I would really try to focus on accuracy over timing at first. Once you feel like you are getting questions right consistently, then work on timing. This might mean you take one PT test a week (i usually did one either saturday or sunday after using the weekdays to do drill sets). I can't quite narrow down how many tests I took for it to feel more natural, moreso just drill drill drill these question types until i felt more confident in myself. With this platform, I've drilled well over 5k questions and still feel like I fall short sometimes on certain question types.
If time allows it in your case, I suggest working on drills over and over again. On my diagnostic, i scored a 149. I take the October LSAT in two days, my best PT was 163, but I am consistently scoring in the high 150s-low 160s. My target is between a 157-160.
- Merely consistent with (they can't agree or disagree)
- At least one has no opinion
- Bait you to make an unwarranted assumption
- Appeal to biases
- Push answers over to agree / disagree side
Patterns in the right answers
- Right answers are not ideal answers! Look for the best answers
- Choose the answer that both speakers agree / disagree with
- Often their agreement / disagreement for a certain answer choice could be weakly implied; however, that can be right as long as they're relatively stronger than others
Get rid of the answer that claims they disagree on X if only one speaker expresses an opinion on X yet the other speaker is silent on the topic of X. You need to find the answer choice that both speakers have addressed. The parties can't disagree/agree on something that one of the parties haven't even addressed in stimulus. Hope that makes sense!
#help can you elaborate? What do you mean to skip an answer if one speaker expresses no opinion? How do we approach that? Only go based off of an explicit opinion of the speaker that does?
If you are referring to the last paragraph, it basically means that you used the MSS method where you use one speaker first and eliminate answer choices and then when you go on to the second speaker you go over the left over answers you did not cross out.
The question is asking whether the two speakers agree or disagree. If one of the speakers does not express an opinion on the matter, you can immediately determine that it is impossible for them to either agree or disagree.
After all, how can you disagree with someone if they don't have any opinion at all?
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43 comments
Refresher for those (me) who forgot what implicit/explicit means: The question stem will contain a clue about whether that's the case (explicit) by outright stating “agree” or “disagree” without the modifier of “most strongly suggest” or “most strongly support.”
If the question stem contains modifiers like "most support" or "suggest" then the point at issue will likely be implicit. The agreement or disagreement will likely live below the surface of the text and we'll have to infer it out for one or both of the speakers.
what do you mean by "if one speaker expresses no opinion" dont both always express an opinion?
@SarahHolmes754 I think they mean in the answer choices. Some of the answer choices include something that was not a opinion of 1 speaker . Like what we just did in PT 133, Section 1, Question 14. I was stuck on B but crossed it out because Waller never had an opinion about the Skeptics. I hope that explains it.
How you retake the exam in this the Review (PAI) drill? Thaks,
Getting confused on the fine line between making inferences. Is it ALWAYS bad to make an inference about what the speaker may think or feel about something, or is it sometimes reasonable?
2/2 on the last questions. first time getting them both right haha WOOHOOO
I am still confused on the difference between explicit and implicit
@ConqueringLSAT Explicit means it's stated in the passage but implicit means we are assuming what is being conveyed.
Yo I was in hunt mode for that last five-star question but D did look mega spicy, thanks for helping me realize that there are implicit stems.
could you please spell out acronyms at first use in each section? There are so many. I have no idea what POE means. How far back do I have to go to find it -I have no idea. This is a frequent issue.
POE = process of elimination :)
@naomiy2k Thanks for this, I was like umm what is POE lol.
Can someone explain what it means:
1. If the question the point at issue is explicit or if you can easily infer it, then you can go into hunt mode.
2. If the question the point at issue is implicit or if you are having a hard time identifying it, use POE.
I know this was already mentioned but I dont remember the difference between Explicit & Implicit.
1 = if in the stimulus it is generally stated and no assumptions or takeaways need to be made then go look for the answer you know youre looking for.
2= if the stimulus makes you make an inference or you have to figure out a little more what they are trying to say and you are having a hard time trying to infer what their main point is, then you go into process of elimination and figure it out from the answer choices.
What is POE?
I think it stands for Process Of Elimination
Great analysis and explanations. However, I do not have time to draw the spectrum in 55 seconds and analyze where each answer belongs. Is there any way to give tips on how to speed up the process? I am often able to find correct answer, however, after the given time is up.
Or maybe helpful if you're stuck between two answers and a quick visual will help break the confusion.
I would say the more you practice these drills and the more problems you work on, the spectrum will become a more mental process that you can do quicker in your head. If you really do need to draw it out, you can always flag the problem on the LSAT and come back to it given you have time left in the section after working on other problems. I always try to work out the easier problems first that I know take me less time then spending 5-6 minutes on a harder question and possibly giving myself not enough time to finish the section. You don't get penalized for wrong answers on the LSAT.
Thank you so much fr the helpful tip.
from your experience, after how many practice tests does it become more natural. I am trying to finish all the prep lessons before starting actual practice tests. But now you got me thinking, that I might have to switch my strategy a little bit. The only actual full length test I took was the diagnostic.
Hey!
When are you taking your test? If time allows, I would really try to focus on accuracy over timing at first. Once you feel like you are getting questions right consistently, then work on timing. This might mean you take one PT test a week (i usually did one either saturday or sunday after using the weekdays to do drill sets). I can't quite narrow down how many tests I took for it to feel more natural, moreso just drill drill drill these question types until i felt more confident in myself. With this platform, I've drilled well over 5k questions and still feel like I fall short sometimes on certain question types.
If time allows it in your case, I suggest working on drills over and over again. On my diagnostic, i scored a 149. I take the October LSAT in two days, my best PT was 163, but I am consistently scoring in the high 150s-low 160s. My target is between a 157-160.
Thank you for the helpful tip!
Point At Issue (PAI)
Patterns in wrong answers
- Merely consistent with (they can't agree or disagree)
- At least one has no opinion
- Bait you to make an unwarranted assumption
- Appeal to biases
- Push answers over to agree / disagree side
Patterns in the right answers
- Right answers are not ideal answers! Look for the best answers
- Choose the answer that both speakers agree / disagree with
- Often their agreement / disagreement for a certain answer choice could be weakly implied; however, that can be right as long as they're relatively stronger than others
@leahlovescoco I've been following your comments, may your pillow be cold and all of your dreams come true.
If one speaker expresses on opinion, get rid of WHICH answer? I'm a little confused here
Get rid of the answer that claims they disagree on X if only one speaker expresses an opinion on X yet the other speaker is silent on the topic of X. You need to find the answer choice that both speakers have addressed. The parties can't disagree/agree on something that one of the parties haven't even addressed in stimulus. Hope that makes sense!
Okay, that makes sense I understand now, thank you so much for your help!
@evepugatch7311 Take a look at the explanation (JY's version) on question 1 in the next slide.
It's PT113.S3.Q1. This really helped me understand the concept better, the wording was a bit confusing for me as well.
@LuanHuberman
Here's the link to it, not sure if it'll work but worth a shot. PT113.S3.QI
ugh sometimes it's necessary to make an assumption, but sometimes making an assumption is wrong. sigh
uhhh what's POE again lol??
Process of Elimination
#feedback please point me to the lesson where the concept of a 'stimulus' is thoroughly explained. i can't find it anywhere?
I believe the stimulus is just what the question prompt is called. The "story."
Lesson 2 of this main section. Logical Reasoning.
#help can you elaborate? What do you mean to skip an answer if one speaker expresses no opinion? How do we approach that? Only go based off of an explicit opinion of the speaker that does?
Did you go through the lessons in the unit at all?
If you are referring to the last paragraph, it basically means that you used the MSS method where you use one speaker first and eliminate answer choices and then when you go on to the second speaker you go over the left over answers you did not cross out.
it's a very valid question. I was also confused on the wording and I went through the unit.
The question is asking whether the two speakers agree or disagree. If one of the speakers does not express an opinion on the matter, you can immediately determine that it is impossible for them to either agree or disagree.
After all, how can you disagree with someone if they don't have any opinion at all?
#help what is POE
I think it is Process of Elimination.
Yep that's what it is