I find that the LR section tests four fundamental aspects:

I. Our ability to make inferences

Which it tests through Most Strongly Supported, Must Be True, Must Be False, and Necessary Assumption questions.

II. Our ability to support an argument

Which it tests through Strengthen, Pseudo Sufficient Assumption, Sufficient Assumption, and Principle questions.

III. Our ability to weaken an argument

Which it tests through Weaken and Flaw questions.

IV. Our ability to recognize structure

Which it tests through Main Point, Argument Part, Method of Reasoning, Parallel Method of Reasoning, and Parallel Flawed Method of Reasoning questions.

(Miscellaneous: Resolve Reconcile Explain and Point at Issue).

Organizing question types this way helps me see the bigger picture of the section instead of approaching each type independently and getting bogged down in the weeds of the particular type. Look at how much sense it makes to test these things for aspiring law students and how fundamental these are to being a lawyer and practicing law in the future. Each question is a symptom of something larger and each question you get wrong is a question that's exploiting some weakness in your fundamentals. With this framework, you can better identify and track the fundamentals you're deficient in. For example, instead of just seeing that I miss an inordinate amount of Pseudo Sufficient question types, I now see that I'm missing something fundamental about my ability to support an argument. Now I can focus on the fundamental aspects of this shortcoming and I can complement my Pseudo Sufficient Assumption drilling by focusing on the related question types.

The accuracy of this categorization may be proven by its potential to predict your performance on other question types. So if you find that you get a certain question type wrong more than others, see how you're doing on associated question types.

What do you all think about this? Is this an accurate framework for the LR section? What helps you improve on LR?

http://news.berkeley.edu/2012/08/22/intense-prep-for-law-school-admissions-test-alters-brain-structure/

Interesting

7Sagers,

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Hi 7Sagers!

You know what helps you do well on the LSAT? Meditation.

You know what helps you live a good life? Also, meditation.

Lucky for you, I have two codes for 1 free month of Headspace. I'll send it to the first two people who want it.

How did I get these codes? By meditating, a lot using Headspace. :)

We all hit high points and low points in our LSAT journey. At the moment, I am devastated, drained, and confused on how to proceed. I want this more than anything and I am constantly questioning whether or not it is possible at this point.

To be more specific, I am capable of -0 on LG, -2 in LR, but RC...I consistently score -8 to -10 and I just now scored -14....like I legitimately got more incorrect than correct. I am at the point of questioning if it is even possible for me to improve in RC because I legitimately have tried everything. Absolutely everything. After weeks of not PTing and only drilling RC, my score was WORSE than before I started drilling. I am sharing this personal failure of mine to encourage anyone out there who might be self conscious of their current performance. I know that I definitely am. Transparency is liberating...at least in my opinion. So here I am being transparent about the fact that I absolutely have no idea what I am doing in RC :)

Anyways...I'm not posting because I am seeking advice for RC. I am posting because I know I'm not the only one who has been here. We all want this and we all know how devastating a taste of failure is. For anyone out there struggling at the rock bottom of your LSAT goals...you are most certainly not alone. For anyone who literally has shed more than a couple tears over this test...you are most certainly not alone. For anyone who questions the practicality of your goals on the daily...you are most certainly not alone.

So let's get up, brush ourselves off and destroy this thing because I, for one, am too prideful to let the LSAT defeat me.

I use 10 Actual, Official books for PTs (photocopies), but sometimes there are not much room to write on for Logic Games. I know we actually have more room to write on the actual test. Should I practice with small room or should I use an extra sheet of paper?

I somehow have trouble printing recently uploaded e-docs on 7Sage.

.

Hey guys,

To give some background info for my prep, I had a 140 diagnostic and I studied full-time for about 2.5 years. I went through Tesmasters, Blueprint and 7sage curriculums and my highest score on file was a 160. There were a couple of untouched PTs i took in the 70s that were 163 and 166 but for the most part I would score in the low 160s or the high 150s for fresh preptests. I took all the exams, drilled problem areas and retook exams from the PT 50s to PT 70s multiple times over with inflated 170s scores and near to perfect BR score. I also drilled heavily in LG, doing virtually all the games multiple times.

Since I have used up all three takes, I'm pretty much resigned to just apply with the options I have but I wanted to know if I reached my score potential? I was originally aiming for T14 for BigLaw and other government job prospects but it seems it is out of reach due to my score.

Taking full timed PT's have been great for tracking progress, getting used to the feel of the test, and, with blind review, it helps to pin point knowledge gaps and problem areas. However, I still get tripped up on occasional mental fatigue and loss of focus for LR and RC. After how many full PT's does that problem go away? Or does it stay with 176+ scorers too?

It's amazing how easy a question will seem on BR and then I go back and see the answer I picked and think I must have outright lost my mind on that question.

I've taken 38 full timed PT's under test conditions, 22 of those with blind review. I'm trusting the process and keep on going thinking that my score will continue to inch up point by point as it has, but I'm surprised by how easy I still can lose focus.

I'm consistently scoring in the 171-175 range and 174-179 after I blind review. Like I said, some of the ones I blind review I realize I still have things to learn, but on others I can't help but think they are due to loss of focus/lack of stamina/mental fatigue given how easy they were on BR.

I'm on track to do at least another 30 full timed PT's before the June test, but I'm concerned that since after all of my practice I'm still losing focus on 3-5 questions/test there might be some behavior pattern I'm not recognizing that I'm unknowingly reinforcing by continuing to take PT's without addressing it.

I've tried to narrow down the possible causes by making sure I don't do a test without a proper meal or a full night's sleep, if they're doing construction right outside my window I won't take one then either. (There's still some noise when I take the PT's, but not anymore than what I think there would be on test day.) Those little things have helped but I'm running out of ideas of what else might be the cause besides that I just need more practice.

What would be helpful to hear is that those kinks work themselves out with more practice and if I took another 30 full timed PT's then focus and stamina won't be an issue to the extent that I'll miss questions over it. I want to be careful not to reinforce some bad behavior for another few months only to realize it too late.

Is it better to take practice tests after you finish the course or during?

Hi, I started the 7Sage Course a couple of months ago. I have been going through each of the course sections, but I am wondering how others pair this course? Do you take practice tests while also progressing through the course? Did you finish the course first(LR,LG,RC) and then start practice testing?

I was aiming to take the June LSAT, and started the 7Sage course, supplementing with PowerScore Bibles... I feel like I am making a lot of progress and understanding questions and concepts much better, but am curious to know how others scheduled their practice exams?

Thank you so much!

Anyone interested?

I took the LSAT twice: 174 and more recently 178

I have done almost every PT twice, and most of the logic games multipe times

Admin edit: Please refer to the 7Sage forum rules

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Does anyone else do this? I may have been way above my target score on this test if I didn't fall into this trap. The worst part is, I do it all the time. I think I remember an answer but it is actually the answer that I chose the last time I took the test and it was incorrect.

Any help in combating this would be greatly appreciated!

So I got my scores yesterday for the February LSAT. I ended up with a 172 which was on the lower end of my PT range, but still great of course. On the final section (non-experimental) I misbubbled a couple of questions toward the end. I noticed I had done so and had to change 4/5 answers. The bubbles had been filled in very thoroughly so they were difficult to erase. I wrote a note to myself after the exam to inquire about hand-scoring, however I was hoping it wouldn't be relevant. What I'm asking of more experienced people is this: what are the chances my score will go down? I realize the chances aren't 0, and that my current score is pretty good. So what do you think? Is it worth the risk?

Our 89 Point Increase Story

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I know how to strengthen and weaken correlation within a stimulus. However, my problem is that while under timed conditions, I somehow miss the correlation within the stimulus. Because of this, I miss most of these types of questions seeing as I do not approach how to strengthen or weaken the stimulus accordingly.

Can someone please be so kind to give me advise on exactly what to look for to instantly pick up on correlation within a stimulus???

Hi everyone,

I am relatively new to 7sage and I want to say that I look forward to all these discussion forums they encourage me alot. To everyone that is here, just taking the decision to take the LSAT already makes you a winner. It does not matter the score that you are getting, just be encouraged. I really do appreciate all the ideas and advice in this forum. I wish everyone the best.

Any ideas on how to manage mental sharpness? I'm always trying to push through when I hit a wall... Otherwise, I exercise, rigorously practice cello, play games, meditate, or drink coffee... My mental capacity seems to be declining every time I tackle the study. Help.

I have some questions on how to make note taking and studying more efficient. (My apologies in advance for lack of tech lingo).

General: How do you incorporate tech into your study? I use Microsoft Word to take notes per question type and store my notes on iCloud for mobile review. I use quizlet for any concepts that may be drillable, that way I can have them in my pocket at all times. However, if I want to look at a specific question, I have to write down the questions location (25.3.20), put my notes below the location, then find either the hard copy of the question or use the question bank and look back and forth. Maybe I'm lazy, but I like to think my laziness inspires creativity and efficiency.

Specific: Related to the above, I am wondering if anyone has thought of a quicker, easier way to portably drill real lsat question besides cumbersome formatting and drilling on MW? There are some aspects of note taking that are much easier typing and others that are much easier with a pen. Does anyone know how I might get a digital copy of a question (any method that avoids scanning/printing) be able to type above and under it and write freely on the page (annotations, logic game boards) in a digital format, like with a bamboo digital writey thing or an iPad pro? I'm trying to find a digital, convenient, efficient, and portable way to jot down, review, and drill notes, with typing and free form writing next to/on real lsat questions. I really want to avoid difficult formatting (MW), inefficient drilling (MW), limited note taking ability (only typing), having to scan or print anything, or having to look back and forth from notes to question. I hope I'm making sense.

I apologize if this may sound like a stupid question but are there jobs for law graduates that pay six figures outside of BigLaw. Although unrelated, I was speaking with my 24 year old friend who is a compiler engineer making close 150k while working close to 40 hours a week and I was wondering if there was a equivalent job in Law that pays a similar amount for those hours.

I want to better understand how big of a difference my PT scores are from my BR scores and what I can reliably consider my BR score to be.

Right now I use the BR method, circle the question, don't look at the correct answer, write out the explanations, etc.

After I BR I score the test and usually there are a few questions I got wrong that I did not circle.

What I then do is note those question numbers and try to "blind" review those.

Of course, this sort of defeats the truly "blind" part of the blind review, however most of the time I do not remember what the correct answer was after I scored it nor do I always remember which answer choice I chose while taking the test. However, I do have the added knowledge that at the very least whichever answer I picked the first time around was incorrect.

Let's say I circled 4 questions during the test for BR, and after blind reviewing them I scored the test and of those 4 I correctly changed my answer on 3 during BR and 1 of those I still got wrong on BR. Now I look at the ones I did not circle for BR. Let's say there were 4 questions I got wrong that I did not circle. I then "blind" review those by not looking back at the correct answer or the answer I picked. Assuming I did not remember what the correct answer was during the scoring nor did I remember what my answer choice was on the test, if I got those 4 correct on the not-entirely-blind blind review, could I consider those as part of my BR score?

Usually there are a few questions for whatever reason I clearly remember what the correct answer choice was after scoring it and/or what the answer choice I chose on the test was. In those cases I know even if I got it correct in the second round of review, I had too much information at my disposable to properly consider that part of the BR score.

But of the ones where I did not remember the correct answer or what I chose on the test, can I consider those part of the BR? I am trying to figure out how much simply knowing that I got it wrong can affect the not-so-blind BR score even when I don't remember what I chose on the test and what the correct answer was. And by knowing that I can better gage my room for improvement.

Using the example above, I circle 4 for BR, of those 4 I get 3 right and 1 wrong on BR. I then score the test and got 4 others wrong, none of which I remember the correct answer or the answer choice I picked on the test. On the second round of "blind" review I get all 4 correct. So is my BR score for the test -1 or is it -5?

Obviously, if the method I'm using is anyway a deviation from the the BR method then my score is not necessarily a true BR score. But what I find valuable about the BR score is that it indicates that you probably know the material well enough to get it correct, you just need to practice more and then the gap between your raw score and BR score will close. So if my BR score is -1 it means one thing about how I approach studying and if my score is -5 it means another thing. That's why I am asking these questions.

My scaled score is a reliable ~172, my BR score is a ~174, and under the not-so-blind BR it's ~177. So is my reasonable room for improvement the difference between 172 and 174 or between 172 and 177? Am I fooling myself by saying I'm a 177 and all I need is more practice because the truth is I am more of a 174?

Of course, I could just be way stricter during the test and circle every question I have even the slightest doubt which would be creating a lot more of review work but at the very least I would get a more accurate BR score. In the meantime, however, feedback would be much appreciated!

As a side note, I don't know if it's been discussed on these boards, but to say that your BR score is where you could be with more time and practice is somewhat misleading because when you look at a question on the test it's for the first time, whereas on BR it's at least for the second time. Complex stimuli and question stems become way easier to decipher the more you read them so that could factor in why you get it correct on BR but incorrect on the test. Nevertheless it's the best review method I've found so far, so good going 7Sage!

Hi guys,

I got my February score back and unfortunately I did 5 points worse on this take compared to my second take. And it is the lowest LSAT score I have on file. Will I need to provide an addendum about this LSAT score or do I need to not worry, as law schools take the highest LSAT score into consideration?

Hi all,

What are some recurring topics you've noticed in LSAT reading comprehension? Some I've noticed are: evolution and natural selection, Ronald Dworkin, African American/indigenous/Asian American rights, impressionist artists, and subjectivism vs. objectivism. Wouldn't hurt to familiarize myself with these recurring topics (i.e., you've seen on 2+ Reading Comprehension passages). Any more (I'm sure there are many?)

Im going to make this quick for u guys. I took this past Feb LSAT, and I was very disappointed. Quick background- After finishing core curriculum, my first PT to last went around this- 157 159 157 161 162 161 167. As you can tell, I was very happy with my improvement. On the night of the LSAT, I couldn't sleep, went to bed around 2am and woke up at 5am. Couldnt go back to sleep after waking up. Ended up playing video games until it was time to take the test, which I took with 3 hours of sleep and had to supplement by chugging 3 cups of coffee before the test, giving me the jitters and some extra anxiety due to all the caffeine. Ended up getting a 157. Either way, now I am about to get a full time job but still have to retake the test in June because I can clearly do better. My question is first off, how much did getting 3 hours of sleep mixed with the extra anxiety of chugging coffee etc affect my score? Some people have told me heavily. And also with a little amount of study every week until June due to a full time job, will I still be able to perform close to my high score? I am so angry at this whole situation.