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Study Groups · Looking for Study Buddy - PTing in 150s - Goal 165+

305901

Monday, Aug 31 2020

I'm interested! I'm PTing in the 150s and am looking to break into the 160s as well. My email is tejpat717@.com

General · 147 to 179 - A 32 point increase, thank you 7sage!

305901

Monday, Nov 30 2020

Congratulations! This is an amazing achievement.

PrepTests ·

PT124.S3.Q20

305901

Tuesday, Sep 29 2020

Stimulus:

- brain = chemical machine

- all chemical reactions are based on temperature

- any animal able to control their body temperature can make sure that chemical reactions happen at the right temperatures

- Conclusion: The ability to control internal body temperatures plays a role in the development of mammal brains & intelligence.

A - who cares about organisms that cannot control their body temperatures? (the stimulus is focused on organisms that are capable of controlling their own body temperature)

B - this does not have to be true in order for the argument to be true

C - strong possible contender ~ ultimately rule out bc if we assume the argument to be true we can assume that mammals are able to control their internal body temperature which means that their brains can support intelligence thereby rendering this AC useless

D - strong possible contender ~ ultimately choose bc the negation of this absolutely wrecks the argument

E - again who cares about those organisms that cannot control their internal body temperatures?

PrepTests ·

PT145.S2.Q6

305901

Tuesday, Sep 29 2020

- Brooks has agreed to join McFarlane's government years after McFarlane had Brooks arrested for corruption.

- Most of McFarlane's supporters think Brooks is guilty of corruption.

- Most of McFarlane's opponents will take issue with anyone who joins his government.

- Conclusion: Brooks will not have many supporters in this nation.

A - did Brooks join McFarlane's government "inappropriately"? what if McFarlane's government already had a semblance of legitimacy?

B - what does this have to do with Brooks not having any supporters? this doesn't have to be true in order for the argument to be true

C - who cares? what if McFarlane appealed to Brooks's desire to be a part of the government once again (despite policy differences)?

D - strong contender (only AC that mentions the support provided to the conclusion + the negation of this wrecks the argument)

E - so what? this doesn't have to be true in order for the argument to be true

PrepTests ·

PT145.S2.Q24

305901

Tuesday, Sep 29 2020

Stimulus: Tariffs on specific products tend to help those who make the product and hurt just about everyone else. Polling indicates that most people dislike tariffs on specific products. As a result, politicians would be more likely to get reelected if they vote against these tariffs. (already thinking that the gap that needs to be filled is that there have to be more people who would be hurt by the tariff than who would be helped by it in the constituencies of the politicians who the stimulus is suggesting should vote against the tariffs ~ mindful that a NA correct answer would NOT need to be quite this strong.)

A - strong possible contender? (negation of this AC absolutely wrecks the argument)

B - feel that use of "always" is too strong + this doesn't have to be true in order for the argument to be true

C - why would it be necessary to know about how popular general tariffs are when the entire stimulus is discussing tariffs on specific products?

D - feel that use of "never" is too strong + how do we know what percentage of the population those who are hurt/helped by tariffs are? (this doesn't have to be true in order for the argument to be true)

E - so what? is knowing that they would be hurt by tariffs going to make people not vote for a politician that supports them?

PrepTests ·

PT145.S4.Q26

305901

Monday, Sep 28 2020

Stimulus: The seawater ballast tanks on all oceangoing ships help to maintain stability by pumping out water when there is cargo on board and pumping in water when there is no cargo on board. Because of the use of these tanks on all oceangoing ships, sea creatures sometimes get pumped in and pumped out in a different habitat than their own which can cause harm. In order to fix this issue, it would be best to fill and empty seawater ballast tanks in mid ocean since mid ocean and coastal sea creatures cannot live in the others' habitat./A - possible contender? ~ choose through process of elimination & bc it fills in the gap that the act of emptying/filling tanks in mid ocean would solve the problem (of ecological harm), B - who cares about "calm air and flat seas"?, C - rule out bc this AC is almost contradicting a premise which states that when sea creatures that don't belong to a certain habitat are deposited there they "can wreak ecological havoc", D - doesn't this just repeat what the stimulus already says? also, who cares if it is pumped in or out at times other than when cargo is being loaded/unloaded?, E - does this really matter in order for it to be true that emptying/filling tanks in mid ocean is the best way to avoid ecological harm? who cares?

General · Would anyone like my issues of the Economist? Also have some Scientific American issues in digital.

305901

Tuesday, Oct 27 2020

Thank you so much for offering this up!

Study Groups · [Ended] Free Tutoring Sessions: LR Skipping Strategy with PT40 LR1, Saturday, Nov 28th 7pm EST

305901

Wednesday, Nov 25 2020

Interested! Thank you!

Study Groups · Study Group - November 2020 Test

305901

Tuesday, Aug 25 2020

Hi I'm interested! My email is tejpat717@.com

PrepTests ·

PT124.S3.Q8

305901

Thursday, Sep 24 2020

Stimulus:

*When bacteria breaks down household cleaning products, toxic vapors (to humans) are produced.

*Household cleaning products are often found in landfills.

*Converting landfills into public parks is dangerous for human health.

A - Correct answer! This AC essentially waters down the S.A. that the landfills that are being converted into public parks contain household cleaning products that are broken down by bacteria (thereby producing toxic vapors) through language such as "In at least some..."

B - what if there is no bacteria in that landfill? (originally chose this AC but I completely ignored the condition that ultimately causes household cleaning products to be toxic to humans)

C - what if the vapors aren't toxic? what if there are humans that can withstand it?

D - who cares? this does not have to be true in order for the argument to stand

E - what if those landfills aren't turned into public parks? are humans hanging out at landfills these days?

PrepTests ·

PT124.S1.Q23

305901

Thursday, Sep 24 2020

Stimulus:

*Insects tend to feed on weaker plants, so robust crops are not as likely to be attacked by insects & can withstand insect attacks more successfully than other crops.

*Killing insects with pesticide does not fix the underlying issue of potential damage caused by insect attacks.

*A better way to fix the underlying issue of potential damage caused by insect attacks is to grow crops in good soil (a.k.a. soil containing "adequate nutrients, organic matter, & microbial activity").

A - who cares what makes the soil good?

B - how do we know that insects "never" attack crops grown in good soil? (maybe they are less likely to attack crops grown in good soil but this language is way too strong)

C - doesn't the stimulus state that pesticides fail to reduce/address the underlying damage caused by insect attacks? (this almost seems to contradict that)

D - identified that this was the right AC straight away bc I saw a gap that could be filled by stating some version of the following: it is likely that robust crops are less vulnerable to insect attacks because they are grown in good soil. ~ "tend to be" language makes this just relevant enough to be a NA correct answer choice

E - there is no causation between pesticide use and crop quality!

PrepTests ·

PT129.S1.Q16

305901

Thursday, Sep 24 2020

Stimulus:

*Multiparty democracies with the fewest parties will have the most-productive legislatures.

*Less parties in a multiparty democracy require each party to take a position on a wide array of issues.

*Taking a position on a wide array of issues requires prioritizing those issues.

*Prioritizing issues popularizes the tendency to compromise.

A - who cares about disagreement within parties? does it prevent the parties from taking a position on a wide array of issues?

B - why is the ability to compromise on a scale? how does the number of political parties dictate the level of importance of compromising?

C - strong contender (fills the gap) ~ choose bc this AC fills the gap present in the argument

D - who cares about the legislatures of non-democracies?

E - does a lack of agreement prevent legislators from forming a position on an issue?

PrepTests ·

PT129.S1.Q14

305901

Thursday, Sep 24 2020

Stimulus: If legislators are to pass laws that help their constituents, they must consider the consequences of those laws. Today's legislatures do not pass laws that help their constituents. Legislators are mainly focused on their political careers and tend to introduce legislation in a manner that inspires either hatred or love for the law from their colleagues.

A - makes the argument perfectly valid by filling in a gap (S.A. answer) is what I ORIGINALLY thought but after seeing the video explanation I can see that this AC just attempts to draw a different necessary condition from the sufficient condition that if legislation will benefit constituents, then... than the stimulus

B - how do we know what makes for a "successful legislature" based on the stimulus?

C - who cares? the stimulus says nothing about constituents adhering to the law

D - did NOT see this at first but can now see that this AC is right bc it ultimately closes the gap between legislatures failing to enact laws that benefit their constituents & considering proposed legislation with "either repugnance or enthusiasm" which allows for the contrapositive of the first statement to be drawn.

E - how are these two things ("inability of legislators to consider the actual consequences of enacting a proposed law" & "their strong feelings about that law") being connected together this strongly?

What Happened? I completely ignored the structure of this stimulus & the lawgic present ~ essentially tried to answer the question without understanding the stimulus

PrepTests ·

PT145.S4.Q15

305901

Wednesday, Sep 23 2020

Stimulus: Outsiders often think that they have great ideas that insiders have never considered. However, solutions that are meant to be fresh rarely help if they are not based on experience. Only those who understand the problems at hand can solve them and no one can understand without relevant experience./A - who said anything about the scale of creativity on which problems can be solved?, B - we have no clue what people who are experienced do in terms of finding a creative solution based on the stimulus, C - what if a person with no experience in that field comes up with a solution that is creative? (use of "always" is too strong) IS what I originally thought but after looking at the video explanation I realize that I never saw "creative solutions" and "problem solving" as interchangeable terms but you have to infer that they are in order to get this question right , D - we have no idea about the varying complexities of different fields (not mentioned within the stimulus), E - stimulus doesn't talking about training/responsibility (cannot conclude this)

PrepTests ·

PT124.S3.Q21

305901

Wednesday, Sep 23 2020

Stimulus: Those who argue that moving the waste will be catastrophic are not considering that leaving it where it is could also have pretty dire consequences. Since it is impossible to find a site that guarantees the safe containment of the waste, it will stay where it is for many more years. Allowing the waste to stay in its current location for a very long time produces several risks/A - feel that "never" is too strong of language & the stimulus cannot provide support for whether or not the waste should have been in its current location to begin with, B - stimulus does not support a prescriptive conclusion (it doesn't necessarily lead to the conclusion that the waste should be moved to the most secure spot that can ever be found), C - possible contender? ultimately choose bc this is a more subtle version of E which actually has support from the stimulus (which clearly states that moving the waste is necessary bc its current location has too many unimaginable consequences) , D - rule out for same reason as B (too prescriptive & NOT supported by the stimulus), E - possible contender? use of "any" is too strong (how do we know that any site will be safer than the present location?)

PrepTests ·

PT129.S1.Q18

305901

Wednesday, Sep 23 2020

Stimulus: There was a study and it found that toddlers did not obey when the rules changed (in this particular case the rule changed from sorting objects by shape to sorting them by color). As a result, researchers hypothesize that the toddlers' inability to adapt to the change in rules was because their prefrontal cortexes were not properly developed. The prefrontal cortex is required for the adaptation of new rules but can develop slowly and continue to do so in adolescence.

A - wouldn't this contradict the premise that states that the reason why toddlers couldn't switch from sorting objects by shape to sorting them by color was that their prefrontal cortexes were not properly developed? how can it be that only those toddlers that were unable to sort by color have less developed prefrontal cortexes (stimulus does NOT support this)?

B - since prefrontal cortexes take a while to develop, what if there is an adolescent or adult who doesn't have a fully developed one & therefore cannot solve problems that require rule adaptation? (this AC has NO support from the stimulus)

C - possible counter contender ~ still do NOT get why this is the right answer BUT after watching the explanation I see that it requires a small inference in that we have to infer that the reason why the toddler may be misbehaving in a certain way (a.k.a. not adapting to changing rules) is that the toddler just doesn't have a sufficiently developed pre-frontal cortex (a.k.a. that they "MAY not be willfully disobedient.")

D - the stimulus provides NO support for this AC (never discusses upbringing in any way)

E - the stimulus provides NO support for the idea that adaptation to new situations is "roughly proportional" to development of the prefrontal cortex

Study Groups · Serious Study Buddies (Small Group) for January 2021 Flex!

305901

Wednesday, Nov 18 2020

tejpat717@.com! @ I know you mentioned that a smaller ten person group is more along the lines of what you're looking for and I noticed that there are enough people who responded to have two such groups. I really love the schedule you laid out and if anyone would be interested in breaking this up into two smaller groups, I would be happy to coordinate the other group.

LSAT · [Ended] Free Tutoring Session: RC Questions, Sunday Nov 15th 7pm EST

305901

Sunday, Nov 15 2020

Thank you for volunteering your time to do this!

General · Seeking Advice on Choosing a Test Date

305901

Thursday, Jan 07 2021

@ thank you very much!

General · Seeking Advice on Choosing a Test Date

305901

Thursday, Jan 07 2021

@ thank you! Your advice was super helpful and you are absolutely right that what I’m missing is a big picture plan.

General · Seeking Advice on Choosing a Test Date

305901

Thursday, Jan 07 2021

@ thank you for your input! I definitely struggle in different ways with all three sections. I feel that I make a lot of under confidence errors when it comes to LR and have specific q types such as Flaw and Weaken q’s that still give me a lot of trouble. I also tend to average -6 on LG and have been fool proofing but I don’t think my approach has really been targeted enough to make a significant impact.

General · Seeking Advice on Choosing a Test Date

305901

Thursday, Jan 07 2021

@ and @ thank you for your input! I actually have been working with a tutor but the bulk of our focus has been on what I can do to improve on LR so I haven’t really given enough time to get into LG. I think sitting down with them and figuring out a game plan of attack for LG would be really helpful though.

Study Groups · LG perfection study group for June?

305901

Wednesday, May 05 2021

Interested!

General · Seeking Advice on Choosing a Test Date

305901

Monday, Jan 04 2021

@ Thanks for the advice. May I ask how long of a break you took?

General

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Monday, Jan 04 2021

305901

Seeking Advice on Choosing a Test Date

Hi All! I have seen a lot of people post seeking advice on their personal situations with the LSAT (to which many 7Sagers have provided great responses) and I have recently found myself in a bit of a pickle that leaves me wanting to do the same. This month marks a full year of me studying for the LSAT. I have increased my score from the high 140s to the high 150s (last three tests were each a 157) and my ultimately goal was to break into the 160s and ideally to have a 165+ score as my GPA isn't the greatest and I am really concerned about receiving money from the schools that I apply to. I recently had an unfortunate family situation that cropped up leading me to change my originally scheduled Jan test to April and am now facing some familial pressure and personal doubt about that decision. I worry that since I have already put a full year into this and have yet to break 160, am I just kidding myself in believing that I can do this by April? I already decided to extend my gap years and work full time so it doesn't really impact my application cycle to take the test in April as opposed to January, but I do still have a chance to sign up for the Feb administration. Should I just bite the bullet and take it asap as I feel like I'm losing the will to keep going or should I keep trying to break 160? I'm just feeling burned out and in self doubt at the moment and any advice from people that know what it's like to dedicate time to studying for this test like you guys is appreciated! (I also work full time by the way and unfortunately am not in a financial position to quit my job).

General · LSAT game night

305901

Wednesday, Jun 02 2021

Interested!