I've run out of practice tests, so I'd like to take the India LSATs, as previously recommended by @Litian.Chen and @"Nilesh S" http://www.pearsonvueindia.com/lsatindia/#handbook .

I noticed, though, that the Games section for the first India LSAT is the same as the one in the free June 2007 preptest, only with Indian names and places used. Are the other three India LSATs also just re-hashes of other available preptests?

My icons are grey. This is not a drill!

I haven't taken a PT since early December, but my lowest score was 146 and my highest was a 157. I started Last September with about 2 months of not studying in between (finals, Midterms, Xmas break, etc.).

Hi all,

So a while back, I remember reading a post where a number of students were asking the instructors to share a real-time video of writing a PT. I think I remember someone mentioning that in one of the PT review videos (one of the 60s PTs, I think...), JY did post a video writing an LR section. Could anyone verify that please, and tell me exactly which PT that was?

Also, right around that time, I came across a video of Johnathan(?) writing an LR section (in 18 mins....) on Youtube. I have no idea how I found it, but I lost it since and I wanna rewatch it for purely entertainment purposes. If anyone has that link, could you please share?

FYI, I came across videos of JY writing an RC section for PT5 (too fast, too accurate).

-Josh

Hi everyone! I'm just wondering whether any of you are applying for a JD/MBA program and also need to study for the GMAT? I feel like I've been extremely lucky and spoiled by finding 7sage right away in the beginning of my LSAT prep and am having difficulty finding any online course or study material remotely as comprehensive and well designed in the world of GMAT. Also, I am having trouble deciding how much of GMAT prep is repetitive in terms of RC and logical reasoning, so whether I should start from the beginning of a course or where to jump in... Any advice would be much appreciated!

I just wanted to say thank you to everyone that always participated in the discussions and shares their notes/ study methods/explanations and so on. But it truly makes a difference being able to get on here and knowing that I'm not the only one prepping for the LSAT and talking about the process. It's a lot better when you have an entire community willing to help each other out. So I appreciate all of you on here ^_^

A few weeks ago I was going to purchase The Trainer and somehow I was asking about it before I purchased it on Ebay and @"Nilesh S" so happened to be sharing his experience using this book along with 7Sage so I figure why not ask him if he's selling his copy so that I can purchase it from him instead since he's probably never going to open it again. I rather buy it off someone from 7Sage then someone off Ebay. That was my way of thinking when I made that comment to him. It so happens that he said he was not selling his copy but instead he would be willing to mail it to me for free. Which I was not expecting him to say all of that lol but I am thankful and I hope that when I am done with the LSAT I can also bless someone on here with this book and everything I have that's LSAT related. ^_^

Have a great day everyone & stay warm!

I have been studying for three months now, and I have seen a 19 point increase insofar (147-166); however I scored a 157 on a PT today, with a BR of 167. A lot of my mistakes were due to misreading, rushing and not paying attention to great detail. My RC is consistently -8 or -9. My PT scores are listed below.

PT 36: 166

PT 37: 165

June 2007: 162

PT 38: 157 (BR- 167)

Any advice? Do any of you seem to make careless mistakes on PTs? Have I plateaued? Would it be a bad idea to take another PT tonight, or is two in one day overkill?

Hey 7Sagers,

Added a study guide / cheat sheet sub-category:

http://classic.7sage.com/discussion/#/categories/study-guides

Put your study guides in there so you don't lose them in the forum clutter! :)

I also added a suggestions sub-category last week:

http://classic.7sage.com/discussion/#/categories/suggestions

I am really confused on strengthen LR questions (assumption family). So I learned that if you attack strengthen questions fhe same way as "must be true" questions it will screw you up. Makes sense, but sometimes the right answer to strengthen questions seem like a must be true. So I'm confused.

For example, February 1996 LR 1 Q. 11 about space stations correct answer seems to be a must be true even though it's a strengthen question type.

So I was wondering what techniques I could use to prevent myself from making the same trivial errors. I've noticed that I'm making the same mistakes during timed practice, that I don't make during untimed, but for some reason I can't prevent myself from making them. It's weird. I'll take a timed section, make a mental note not to make a certain error during review, and then when I take a second time section and I'm confronted with the same type of question, I'll mess up and make the same type of error I sought so hard not to make.

Hi Guys, I saw this on lsatblog by Steve Schwartz who found a job ad for LSAC. I thought it was pretty interesting and wanted to post it for you guys.

Job category: Other (non-academic) / Tenured, continuing or permanent

AOS: Some training in logic, broad background in liberal arts and precise and fluent use of Written English.

AOS categories: Philosophy of Language, Logic

AOC: Educational qualifications include an MA and doctoral level work in philosophy, linguistics, & literature.

Workload : Full time

Vacancies 1

Organization's reference number 210449

Location: Newtown, Pennsylvania, United States

Job description: Law School Admission Council (LSAC) is a nonprofit educational service organization. LSAC develops and administers the LSAT, a high-stakes entrance examination for law schools that assesses reasoning and reading skills. LSAC seeks the following:

Test Specialist

Job Code: TS-JP

Test Specialists are part of a team that develops high-quality questions for the LSAT that are sensitive to the diversity of the LSAT population. The position requires the writing, review, and revision of questions that are designed to assess informal reasoning and deductive reasoning skills. Other duties may include participating in the review and development of informational and test preparation materials as well as participating in research related to the LSAT.

Some training in logic, a broad background in liberal arts, and precise and fluent use of Standard Written English are necessary. Experience in college teaching is desirable. Demonstrated organizational skills, the ability to work independently and collaboratively, and the ability to meet deadlines are required. Proficiency in Spanish is a plus. Educational qualifications include an MA and doctoral-level work in philosophy, theoretical linguistics, literature, or some related discipline requiring strong reading, reasoning, and analytical skills. A PhD is preferred.

Salary: $65,000 per year or more depending on qualifications and experience. Benefits are highly competitive.

For details, please visit our website, LSAC.org.

Please forward vitae, a letter of application including the following Job Code, and a list of references to:

C. Rommel, HR Section

Law School Admission Council

P.O. Box 40, Job Code TS-JP

Newtown, PA 18940

Fax: 215-504-3808

E-mail: employment@LSAC.org

Application deadline is March 2, 2015.

LSAC takes great pride in its dedication to being an EOE/AA Employer. All qualified individuals, including minorities, women and people who are disabled, are encouraged to apply.

Original source:

http://lsatblog.blogspot.ca/2015/02/becoming-lsac-test-specialist-job-posting.html

*I was sent this LR study guide a couple of months ago from a fellow 7Sager and it has been very helpful. It's not as detailed as some of the others floating around but it does have enough information for you to get a head-start on your own notes. I hope this helps those study for the upcoming LSAT!

LR Question Types:

Main Point/Main Conclusion Questions

- The most fundamental skill on the LSAT. Take a label and slap it on the sentence that you think is the main point

Most Strongly Supported Questions

- They are similar to MP/MC questions in that you must locate the conclusion then find the answer choice that provides support

- The “fine” difference is that in MP/MC questions the conclusion is in the stimulus and you just need to identify it and in MSS questions the conclusion is removed from the stimulus and placed into the answer choices.

- If you properly understand support then you will be able to identify the displaced conclusion among the answer choices

Assumption and Weakening Questions

- Assumptions are the weakness of the argument; they are premises that the author has left out.

- Assumptions are subtle: they are hard to detect but you must be sensitive to them as assumptions determine the strength of the argument

- When looking at the answer choices consider answer choices that support the conclusion

** Note, arguments are good and bad. An argument is considered “good” insofar as the premise support the conclusion

- The more assumptions the argument makes, the weaker the argument

- How to weaken an argument?

It is very abstract and subtle

You must remove the support

• What support? The support the premise provide to the conclusion

- Weakening questions test you on:

*YOU DO NOT ATTACK OR CONTRADICT a PREMISE, EVER

* YOU DO NOT CONTRADICT OR DENY a CONCLUSION, EVER

• An answer choice will strip the existing premise of its strength.

• A correct answer choice will show, despite the premise being true, with the consideration of the additional premise (correct answer choice) the existing premise(s) are now, way less supportive

- Ask yourself?

Why is it, that despite the fact the I accept the premises I no longer accept the conclusion

The correct answer choice will give you a reason

Causation and Phenomenon Hypothesis Questions

- Causation Theory:

- Type of Logic

- Employed in LR

- Causal Relationship

- Causation Theory: (as the LSAT understands it)

1) Causation implies correlation: if you have no correlation then you have no causation

2) Causation implies chronology: If A--> Then A must have come first

3) Causation strongly suggests there are no competing causes

- Correlation Theory:

~~ Empirically observes co-variance: CORRELATION DOES NOT IMPLY CAUSATION

**Empirically Observed: Out in the world. Data we see/observe/find

** Covariance: Change that happens together

Example: Fire Fighters (A) and Fire (B) (correlated)

** Just because A and B are correlated, it does not mean (A) fire fighters causes (B) fires.

*If you are given a correlation you cannot assume causation, but causation DOES imply correlation

4 Possible Explanations:

When we observe that A is CORRELATED or CO-INCIDENTAL with B there are 4 possible " situations"

1. A caused B

2. B caused A

3. C caused both A and B

4. There is no relationship at all (alternative cause)

We Use Causation Strategy:

1. Stimulus: Premise gives us either correlation or coincidence and then the argument proceeds to assume causation or concludes causation

2. Answer Choices: Check for the following

A) Competing Explanation: the intro or denial of an alternative cause

B) Chronology: causes MUST precede effects

C) Third common cause: Maybe there is a third cause that is causing both 1 and 2 and both effects are the effects of a 3rd common cause

D) Data Sets: Look for competing or corroborating data sets.

Strengthening Questions

- The answer choice you choose will introduce a new idea that increases the support from the existing premises to the conclusion

- You are tasked with exposing and affirming and assumptions made by the author

- You make the premise(s) more supportive of the conclusion

Sufficient Assumption Questions

- You are looking for the answer choice that provides the stimulus with the missing information that will help the argument to reach the holy grail status of validity

- Your goal is to bridge the gap between the premise

- Ex: Here is my premise A and here is my conclusion B, you must provide the “if then”; If A, then B. With this additional premise you have a VALID (MBT) argument.

- These question types rely heavily on conditional logic and diagramming/mapping

-If you understand validity, sufficiency and necessity relationships these questions should be “gimmies” on the LSAT

Pseudo-sufficient Assumption Questions:

- Very similar to sufficient assumption questions in that they rely heavily on logic. The difference is, they LSAT writers are leaving a small window that says the answer choice may not make the argument valid but it is ALMOST valid.

Must Be True Questions

- Validity is the strongest most special relationship between premises and the conclusion, it is an argument which makes zero assumptions so therefore, it is valid.

- The definition of a valid argument: 
If the premises are true, then the conclusion must also be true. So choose the answer choice that considering the info provided, MBT

Must Be False Questions

- Rare on the LSAT, are the opposite of must be true.

- The Stimulus will provide you with a set of outlines/rules etc and then give you answer choices

- One of the answer choices will violate the outlined “rules” there for making it a must be false/cannot be true

I'm planning to take a preptest this Friday. After I blind review by myself, I'm interested in IM-ing with other(s) this weekend to really make sure I can articulate my answer choices. Is anyone else interested in doing a second BR round like this? I feel like trying to shoot for a group/consensus BR score of 180... might be a good way to get max mileage out of PTs. :-) Best way to learn something is to explain it to someone else, after all.

Let me know, and we can work out the deets. Thanks!!

Hello!

I really want to improve on my conditionality. Especially when it comes to looking at the stimulus and, although it's not worded in traditional "if...then" statements, be able to get a sense of what the conditionality is.

Does anyone have any suggestions for how to improve upon this? I've recently redone the course. I'm going through my old answer choices from this time around and making sure I understand why my answers were wrong, so I think this is really the time to increase my skills on this.

I know I can go through old questions and write out the conditional statements, but has anyone done anything additional they wouldn't mind sharing?

Thanks :)

(good luck to all you Feb LSAT takers getting your grades back soon!)

Hey guys, I dug these up in the older posts. Just wanted to repost if anyone needs them

Edit: These notes belong to @emli1000! Thanks!

INTRODUCTION TO GROUPING GAMES: THE IN-OUT GAMES

CONDITIONAL RULES TRIGGER V. IRRELEVANT Lesson 1 of 27

• Sufficient satisfied: Rule triggers, necessary must be satisfied.

J→ F

Jl

------------

Fl

• Sufficient failed: Rule irrelevant, necessary free to satisfy or fail.

J→F

/JA

-------

YOU CAN STILL INVITE F

• Necessary failed: Rule triggers, sufficient must be failed.

J→F

/FA

-----------

/JA

• Necessary satisfied: Rule irrelevant, sufficient free to satisfy or fail.

J → F

FA

-----

*YOU CANNOT SAY IF ALLY IS FREE TO BE A F USER OR A J

“NOT BOTH” V. “OR” TRUTH TABLES LESSON 5 OF 27

NOT BOTH:

• SC = POSITIVE

• MAX = 1, MIN= 0

OR:

• SC= NEGATIVE

• MAX=2, MIN=1

HOW TO QUICKLY REACT TO LOGIC GAMES QUESTIONS STEM FLASHCARDS Lesson 13 of 24

1. Must be true / CANNOT be false

This type of question asks you to select the answer choice that must be true. In other words, the correct answer choice CANNOT be false. The four incorrect answers all could be false.

2. Must be false / CANNOT be true

This type of question asks you to select the answer choice that must be false. In other words, the correct answer choice CANNOT be true. The four incorrect answers all could be true.

3. Could be true

This type of question asks you to select the answer choice that could be true. The four incorrect answers all must be false or CANNOT be true.

4. Could be false

This type of question asks you to select the answer choice that could be false. The four incorrect answers all must be true or CANNOT be false.

Hint: switch “must” with “could” and “true” with “false”.

ADVANCED LOGIC- GAMES

ADVANCED: “AND/OR” IN SUFFICIENT CONDITIONS Lesson 2 of 15

SPLIT: OR IN SUFFICIENT

DON’T SPLIT: AND IN SUFFICIENT

• And/or in the SC

• IF Esmeralda OR James teaches the class, THEN Jenny will pay attention

o E or J → PA

Independent sufficient OR (SPLITS)

o E→

o PA

o J→

• IF Esmeralda AND James teaches the class, then Jenny will pay attention

o E and J → PA

o Jointly sufficient for this since it uses AND

ADVANCED: “AND/OR” IN NECCESSARY CONDITIONS Lesson 3 of 15

SPLIT: AND IN NECCESSARY

DON’T SPLIT: OR IN NECCESSARY

• IF Simmi takes American Pop Culture, then James OR Andrew will also take the class.

o S→ J or A

• IF Simmi takes American Pop Culture, then James AND Andrew will also take the class.

S→ J and A (SPLIT)

S→J

S→A

CONTRAPOSITIVES: DEMORGAN’S LAW Lesson 4 of 14

. and becomes or, vice versa

2. negate both elements

• If Tome plays, Then Jerone and Simmi play too.

T→ J and S

/J and /S → /T

= /J OR /S → T

• IF JENNY OR ANDRE SINGS, HEN JULIAN AND ESMERALD SING TOO.

JY OR A → JU AND E

[NOT] JU AND E]

=/JU OR /E → /JY AND /A

CONTRAPOSITIVES: DEMORGAN’S LAW THEORY Lesson 5 of 14

• IF JENNY OR ANDRE SINGS, HEN JULIAN AND ESMERALD SING TOO.

ADVANCED: BI-CONDITIONAL Lesson 7 of 15

• 2 Types

1. Always together, never apart

2. Always apart, never together

• English- indicate that you are reading a bi-conditional

1. (Either) or, but not both

2. If and/but only if

3. … But not otherwise

o EX: Alan(A) attends the meeting if but only if Chris(C) attends the meeting.

o A←→C

o What does this statement mean in English?

-Alan attends the meeting if Chris attends the meeting. (C→A)

And/But (mean the same thing)

-Alan attends the meeting only if Chris attends the meeting. (A→C)

C→A and A→C

= A←→C … Contrapositive is /A←→/C

4. Except

• Mastery

o Embedded Conditionals

• Contrapositive

OR, BUT NOT BOTH Lesson 8 of 15

1. (Either) or, but not both

o EX: Alan (A) or Chris(C) goes to the park, but not both.

o Alan or Chris goes to the park – [/A→C contrapositive /C→A]

o and and

o Alan and Christ cannot both go to the park. [A→/C contrapositive C→/A]

o /A←→C

o A←→/C

BUT NOT OTHERWISE Lesson 9 of 15

• EX: Alan goes to the park if Chris goes to the park, but not otherwise.

If Chris goes to the park, then Alan goes to the park [C→A contra. /A→/C] And/but

If Chris does not go to the park, then Alan does not go to the park.

[/C→A contra. A→C]

COMBINED: A ←→C contra: /A←→/C

EXCEPT Lesson 10 of 15

• Not all that important in a Logic Game. Hardly seen as in indicator

• EX: Alan goes to the park everyday, except the days on which Chris goes to the park.

o A→/C contra C→A

o /C →A contra /A→C

o COMBINED: A←→ /C contra /A ←→C

TWO TYPES OF BICONDITIONALS Lesson 11 of 15

1. Always, Together, Never apart

A ←→B – [always go to the park together]

/A←→/B – [Always together NOT at the park. They always stay home together]

LR: realize the distinguishION between the two have clasped.

2. Always Apart, Never Together

/A←→B [Alan does not go to park, Chris goes to the park]

A←→/B [Alan park, Chris stays home]

***NOTE: ONCE = IF= SC ***

MASTERY: EMBEDDED CONDITIONAL Lesson 13 of 15

• If, then, unless

• EX: If [the seeds are planted in the winter,] then [flowers will not blossom unless fertilizer is applied.]

/FB unless FA

/FA→ /FB contra FB→FA

• COMBINED: SPW→(/FA→/FB)

• WHAT THIS STATEMENT REALLY MEANS:

SPW AND /FA→/FB

OR

SPW→(FB→FA)

SPW AND FB→FA

MASTERY: EMBEDDED CONDITIONAL PROOF Lesson 14 of 15

SPW→(FB→FA)

SPW AND FB→FA

Ex: PROOF:

A→ (B→C)

/A or (B→C)

/A or (/B or /C)

(/A or /B) or C

NOT [/A or /B] →C

A and B →C

LAWGIC REVISTED Lesson 15 of 15

• Rule: 1. Move Sufficient out

2. Change arrow to AND

• Revisited: Translation Across English Construction

• Revisited: Element of Lawgic

1). → = arrow, implies

2). / = not, contradiction, negate

3). And = and

4). or = or

5). ←→ = biconditional

6). A, B, C, etc. = symbols

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

For in/out games, I tend to look for something along the lines of, "Each does exactly one of two things" or "out of x# of people, x# will be selected." For in/out games that have groups on the in or the out side, I usually notice that the pieces are split up before the rules by type. For example, "From 6 scientists, 2 Mad Scientists, 2 Crazy Scientists, and 2 Rogue Scientists, x# will be selected." In these cases, one of the rules will usually create a limit on the # of a particular type that can/can't be selected (at most 1 Mad Scientist can be selected if blahblah).

For chart games, I look for two sets of things with a binary switch for one set of things or the other. An example would be, x# car models/vacation packages/LSAT prep companies each have the possibility of these x# of features .... So you have x# things to which x# of other things either can or cannot apply. The either/or is your binary, your on/off switch and it goes in the middle, while the features and the things to which those features apply go on the outside edges. The cars with leather or sunroof was a good game to learn to recognize chart language.

Simple Grouping Games are a lot like the more complex chart games, but minus the binary switch. Instead of having 3 Council members vote yes/no (that's your binary) on 4 bills, you'd just have 3 Council members must vote on at least x# of bills. The game doesn't care how they vote (or in the abstract, doesn't care about the result of the binary switch).

For sequencing games, I notice lots of ordering words in the rules. For example, anytime I see X must be before Y but after Z, I assume sequencing and set it up as a simple sequencing game. If another rule adds another thing/descriptor that you have to tack on to each thing, then it becomes a double/multi-layer sequencing game - same setup, just add another row on top/bottom.

The Memory Method For Reading Comp

These are drills to be done with individual reading comp passages. Do these drills with 6-8 passages.

It may be tough at first, especially the “Check Your Memory” section. But if you stick with it you’ll learn to retain what you read.

Phase I – Improving Retention Memorize The Passage Structure [3.5 Minutes]

1. Take a passage. Spend 3.5 minutes reading it.

2. At the end of each paragraph, summarize the main point of that paragraph into one line.

3. At the end of the passage, look over each paragraph again and make sure you know the main point. Combine these main points into a narrative.

4. Once you know the point of each paragraph, decide on the main point of the passage.

-Gaining command of the passage will speed you up when doing the questions.

Check Your Memory [1.5 Minutes]

1. Turn over the passage – don’t look at it.

2. On a sheet of paper, write down the main point of each paragraph (one line each), and the main point of the passage.

-RC tests whether you really retained what you read. If you don’t remember anything at first, don’t worry, and don’t look back at the passage.

-Just write down what you do remember, and resolve to do better next time.

Do The Questions – Avoid Time-Traps [3.5 Minutes]

1. Turn the passage over, you can look at it again.

2. If the question involves a specific detail (e.g. lines 17-21, paragraph 2, the statements of Picasso and Braque), reread that section of the passage. This shouldn’t take long, because you memorized where details are located.

3. If there is no specific detail, attempt to answer the question.

4. In either case, if you think one answer is right, trust your gut and move on.

5. If you’re not sure, refer back to the passage [but be quick about it].

6. If step 5 doesn’t solve it, flag the question, pick an answer, and move on.

-If you waffle between answer choices, then you are spending most of your time on the hardest questions. This is a time-trap. You want to spend your time on questions you can solve.

-Give each question an honest shot. But if you aren’t getting it, cut your losses and move on to the other, easier questions.

-Eventually, you will get fast enough to come back to the flagged questions with a fresh mind. They’re often significantly easier the second time through.

Phase II – Reading Comprehension Mastery

The second phase of the memory method is exactly the same as the first, with one exception: you only spend 30 seconds on step two (Check Your Memory).

Do this 6-8 times. The first phase teaches you how to retain information. The second phase teaches you to quickly recall and apply it.

Conclusion – Practice, Practice, Practice

Getting good at LSAT Reading Comprehension is a habit. These drills lay the foundation for proper technique, but you’ll have to revisit them from time to time to perfect your method.

-If you feel your retention flagging, focus on improving it. A good command of the passage and it’s structure is the key to success on reading comprehension

I saw someone posted about LSAT day dreams, but it was closed because people were being awfully rude :/ I wanted to start the discussion again:

I day dream about 180. What about you?

Hi,

I was curious in finding out what approach you may all take before taking a PT? Such as do you do certain game set/practice problems before a PT? Do you read articles? Do you exercise? What is it that you do that gets your mind ready for a PT?

Pretty self-explanatory... I've taken a few tests more than once and want to mark improvement and check across answers. Am I able to add an additional score to a test without erasing my first score? Thanks in advance!

Hello!

If anyone has taken more than one LSAT, as in, maybe one in the summer and one in the regular school year; is there a difference? I'm speaking performance wise here. I mean, 12pm seems like a much better time to take a test. Our biological clocks are use to being awake and active by 12 (most people). Do people score higher in the summer in general?

I'm taking the June exam and was wondering if this is a thing. When I took the December 2014 exam I woke up at 5am to get ready (I woke up at 5am regularly with about 8 hours of sleep). I still feel like it was too early for the test. Also, LG happened to be my first section and I was just not fully awake at that point in time (mentally).

If anyone has questions, thoughts, or perspectives, please share.

What do you guys do to keep your mind off lsat before scores are out?

I am very nervous. Before I sat for the February lsat, the last five prep test were all 180. I know some like to believe getting 180 is out of luck, but I worked hard to get there so for me it wasn't matter of getting lucky. I'm hoping my actual lsat will be 180 as well.

I sometimes day dream of accidently getting the answer sheet on test day so I have all the answers.

This happened to me on my midterm exam once. The professor gave me the answer sheet on accident but of course he realized it before I could memorize any of the answers.

What is your LSAT fantasy/day dreams?

Looking to go over a test every Sunday in the Madison area; if interested please leave me a message.

[removed for soliciting services]

I'm totally thrown on S.U questions; I've been back through the theory videos and still get 100% of the questions wrong. During BR I can't seem to understand why right questions are right and why wrong questions are wrong.

My logic skills, during the letter exercises (drawing inferences, etc) are strong; things seem to just fall apart when having to instead deal with word-based stimuli and logic structures that are not as clear cut as they were during the theory exercises.

Does anyone have an external resources they know of that could help bridge the gap? If so, I'd be very grateful and may even be able to avoid going totally grey before October ;)

Thanks.