How are Qs 23, 29 not MSS if in the stem it is verbatim asking about which one adds most support to blah blah....? Please explain it in the most 5th grade terms lol
@smallbrowngirl28 These questions are asking which of the answer choices lends the most support (strengthens) to the conclusion (argument). In MSS, the questions will ask you which one of the answer choices is most strongly supported by the argument or premises provided in the stimulus.
@HelainaLaCoste A MSS will ask you to choose which answer is supported by the stimulus.
A PSA will ask you to pick a rule that will justify whatever scenario is happening or which scenario would exemplify better the principle (rule) given.
A SA will ask you for an assumption or inference that will help the conclusion to be true.
@hello Hello, hello. The main difference is that in an MSS question, the Stem presented will support one of the answer choices. On the other hand, in the strengthening questions, our objective is to provide the Stem with something we can strengthen it with, found in the answer choices.
So, in MSS we have the STEM supporting answer choice, and in S we have answer choices supporting the STEM.
@hello found this online too, and found it helpful
MSS assumes the stimulus is true and asks what conclusion it supports (inference), while Strengthen assumes the answer choice is true and asks what it adds to the stimulus
@hello think of it loosely as in MSS you're inferring the conclusion, and in strengthen you're finding the best piece to add to the stimulus conclusion's premises
#feedback it would be helpful if question type identifier drilling / correct diagramming drilling were available tools accessible in the main hub of 7sage rather than limited instances of exercises within the core curriculum
I had an issue with MSS and strengthen but it was because I was reading it wrong thinking it was saying the information above most strongly supports which one of the following when for strengthen it's the archaeologist's claim is most strongly supported by which one of the followin
I know PSA is a subset of Strengthen, but how are you guys telling them apart? the only ones I missed were confusing PSA for Strengthen and Vice Versa.
if you refer to the practice question stems above, the PSA questions ask for the principle that most helps to justify rather than saying "which one of the following, if true strengthens"
I made flash cards. Its only one side (Ie when you print the first time you use you have to fill out the back side) but tehen you can use to drill yourself. Here is a PDF link if you wnat to print and access
Whenever I click print it just shows a pdf of the prompts but not the possible answer choices. I am wondering if I am doing something wrong? I cannot see the full question prompt either, just the question.
PSA asks you to find the answer choice that MOST justifies the argument whereas SA requires you to find the answer choice that COMPLETELY JUSTIFIES the argument
It would be utterly useless to include PAI question stems here because they is so distinct and easy to recognize compared to all of these question stems, even the ones that blatantly tell us "most strongly supported" and we'd have to assume it's a most strongly supported question, obviously.
Why is it important to know which question stem matches up to which concepts? Is it just so were reminded of the tips and tricks of that specific concept?
It's a strategy. Reading the stem before the passage helps us identify the question type. Then while reading the passage we know what we are looking for in the answer.
SA questions give you an argument that is missing something in order for the conclusion to be true. MBT questions don't require you to find anything missing.
In SA questions, you need to find another statement that will make the argument follow logically so that the conclusion must be true. In MBT questions, the answer choice IS the statement that has to be true.
Not sure if this is the best way to encapsulate the answer, but that's what came to mind!
Subscribe to unlock everything that 7Sage has to offer.
Hold on there, stranger! You need a free account for that.
We love that you want to get going. Just create a free account below—it only takes a minute—and then you can continue!
Hold on there, stranger! You need a free account for that.
We love that you came here to read all the amazing posts from our 300,000+ members. They all have accounts too! Just create a free account below—it only takes a minute—and then you’re free to discuss anything!
Hold on there, stranger! You need a free account for that.
We love that you want to give us feedback! Just create a free account below—it only takes a minute—and then you’re free to vote on this!
Hold on there, you need to slow down.
We love that you want post in our discussion forum! Just come back in a bit to post again!
Subscribers can learn all the LSAT secrets.
Happens all the time: now that you've had a taste of the lessons, you just can't stop -- and you don't have to! Click the button.
312 comments
tbh I really enjoyed this exercise! kept me on my feet
I kept waiting for RRE or PAI to show up
I was wondering when we were gonna do something like this
How are Qs 23, 29 not MSS if in the stem it is verbatim asking about which one adds most support to blah blah....? Please explain it in the most 5th grade terms lol
@smallbrowngirl28 These questions are asking which of the answer choices lends the most support (strengthens) to the conclusion (argument). In MSS, the questions will ask you which one of the answer choices is most strongly supported by the argument or premises provided in the stimulus.
I am so confused between MSS and PSA and SA does anyone know a simple way to explain this?
@HelainaLaCoste A MSS will ask you to choose which answer is supported by the stimulus.
A PSA will ask you to pick a rule that will justify whatever scenario is happening or which scenario would exemplify better the principle (rule) given.
A SA will ask you for an assumption or inference that will help the conclusion to be true.
Did hella better than I thought.
whats the difference between MSS and strengthening questions??
@hello Hello, hello. The main difference is that in an MSS question, the Stem presented will support one of the answer choices. On the other hand, in the strengthening questions, our objective is to provide the Stem with something we can strengthen it with, found in the answer choices.
So, in MSS we have the STEM supporting answer choice, and in S we have answer choices supporting the STEM.
@hello found this online too, and found it helpful
MSS assumes the stimulus is true and asks what conclusion it supports (inference), while Strengthen assumes the answer choice is true and asks what it adds to the stimulus
@hello think of it loosely as in MSS you're inferring the conclusion, and in strengthen you're finding the best piece to add to the stimulus conclusion's premises
not able to see any of the question stems at all! Just the text box where our answers go. Can you fix this please
#feedback it would be helpful if question type identifier drilling / correct diagramming drilling were available tools accessible in the main hub of 7sage rather than limited instances of exercises within the core curriculum
@bokim Agreed!
I really enjoyed this exercise. The patterns jump out immediately when presented this way. Thanks, team.
Pseudo Sufficient Assumption is too technical of a term to be a category
@CharChar3 I CANNOT stop calling them pseudo scientific questions.
@CharChar3 i just think of them as "rule application questions" not PSA
i hate PSA and SA i dont understand those questions at allllllll
@Nickgigs Try this video. It helped me a lot.
Tips for Sufficient Assumption Questions [LSAT Logical Reasoning]
@KristoferMuhr Thank you so much for sharing! This helped a lot
@KristoferMuhr Huge help, thank you!
@KristoferMuhr this video helped me more than you will ever know
@KristoferMuhr thank you so much!!! This helped so much. I have been struggling with SA questions so badly.
@Nickgigs PSA usually emphasizes the principle of reasoning, where SA emphasizes the conclusion. At least this is a pattern I see.
SA: The conclusion of the argument follows logically if...
SA: The arguments conclusion is properly drawn if...
SA: The critic's conclusion follows logically if...
SA: Which one of the following, if assumed, allows the conclusion...
PSA: Which one of the following principles most helps...
PSA: Which one of the following principles, if valid, most helps...
No Resolve, Reconcile, or Explain...?
I had an issue with MSS and strengthen but it was because I was reading it wrong thinking it was saying the information above most strongly supports which one of the following when for strengthen it's the archaeologist's claim is most strongly supported by which one of the followin
This was surprisingly helpful!
I know PSA is a subset of Strengthen, but how are you guys telling them apart? the only ones I missed were confusing PSA for Strengthen and Vice Versa.
if you refer to the practice question stems above, the PSA questions ask for the principle that most helps to justify rather than saying "which one of the following, if true strengthens"
I made flash cards. Its only one side (Ie when you print the first time you use you have to fill out the back side) but tehen you can use to drill yourself. Here is a PDF link if you wnat to print and access
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1RsqC415j5m65dWgFO9IRk9UBrT7Vc5-k/view?usp=sharing
thank youuu for making this!!! I just dowloaded it
Thank you so much!
Whenever I click print it just shows a pdf of the prompts but not the possible answer choices. I am wondering if I am doing something wrong? I cannot see the full question prompt either, just the question.
What is the difference between PSA and SA question types? Is it that PSA refers a to principle or claim?
PSA asks you to find the answer choice that MOST justifies the argument whereas SA requires you to find the answer choice that COMPLETELY JUSTIFIES the argument
So yall just forgot about Point at issue???
It would be utterly useless to include PAI question stems here because they is so distinct and easy to recognize compared to all of these question stems, even the ones that blatantly tell us "most strongly supported" and we'd have to assume it's a most strongly supported question, obviously.
#help PSA versus strengthen? PSA is a type of strengthen, correct?
#help For Q1 is main point the same as main conclusion? I thought main point was RC and main conclusion was LR
Why is it important to know which question stem matches up to which concepts? Is it just so were reminded of the tips and tricks of that specific concept?
It's a strategy. Reading the stem before the passage helps us identify the question type. Then while reading the passage we know what we are looking for in the answer.
#feedback Not a big deal, but it would've been helpful if some E, RRE, and PAI question stems were also included in this lesson.
They probably plan to add a second half.
Any tips on how to differentiate between SA and MBT?
I think of it this way:
SA questions give you an argument that is missing something in order for the conclusion to be true. MBT questions don't require you to find anything missing.
In SA questions, you need to find another statement that will make the argument follow logically so that the conclusion must be true. In MBT questions, the answer choice IS the statement that has to be true.
Not sure if this is the best way to encapsulate the answer, but that's what came to mind!
This is very helpful, thank you!
Support flows from the answer to stimulus for SA. Opposite direction for MBT