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We've added new lessons on LSAT writing to the curriculum! For those of you taking the test in August 2024 or later, LSAC is making some changes to the writing section. (Here's the official announcement from LSAC in case you missed it: https://www.lsac.org/blog/new-approach-lsat-writing-will-debut-july-31-2024)

In order to help you prepare for the updated writing format, we've introduced three new lessons to the curriculum:

https://classic.7sage.com/progress/#lsat-writing-august-2024-and-later

(NOTE: To see the new lessons, you must be using v2 of the core curriculum. If you're not sure how to access v2, see here: https://classic.7sage.com/accessing-ccv2/)

Lastly, if you're planning on taking the June 2024 LSAT, fear not! The old writing curriculum isn't going anywhere. You can continue using it.

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I am between AC (C) and (D), however feel (C) is incorrect due to the wording of such. While the part about "providing reasons for rejecting an alternative course of action" fits the description, answer choice (C) also claims "it arrives at it's conclusion indirectly". The word indirectly is what is throwing me off, as the conclusion of the argument "The Transit Authority’s proposal to increase fares by 40 percent must be implemented." is DIRECTLY stated in the very first sentence. Can someone please explain?

Admin note: Edited to remove the stimulus and answer choices. You can see our Forum Rules here: https://classic.7sage.com/discussion/#/discussion/15/forum-rules

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Is anyone else having issues with this? It seems like they are making it extremely difficult. I called the tech support and they couldn't help me. Now I'm on a 30 plus minute hold with LSAC. It seems like it would be easier for everyone if they just allowed us to take it on test day at the location. Even if they have to reserve computers for that portion. This is just ridiculous.

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Hi, I recently started taking my wrong answer journaling much more seriously since my last PT rather than just doing a somewhat brief and quick BR of the questions on the site due to the anticipation of my PT score. I think I have a good grasp on my LR incorrect answer journal based on what a previous tutor told me on a post of mine a few weeks ago, writing in my explanations for new or kept answers during a BR, so I can then evaluate my thinking when I see whether I was right or not, and what other inferences/tidbits of info I may have missed even if I was right, based on JY's explanations. Though for RC I am not really sure what to do, as I find it harder to remember what my reasoning was typically, due to it being more intuitive rather than cookie cutter in contrast to LR due to the nature of reading longer texts and passages, I find for my self at least. Maybe this shows a glaring flaw in how I approach RC.

P.S: Are there any recommendations for a good and free screen recording software that I can use during PTs?

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For this one I picked E but is it because that its more of background information as opposed to a premise which the answer A is?

Admin Note: Edited title. Please use the format: "PT#.S#.Q# - brief description of the question"

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I'm not sure if I understand the AC right regarding the video lesson, Harrold Foods Hero - Flaw Question (https://classic.7sage.com/lesson/harrold-foods-hero-flaw-question/).

Can anyone #help me understand and identify all the referential inferences in (D)?

(D) taking evidence (1) that a claim (2) is believed to be true to constitute evidence (3) that the claim (4) is in fact true.

evidence (1): ____________.

a claim (2): ____________.

evidence (3): ____________.

the claim (4): ____________.

Here is what I understand:

(D) taking evidence (Belief of most (72%) of consumers) that a claim (Harold foods dominates the market) is believed to be true to constitute evidence (product with more than 50 percent of sales in a market is dominating it) that the claim (Harold foods dominates the market) is in fact true.

evidence (1): Belief of most (72%) of consumers

a claim (2): Harold foods dominates the market

evidence (3): product with more than 50 percent of sales in a market is dominating it

the claim (4): Harold foods dominates the market

Any help is appreciated. Thanks in advance.

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When I first look at an LR question and try to map it out with conditional logic, I get the answer wrong often and in the video explanation, JY maps it out completely different than I envisioned. Sometimes, I map out elements that are irrelevant to the argument or I'm creating too complex maps that aren't easily boiled down.

What do I need to review so I can get a better understanding?

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Started off with a -7 reading comp on my diagnostic and now I'm down to the 0 to (-2) on recent PTs with very little variability based on the section's difficulty. Thought I'd share what works for me.

The RC section is famously the least 'learnable' LSAT section, especially relative to the LG section. Even being good at RC, being thrown into a section feels a lot more shaky then starting a new never before encountered LG section. There is a feeling in LG that you have a reliable and consistent procedure that you can use to get the right answers, and the absence of a similarly clearly defined and reliable procedure for RC is easily felt and has shaken my confidence in attacking a RC section before.

I present for your consideration the VIQW (Vick-double-"u") method.

Visualize

Interest

Question

Write

This was largely adapted from the method outlined in the course sections on RC, with some additions of my own.

Visualizing helps occupy the mind while reading in a way that helps retain attention and focus on written details. Visualize here could be replaced with something like Imagination + Context. For example if I'm reading the passage discussing the merits of IP law protections for software to stop people stealing video game code I might pause briefly to imagine a scenario in my mind where I download a game that is clearly just a reskinned version of Minecraft with the same codebase directly ripped from it. Or in a passage on prescriptivist vs descriptivist grammarians I might play a little imaginative game in the background where I try to picture in my head what I think a prescriptivist would look like versus a descriptivist based on details in the passage. Maybe I'm crazy for this one, but this strategy really helps keep my mind engaged in the background in a way that creates additional interest in the material, and therefore helps with recall and drawing connections between different details in the text.

Interest is in my opinion, key to RC success. If you are not in the top 1% of intellectual curiosity and not innately gifted at RC, then your success in this section will depend on you becoming a master salesperson. I strongly believe that if you can answer this question "Why do I want to know about what this passage is speaking on?" in the affirmative honestly, this can make a huge difference. If you accept the proposition that you don't care what these passages say for the most part, that they suck and you just have to grin and bear it until you can start answering questions and be done with this section, you are 100% shooting yourself in the foot. You need to think about the things you think are worth considering and learning about, then figure out a way to quickly draw a connection between the passage and your interests and be able to give a one-two sentence answer for why what this passage has to say matters and is worth paying attention to--other than to just get you a good score.

The third pillar is Questioning. Ideally ask questions as you are going through the text. Did the author just make a claim--why are they making it--is it something they are trying to persuade us of, or is it being presented as a generally accepted fact that they are using to support some other claim they have made. At the very least each paragraph you should pause and ask yourself: "what is a question that is answered or attempted to be answered in this paragraph?" This will help contextualize the text, help you with main point and other question types, as well as with recall.

The last pillar is something I learned about LG recently which led me to go from -6 to -9 range to a consistent 0 to -3 range. The point of the methods you use in LG, such as rule translation and diagramming is to allow you to distribute the cognitive load of thinking through LG problems. The LG games method and procedure is actually a manually operated analog computer that you use to reduce the amount of computations you have to make in your head at the same time, and to reduce the amount of information you store in your head at the same time. Think of it like this--if your RAM maxes out your computer, its CPU slows down--in other words when its short term memory is full is becomes slower at computing information, slowing down your performance. What you write down in an LG game reduces the amount of information you need to have concurrently and readily accessible in your short term memory at any given moment, and gives you a way to solve for some problems through writing out scenarios on gameboards--reducing the amount of stress on your internal mental processing and improving the quality of what you are computing in your head.

So long story short, I think this same logic can apply to RC. So I recommend getting scrap paper and writing jot notes per paragraph. Every time you read a line and it interests you write out a short jot note (no more than 5 words) that will remind you of that thought when you look at it again in a minute. Likewise when you notice a claim that seems like a conclusion of an argument the author is making, or a claim that answers some question raised earlier in the passage make a short jot. Writing helps improve recall, that's a given. But my shot in the dark is that this actually helps you think through the material as you read it as well.

Sorry for the wall of text, just wanted to write a post that would have helped me if I saw it a few months back. Best of luck to everyone, especially fellow January LSAT writers! We can do this :)

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I took the Dec test but did not feel I aim my goal. Will re-take, looking for a study buddy to do PTs together for January. I am close to Emory. And prefer to do PTs in the morning testing time.

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Looking for a group of motivated individuals who want to learn, progress, and prioritize the LSAT. People who can forge together and keep each other accountable on studying and practicing. I graduated from U of M -Dearborn with a BA in English Literature and double Minor in Criminal Justice and Writing. I'd be willing to help with personal statements in our study group as well.

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So, like many of my fellow 7Sage friends out there I took the September 2018 test and probably went -2 or -3 lower than my average PT score. I already decided to retake weather or not by some chance my actual LSAT score is around my average or even possibly above (by some miraculous act of god). Being entirely open, I suck at RC and my LR is below average. My LG is solid and I feel most confident in this section. My "general" plan is to take about two solid weeks to only do RC. I want to try to do 50-60 RC passages a week during this time and review each thoroughly. After I plan to drill LR for another two weeks and do some RC during this time frame also. I will be around three to four weeks out from test day at this point and plan to PT a few exams and do thorough review generally. I have taken roughly 28-30 PT's already at this point and know how to "flow" through a test and how to handle all the different "situations" that the LSAT can throw; I really am just trying to gather a deeper comprehension at this point. I'm really just trying to see if anyone has any opinions they could throw my way ! Thank you, and good luck to all :)

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Does anyone have a breakdown of the subdiscipline of social science passages on the LSATs?

(Background -- I am asking, as I double-majored in sociology/political science; I work in public policy; and so I am well-versed and find it easy to read and analyse Sociology/Political Science/History passages, but find archeology/linguistics/anthropology quite a bit more obtuse! And am wondering what my odds are for getting something within my zone of comfort!]\

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