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Last comment thursday, jun 18 2015

Logical Reasoning Question

For this problem, I nailed it down to B and the correct answer D. However, I chose answer B because I thought that D almost proved the point of B as the conclusion. In a sense, because we know that Pluto is not the sole cause of the irregularity, then we know that it is even more irregular than scientists previously anticipated. Thoughts?

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Last comment thursday, jun 18 2015

When to split the game board?

Hi all,

I know this is very general, but as I practice I realize that one of the most essential things on LG is to decide when you should split the game board, and how much more you want to further split your sub-boards. I wonder if people have any tips or rule of thumbs on this?

Thanks so much.

I am currently using 7sage methods for LG and have made considerable improvements. I still need to make gains time-wise. I was wondering if I could benefit from looking at some other perspectives w.r.t LG I am afraid that it might end up muddling things up since the 7sage method has worked great thus far for LG. Maybe I am getting impatient. Would love to hear from people that have made gains w.r.t time in LG

I am struggling with reading comp. It is not the sort of struggle with not understanding the material either, rather I am having to read the passage at such a pace that it makes me miss some important details, and then when I am asked a question about the details, I recall where it is, and some of its purpose, but not enough to get the question right. I guess I am having trouble prioritizing some details, as well as having timing issues. Is this normal when starting to do RC? and for individuals who are good, or improved their RC drastically, what are some tips you can give me. I am literally dedicating every single day to this test, I do nothing but study all day, I cut my job hours, I barley communicate with the outside world at this point lollol. I need a 173+ score, I have to get a 173+ (I have to for me not for anyone, or anything else) So please every single tip even if you think it is insignificant, it isn't. W.E. time I must dedicate to get better I will, I just want/need to get over this frustration already LMAO. I majored in Philosophy, so all I did was read, and write. I didn't even think RC was going to annoy me this much. Also I am taking my LSAT in December.

GROUP 1: IF, WHEN, WHERE, ALL, THE ONLY, EVERY, ANY, WHENEVER, ANYONE & GROUP 2: ONLY, ONLY IF, ONLY WHEN, ONLY WHERE, ALWAYS, REQUIRES, MUST (Group 1 indicators follows with sufficiency and group 2 indicators follows with necessity)

In the logic introduction lessons, J.Y has introduced a very effective way to translate English into Lawgic language. I think it is very helpful and mechanical. However, I think it would be better if folks could help me to understand the actual meaning of these indicators from group 1 and 2 in order to memorize them and process faster. Some words look so similarly. For example, "the only" is from group 1, while "only, only if" are from group 2; "when" is from group 1, while "only where" is from group 2. Can somebody help me to understand how to distinguish those words, so I can process the translation more easily, or could you please share how you memorize those words which look very similar.

Thank you so much!!

Hey all,

What does the phrase "susceptible to proof" mean? The context is an answer choice for a LR question, "A reasoning error in the argument is that the argument overlooks that what is not in principle susceptible to proof might be false."

This is Section 3, Question 10, PT 26 for your reference.

Thanks so much!

I was struggling with the correct answer (B) and (E). Obviously, (B) is correct, because it points out the assumption that the route that polar bear went is already familiar to them, therefore, it does not meet the criteria (definition) of "navigation". However, I think (E) also points out that "polar bears rely on their extreme sensitivity to smell in order to scent out familiar territory", while in the contextual information, it has been pointed out that Navigation is defined as (1) animal's ability to find its way from unfamiliar territory to points familiar to the animal (2) but beyond the immediate range of the animal's senses. (E) points out the assumption that it is in the range of the animal's sense, because polar bears' extreme sensitivity to smell; therefore weaken the argument.

I saw couple people were struggling with this answer choice for the same reason, could someone help us? I will really appreciate.

http://classic.7sage.com/lsat_explanations/lsat-37-section-4-question-17/

I tried to find out why A was wrong, but I still have no idea why. :(

Why A can't be an answer? Does highway traffic "has not increased" mean highway traffic is the same as a year ago?

So I think A also eliminates a possible alternative explanation for why there's a reduction in the number of highway traffic fatalities.

Can anyone explain why A is wrong and E is an answer?

Thanks!

Hi, I have been practicing logic games following the fool proof method, it has helped a lot in my confidence. I have become better and getting -2 or -3 for the logic games section i do the first time, however, i have been struggling with the speed. For games which should take 8 minutes i end up taking 13-14, for most games i take like 5 minutes extra than the ideal time to finish though i get almost all answers correct. Anyone else experiencing the same? I have finished the logic games core curriculum and haven't started taking practice tests yet, should i get the Cambridge lg bundle, should i recycle the games from the core curriculum? Will drilling the same types of game would be more helpful? Any suggestions

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Last comment friday, jun 12 2015

LSAT Score - Does it Stick?

The only two schools I have my sights set on (both top 30 schools) are waiting for this score to possibly admit me for the next academic year. Although I knew going into the LSAT (this first time 'round) I wasn't going to blow things out the water, I was determined to keep my rhythm and morale up never the less. After starting out slow I made some traction and felt things might go my way -that is until the Games section knocked the wind out of me! For the life of me I don't know what happened? Although I had done games daily and even enjoyed myself most the time, I felt as if this were the very first time I had ever come across any game. Long story short... I'd be surprised if I even got 5 right within that section. My gut tells me (that at best) my results will be in the lower 150's; therefore, I am debating canceling my score. Even though I'd love to start school next year, I just can't see how that's likely with a B average GPA and a 150'ish score -especially so late in the year.

The question I'm putting forward (to you guys n' gals) is do law schools take your most recent attempt or do they average it out? I really would like to have your wealth of knowledge on this as I have to make a decision within the 6 day time frame to nullify the score -BTW, is that 6 business days or just days of the week?

Personally, I believe a non-scored test still looks a whole lot better than a low score, but I really am open and looking forward to your opinions on this. Thanks for hearing me out and taking your precious time to respond.

I was wondering if anyone had ever heard of NYC-based LSAT prep services (i.e., Blueprint, Powerscore, etc) offering to let you pay to participate in just the proctored LSAT exams? I think my biggest problem is test anxiety and I would love to sit for a few proctored exams before my retake in October. But I don't want to pay $1,300 for the privilege...

Hey guys,

So I have bought the 7sage's lsat starter, and I am wondering how do you study as you follow the program? Do you drill specific question types while studying? or do you just continue to watch the videos until the end after learning about everything, and then start drilling?

Hey fellow 7sagers,

This is my first post and it may be long (and more of a cathartic blog-like post), but I wanted to throw this out there for anyone who is also having similar feelings. I am signed up for the June LSAT (aka tomorrow) and am NOT taking it.

You may be thinking, "Oh this is just stress/anxiety." I'm sure that has some part to play, but I'd like to believe my reasoning is more logical than that.

I began the 7sage prep course back in January. When I say began, I mean more like I signed up. I thought, "I have a little less than 6 months. That should be enough time." I started off well, keeping on my schedule, but then LSAT prep took a back seat to all my other activities. As a full time student and part time worker who also attempted to have a social life, it didn't seem like there were enough hours in the day to also make time for LSAT prep. Then May hit. I had not yet finished the prep course nor had I taken any PTs. I thought, "I'm a smart person, I can just dedicate this month to the LSAT and I will be golden." I did spend tremendous amounts of time studying (like 8 hours a day, 6 days a week), but little did I know that wasn't good enough. It's true, you cannot cram for the LSAT. As it got closer and closer to the test date, I felt less and less sure about my ability. All of these posts that JY or any of the other 7sagers posted about the June LSAT would say things like, "You've done your prep tests, you know what you're likely to score. Don't worry so much." The thing is, I've only taken 2 PTs. My first one I got a 154 (158 with BR) and my second test I got a 158 (165 with BR). What a range! Who knows what I'll score on the actual test. My main issue is timing. The LG section kills me. Without blind review I was getting -11, but with BR I was getting -2. From this I learned a few things. My foundations were there, but I need to have practiced more to get the timing down. To put it simply, I am not ready. I've known this for some time and was hoping that by some miracle come today I would feel ready; that maybe in my last week of studying something would finally click. It hasn't. I know that if I were to take the LSAT tomorrow, I would not be performing at my best.

With this feeling, I looked to my parents for validation of my decision not to take the LSAT. My mom said, "What harm can it do? If you don't do well, just take it again. Law schools will see an improvement. You've spent so much time on this. You also can't get a refund. Why don't you just take it and see how it goes?" She makes a good argument and almost swayed me. But the thing of the matter is I don't want to take a test that I don't feel confident about, that I am not ready for. This is not anxiety getting the better of me. This is not a fear of that I won't do well (well maybe just a little) This is me taking an honest look in the mirror and knowing I can do better. I know where my strengths and weaknesses lie. I know what it takes to truly study for the LSAT. Maybe I'll never feel fully ready for the LSAT, but I do know that with more preparation I can go into the October's LSAT knowing I'm going to do the best I can do.

I've been checking my admissions ticket regularly and even today, it still only gives me the building name and says "Room #'s Posted on Test Day" So I have to wait until the day of the test to even know what room I'm going to be in? Talk about stressful. Are all the test centers like this?

Imagine the LSAT would materialize into a physical entity that you could deck clean in the nose. It would run toward you screaming various arguments and asking you "what must be true," what would strengthen the argument," et cetera. You're sporting a pair of boxing gloves that say Sufficient and Necessary, bedecked in shorts displaying the 7sage logo in a shade of royal blue. Your appearance? Regal. Your demeanor? Hungry. As soon as the bell rings, you come out swinging. Down goes LSAT. Knockout in the 4th. J.Y. is your bookie, he's collecting bets. Ok, I'm done.

Not sure what I'm looking for here...Probably pity points if I'm being honest with myself. Just a heads-up, this is a long one. I know writing can sometimes help vent frustrations, and since I can't repeatedly punch the drywall to combat my stress and fleeting moments of panic, I'll give this a shot. Today I took what I planned on being my last pretest - hopefully ever (PT-73) and notwithstanding the fact that I haven't graded it yet, I know it was a total bust. I completely bombed a Logic Games section and --for me in particular-- this hits especially close to home. Logic games have always been a bit problematic for me. On the december 2014 administration, I sat for the exam and did higher on the logical reasoning sections than I've ever done otherwise, but completely botched a logic game (getting about 7 wrong). My experimental was logic games as well, and happened to be the first section so it was literally back-to-back games and I essentially came out being ambushed by 8 games. Consequently, I received a 164 which is pretty solid but I decided to commit my time to more study, and give it all I've got for June.

"170 or bust," served as the ideological truism to which I --among others-- subscribed. From early Feb until now I've been studying consistently, logging 380 exact hours hitherto (can corroborate with Excel spreadsheet). This doesn't include the hours from Oct-Dec. To combat my weakness in logic games I purchased the cambridge bundle which includes all the logic games sections from PT1-70. I've been doing several logic games sections a day 2-4 which ranges from 8-16 games a day. Scoring perfect very often. For some reason my reading comp has plummeted lately, I feel like I can't register and process what I'm reading at times. Not sure if this has anything to do with the stress or not. I've also taken 24 PTs from Feb-Now. All have been 5 section save for one (the free preptest offered on the LSAC site). I feel like I've paid my dues here. Going back to today's pt, it was a total farce. I felt brain dead for my 2 sections of reading comp. Section 4 was games, which made me so irate, I broke 3 pencils and contemplated ripping up my test and just stopping there. In spite of my lapse of self-control and anger, I decided to continue but couldn't focus much on my last section (LR). Not sure how I did but for the last few tests I've taken Logical Reasoning I've been in a sort of auto-pilot mode. I don't know if anyone else has experienced this, I'm at that point where I'm reading questions, even ones I should diagram and just feeling out the answer. Sometimes I can't even successfully diagram the question but my mind scans the choices until it finds what feels right and I move forward. I know this strategy sounds like an incarnation of LR Russian Roulette but oddly enough I've been getting them mostly right and relatively stay in the same range of LR questions missed.

I don't know if this autopilot mode is the result of some intuited conditioning or just my total apathy and disillusionment with the test. I've become sloppier, fancying myself a lone gunslinger, secretly wishing the gun I've put to my temple is loaded -- or in my analogue, the question is wrong. I know many would advise to reschedule but that's not an option. Should I take a day or two off? It might help but I'm scared of losing precious minutes that could be utilized for studying. I feel as if I'm in some LSAT limbo swimming amongst concepts, games and ideas. I literally can write questions for the LSAT at this point. What is most strongly supported by the statements above? B) I'm tired of the LSAT. What would most undermine my argument above? C) User Dgelf321 is known to be a drama-queen who over-exaggerates academic related endeavors. This argument rests on the assumption that? E) The stress related symptoms Dgelf321 has reported are not the result of other non-lsat related obstacles, or medical issues. The argument above is most vulnerable to which of the following criticisms? A) The author implies causation between stress and the LSAT, when only correlation has been shown. What would most explain the dip in scores despite the amount of studying? C) Studying harder isn't necessarily studying smarter. What is the main point of the argument? D) I feel like I'm losing it. The sentence " From early Feb until now I've been studying consistently, logging 380 exact hours hitherto (can corroborate with Excel spreadsheet)," figures into the argument in which of the following ways? It is a premise to support the sub conclusion "I've paid my dues" and acts to establish sympathy for the writer. Which of the following can be concluded? E) Overstudying is a real thing. Which of the following assumptions would allow the author's argument to be properly drawn? You get the picture.

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Last comment sunday, jun 07 2015

practice scores vs. real scores

For people who have taken the LSAT alrwady, what is typical as far as the difference between your average practice scores and the actual score from the real test? I'm averaging around 173-174 right now, and I'm curious to know if that is what I should expect on test day

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Last comment saturday, jun 06 2015

Analytical Reasoning (quicky)

How would you guys translate this stimulus from words into symbolic logic?

Barf (SpaceBalls movie character) only goes to the ocean on clear nights, and tonight is quite a clear night. Thus, we can conclude that Barf is going to the ocean tonight.

Most contrapositives makes sense to me except in the case of a negative condition, and positive reaction.

Can someone help me understand this example. (I don't think the rules are supposed to build off of each in this drill, so I've only listed the relevant one).

Scenario: A singer will perform, in order, five of seven songs: L, M, N, O, P, Q, and R.

"IF no L, then O." The answer (by negating and reversing clauses) according to a text book is "if no O, then L."

This doesn't seem true to me. There could be an L, but absence of O does not demand L. I have spent 30 minutes on this single example.

Help is greatly appreciated.

I have been working on Logical Reasoning and Logic Games, and I feel pretty comfortable with them. I still end up scoring in the 150's however due to reading comp. I feel like the only way to really improve is to do them and get them wrong and try to do better next time? I feel sort of lost. I have been reading the Economist and scholarly journals on scientific information to try and hone those skills as far as reading goes. However, I am not sure why I just cant make it work.

Any Tips?

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Last comment saturday, jun 06 2015

PTs 70-74 for the final week

I've yet to take the 70-74 exams. Instead of squeezing in all five, I want to take and thoroughly BR 2-3 in the last week.

Does anyone know if any of these more recent exams have particularly difficult games or reading comp passages? I'm inclined to think that they're generally comparable in difficulty, but I'd rather focus on any 70-74 PTs that have very difficult or unusual games/reading passages.

Thanks!

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