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http://classic.7sage.com/lsat_explanations/lsat-55-section-1-question-18/

I am having trouble with these main point questions in general. It seems I always fall for the trap answer which is usually some kind of point just not the main one. In this one I picked C. I understand E matches that part of the passage after However, I just don't understand why it is the main point. The video explanation just kind of took it for granted that it was more clear that the first statement wasn't the conclusion. But it seemed to me that is what he was trying to convince me of and what the entire argument was structured around. The however part seemed more like it was supporting the first sentence.

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I know it's only a *very* small sample size of 2 PTs, but how do I go about assessing my weaknesses?

My stats: -2 Avg. for LG... -11 Avg. for LR... -13 Avg. for RC

For LR do I go drill the question types that have a "higher priority"? Or is there another characterization that I should be looking at?

For RC I'm just going to keep doing passage after passage after passage to practice.

(Also, I'm thinking about just focusing on completing/devoting almost all of the allotted time to 3 passages while I'm PT'ing instead of all 4, would you advise against this?)

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Is anyone experiencing a lack of consistency similar to mine? When I first started PT-ing I started strong with a 167, 168, then a 171. Against the advice of 7sage I was taking PTs everyday and consequently my scores started to fall, for about 8 exams my score was in the 164-166 range and then I hit a 160. At that point I decided I shouldn't be taking PTs everyday. I took a few days off, and then started on a one day on one day off schedule. When I got back I thought I had it figured out - PT 58 - 170, PT 59 - 173. Now I just finished scoring PT 60 and I got a 165. I respect the beast that the LSAT is, but I just can't seem to formulate the appropriate strategy to attain consistent test scores. I am doing proper BR and dissecting every question in my review. Any tips or pointers would be much appreciated.

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During BR of the PTs, after I watch the video explanation, I sometimes would like to "star" the video so I can come back in a few weeks and watch it again. Is there a favorites feature on the videos? Right now, I am using an Excel spreadsheet to do this, but it doesn't seem to be very efficient.

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How extensive is your reasoning for eliminating wrong answer choices? Do you just write something small like "no evidence" "does the opposite of correct answer," or do you go deeper? I feel like I need to BR better sometimes I just feel like I cannot reach 100% certainty on questions when I am BR'ing.

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What does it mean if I'm consistently only getting to around Q # 20 within 35 minutes? I am consistently getting 18/20 right, with 5 omitted. But when I extend beyond the 35 minutes and go to 40ish/45ish, I get around 22-23/25. In other words, within the time limit I typically go around -7, but when I go beyond I am only about -3. Is it because I'm too slow a reader/mental processor? My accuracy for the ones I do attempt is very good. How can I get faster? Is this just a matter of experience and practice? I'm taking the October LSAT next month.

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So throughout my (definitely rocky) studying process I've made lots of gains in the various sections of the test while also hitting various hiccups (many of which I've come here to complain or ask about). However, the PTing I've done in the last week exemplifies the worries I have for the October test coming up very soon.

So up until mid last week I was in a huge slump for a while, having really hard times on LR particularly (which had always been my good section), missing way more questions than usual (peaking at like -5 or -6, up from the usual -1 or -2, which I posted here about). At the same time, however I had made some definite gains on LG (missing between 0 or 1 per test) and RC (which shocked me because I heard it was very hard to improve on and I went from consistent -4's to -1's or -2's). So I was super stressed about that and being able to improve in time. Around this time I was fluctuating pretty heavily around 171ish a low of 170 to a high of 174 (so obviously still not bad at all, but what was worrying me more was the weird distribution where I was doing so badly on a section that I had historically done really well on)

Something suddenly clicked last week though. After two particularly rough tests at the beginning of last week, I had some kind of breakthrough and scored two 178s in a row. Obviously I was ecstatic. It was the first LR that had gone back to "normal" for me while I maintained my gains in LG and RC. This week's PTs started on Monday and I got a THIRD 178 in a row (again, ecstatic) while still maintaining consistency on all three sections (missing only 1 LR question, 1 RC question, and 1 or 2 LGs).

So my worries are mainly to do with what happened on yesterday and today's PTs which were radically different from the three 178s. Yesterday I went from only -1 on the previous 6 or 7 RCs to getting a whopping -6. At the same time, I got -4 on the LG section which, though admittedly harder, was still way more than I'm used to. Today basically the same thing happened, with another huge -5 on RC and -3 on LG (which was particularly frustrating because it is supposedly only a level 2 RC and the game that basically made me run out of time was only a level 3). The good news was that I maintained my LR strength and only missed 2 on each of yesterday and today, which was fantastic and in line with what I was doing before my huge slump. So yesterday's score was a 172 (obviously not bad at all, but admittedly lower than I'm comfortable with) and today was even worse, a 170 (one of my lowest scores I've had in a long time).

Now, obviously my scores have not been bad. I'm fully aware that my scores, even my so-called bad day today of 170, are incredible scores that are approaching the high 90th percentiles. So, I'm not trying to complain about them at all. What my primary concern is is my inconsistency this close to the test day. My personal goal is to come away from the actual test with a 175. If I could score a 175 on test day I would be over the moon, so it's not like I'm aiming for a perfect 180 here or anything. But with my GPA and the school's I'm looking at, a 175 would obviously be ideal and put me in an incredibly comfortable position. And the thing is is that the three 178s (plus the fact that after every test I blind review at or near 180) I just score tell me that I am at least CAPABLE of doing really well on test day and achieving my goal, but the fact that I can vary by sometimes up to 8 points in the span of a day, and the fact that I can go nearly 10 tests with an average RC score of only -1 or -2 max and then suddenly have two full tests in a row where I go -6 scares the living hell out of me and stresses me out. Obviously every test is different, people have bad days, and even a great LSAT taker's scores are going to fluctuate test to test, but it just seems that such a drastic difference, particularly in RC these last two days, is something other than that.

Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks so much, this forum has been a really great resource for when this test has gotten me really stressed!

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I'm currently registered for the October LSAT, but I'm still PTing around 4-5 points below where I want to be. I want to take the December LSAT, but it falls right on the Saturday before finals week. Even though I have sort of a light load as a 4th year UG student, finals week is always a burden.

Should I be worried? Part of me wants to believe that if I'm ready for the LSAT, finals week stress won't hit me too hard on test day.

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I have always been one of those people who studies from as many sources as possible to get the best grasp of a topic.....Before joining here I had a small intro book and 2 Bibles w/workbooks. Then I joined here and have had much success. Here is what I did wrong:

I decided to take an in-person course taught at a local established University. It started Aug 24th and was twice a week. Manageable.? Right? Oh no, but wait....

1) The instructor has never taught an LSAT prep class, despite having his JD, Ph.D and being a philosophy professor. The curriculum was established so you'd think he'd catch up quickly....:? You'd be wrong...

2) With the class you get a book from the University Press.... A clueless instructor + a book that uses all different terminology = recipe for disaster.

3) Their method was SO ridiculously complicated.

Long story short: I quickly got confused. Confusion leads to depression. Depression leads to burnout....Which brings us to today.

I am not going back to that class and, after a few days break I have been happily studying on 7sage all day. :)

Love this course/community. Keep up the AWESOME work!!!!!!!

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Hey buddies! I feel much progress on RC with the Trainer’s structural method. But still I feel so hard on comparative reading. It’s so confusing to recall structures/details from two passages. Anyone has a thought to crack on that? :) Thanks in advance!

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I know that Black and Mexican/Puerto African URMs get the most significant boost... But will applying as a URM Hispanic give me a boost? I'm 50/50 Italian/Venezuelan and my mothers a Venez immigrant and I have citizenship there. Goal schools are USC/UCLA.. Does anyone know if URM Hispanic gives a LSAT score boost, even if it's a point or two. Thanks.

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Hi everyone, I hope your studying is going well as we get closer to T-Day. I now have 2 weeks free for the sole purpose of LSAT studying, which is great. However, I'm looking now and find myself at a loss as of how to approach things. I already have done 7Sage's curriculum, so I'm guessing I should be in PT/BR only mode now. Should I still stick a 3-per-week test limit or would 5 not be unreasonable right now? Thanks!

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Hey everyone,

I've just arrived at PT 66. The extra diagram space has really thrown me off because I was used to the convienence of having my master game board and rules on the same page as the questions. What's the best strategy when turning the page? Re-diagraming rules and master game board or flipping the page back/folding?

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....and I'm neither angry nor happy. I got a 153 (159 BR). The reason why I'm not completely angry is because it's actually a 3 point increase from where I was PT'ing prior to enrolling in the 7sage course (I took about 5 PTs after self studying).

I have to find happiness/reasons for celebration in whichever forms they come, no matter how small.

I'm really curious to see if I can increase my score some more. There was definitely some questions on the test that I know I could've gotten correct but my nerves got to me.

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Hey guys,

So I've done 21 PTs now, and the one I just did today I got 161. My goal LSAT score is exactly 160+, and I've been getting that almost every time in the past 10 tests, and high 150s in the ones before that.

I have 5 LSATs left, and I'm wondering what I should do. I have basically reached my goal, and I honestly don't think I can even do any better. Take today for example, I did PT 66, and went -4 in games, -6 on both LRs, and -8 in RC. I literally guessed that those would be the scores as I was taking it, a -8 on RC is fairly good for me, and whenever I get that or under, I almost always do well on the actual PT.

-6 in LRs is another thing I don't think I can improve any further. I haven't done BR yet, but I most likely messed up one easy mark question due to topic context being confusing or mis-read, and the rest 5 were probably 5 star questions that I can't even get right during BR.

-4 in Games is something that I think I can fix, although I'm willing to bet one of those was a substitution and equivalence question that I just circled guessed and moved on. The rest of the wrong ones are from me rushing to get all the games done on time.

So what I'm really asking is what's the best way I can make use of the time I have left. I feel like if I do the remaining 5 PTs, they will be 160s, but is that really helping me for Oct? Maybe I should drill some of my weaknesses like RC and not do more?

Note I print off the entire LSAT over again for BR, and I generally average 167 for it, but regardless my actual PT score has been low 160s for as long as I can remember. Can't seem to get past it. I've heard that there is another transition when everything suddenly starts to click, but I feel like I'm just doing rinse repeat on every lsat.

I just need some guidance.

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I was hoping to receive some advice regarding law school apps. I was advised to apply to law school through Ontario Law School Application service (OLSAS), but found there are about only 7 law schools here. I was wondering about applying through Lsac. Do I reapply to the same law schools that I applied to through OLSAS, in Lsac? Any one familiar with submitting letters of recommendation through either OLSAS or LSAC? Thank you in advance!

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Very possibly a stupid question, but I notice all the logic games have tags under them to help you identify the game. Does that mean we can search for the games using these tags? I've printed copies of many games but don't remember where they come from, so searching for each game using the tags would be very helpful. I thought the search bar under the course syllabus might be for this, but that didn't work for me.

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I started with a very low initial LSAT score 4 years ago (131). I studied it on and off for a few years but never took it seriously, it was just a side interest until about this year february. During those 4 years despite doing very little work I manage to raise my score to a low 150. Then I had a pretty good job but I now am taking a formal course in person in addition to 7sage. When I started my in person course in June I got a diagnostic and scored a 158 (pt 61), which was the same as my June Lsat Sore. Yesterday I wrote preptest 62 and got a 161, today I wrote pt 63 and got a 154, I found the LG and reading comp way harder on 63. That being said about 2 weeks ago I wrote pt 40 and got a 168. But to be fair, I had literally seen LR/argument on it except maybe 4/5 in the whole section. And I also seen every game in it and done it before plus the reading comps, some of them I kind of remembered too. I didn't really remember much of pt 62 or 63. As in I actually had to go through the process and would debate the answers like a real test.

I'm not trying to brag or anything, but I did score very highly in regular school graduating in the top 5% of my high school and my undergrad program which was a very competitive business program (think Ivy League). Most of my friends from high school and university are either bankers, doctors, lawyers, etc.

At this point I am wondering what I can do to improve my score more. I just found it very weird how it seems everyone else is so easily able to improve their score on the lsat going from 140s and 150s to high 160s, and I have to struggle studying much harder to get a far worse score.

Alot of the LR I get wrong comes from the fact that I don't understand the wording in the answer choice like when they are using double negations. Another set of it can come from when I don't understand the passage although, I am trying to fix that too by not going to the answer choice in practice until I understand the passage. When I do this untimed, I can pretty much get most of the questions, as in over 90% accuracy although some areas are less, just 75-80% maybe. And those wrong ones all have to do with tricky wording, or grammar tricks, or things that seem unclear as in could be argued either way, just depending on what the test writer wanted it to be.

I'm not sure if I should start trying to study logic or reading those weird non-fiction "Women's books" to try to understand the LSAT better. There is something strange that is throwing me off but it is hard for me to put the finger on it. I have a pretty good grasp of the methods to get the right answers.

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Hi everyone, I'm hoping someone has some suggestions on the best way to drill/study/practice in order to improve speed. I finally feel really solid in my fundamentals. On my last PT (74), I scored a 168 with a BR of 176, which is typical of my most recent PTs (usually more of 169/BR173). I'm at the point where I'm understanding all the problems and most of my wrong answers are due to rushing/guessing when I'm running out of time, or just generally rushing through the section and making dumb mistakes. On a typical PT, I usually don't get to at least one question at the end of an LR section, and my last RC passage is usually started with only 6 minutes on the clock.

I know my biggest obstacle is time and that this will be fixed with more and more practice. I'm taking in October and have a lot of time (only working part-time) and have a lot of material left that I can use (Cambridge packets, PTs I've never taken, etc.).

Right now, I'm doing 2 recent PTs per week. What should I do as far as practice in addition to this? Should I drill questions in Cambridge packets so I can gain more familiarity and answer questions faster? Should I drill entire sections of old PTs? Should I give myself less than 35 minutes when drilling sections or taking PTs? Any help is so appreciated.

Thanks for any suggestions you may have! :)

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I thought B was right during PT, but decided to try negating the answer choices during BR, and got distracted by C.

If you negate C, the gist of it would be that "optimism is NOT better than pessimism," which I think ruins the argument. If optimism is not better than pessimism, then why try to enable young people to believe in a better future? Or is it the "illusory vision" aspect of C that makes this irrelevant?

What am I missing here?

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