The other day, I came across a question in a practice test that used the phrase "results in," and I really struggled with the question because I wasn't sure how to translate that into "lawgic," as J.Y. calls it, or if it even could be translated. I don't remember what PT is was exactly, although I know it was somewhere between PT 65 and 68, and it dealt with bees. The sentence in question said something along the line of "Excellent pollination requires the presence of bees and results in a better harvest of fruits and vegetables," or something along those lines.

I know the first half translates to EP ---> PB, but is there a way to translate "results in?" Would you say EP ---> BF&V because if you have excellent pollination, then you know you'll have better fruits and vegetables, or would you write it as BF&V ---> EP because if you're garden produced better fruits and vegetables, then you know that you had excellent pollination?

Can anybody help me understand question 15 from PT9, S4 included in the Strengthening Questions Problem Set 8? I felt completely blindsided by how answer C (The rebate, if offered, would not attract purchasers who otherwise might not use Grow-Again) strengthens the connection between the premises and the conclusion. Am I reading this right?

P1: Five drops daily [of a treatment for reversing male hereditary baldness] is the recommended dose

P2: exceeding this quantity [of five drops daily] does not increase the product's effectiveness

SC: *Therefore,* offering a manufacturer's rebate will not increase sales

C: *consequently,* offering a rebate would not be profitable

My first bit of confusion was over how the author jumped from the quantity and effectiveness of the dosage to a rebate increasing (or failing to increase) sales. Are we supposed to assume that had an increase in the dosage improved its effectiveness, then a rebate would have increased the sales? If not, what's the link between A (the premises) and B (the sub conclusion)?

My second area of puzzlement was over how the correct answer (according to the breakdown at the bottom of the Problem Set), which talks about purchasers who otherwise wouldn't use Grow-Again relates to a discussion of dosages, effectiveness, and profitability of rebates. Are the purchasers we're talking about men suffering from hereditary baldness who have chosen other products (in which case perhaps improving the effectiveness, or at least the perception of the effectiveness, might make a rebate more profitable)? Or are we talking about men who aren't suffering from hereditary baldness or women or cute bald babies or pink flamingoes who, obviously, would have no interest in the product to begin with, regardless of any sort of manufacturer's rebate?

In any case, what does any of this have to do with the information given as the premises? Strengthening questions are supposed to beef up the link between the premises and the conclusion, right? So shouldn't a correct answer for a strengthening question have *something* to do with both items? I was so confused by the stimulus to begin with that I chose answer D (Grow-Again is a product whose per-unit manufacturing cost does not fall significantly when the product is produced in large quantities) because it was the only thing I saw that seemed to give some sort of connection (albeit very, very tenuous) between the information about the quantity of the product mentioned in the premises and the cost/profitability mentioned in the sub-conclusion and conclusion.

Help!

So I know I'm not quite doing things the 7Sage-approved way: I registered for the October LSAT and started 7Sage late this June because I need to get my score back in time to apply this fall. I've taken the test once before (February this year, to be exact), and I didn't do so hot. I got a 158 on the actual day of, and I had heard of the blind review method beforehand, so I wasn't surprised because my best BR at the time was 161. (This was with three weeks of studying after having been back in the country less than two months after a year-long, overseas assignment. I said I haven't been doing things the 7Sage-approved way, okay? I got it!)

The point it, I've gone through all of the 7Sage lessons (exempting some problem sets because I'm also working full time right now, and there just wasn't enough time for all of them if I was going to get a decent amount of PTs in), and I started taking full, simulated PTs last week. I've done PT41-45 so far, and I'm a bit nervous. At first, I was doing really well. For PT41 my actual/BR was 160/171, PT42 159/171, and PT43 164/172. However, my last two weren't as good: PT44 160/167 and PT45 159/167. It's mainly the drop in the BR scores that's making me really nervous (that and the fact that the best I've done in logic games was a 60% accuracy and today was 46% accuracy). Does that happen? Does score improvement typically look more like a straight incline, or it is common for it to be more like a roller coaster with just a general upward trend? How many PTs do I need to go through before I'll be able to tell the difference?

I should probably add that after I do the blind review, I go back over all the ones I got wrong and try to figure out why the correct answer is right and why the wrong answer is wrong in my own words before I watch J.Y.'s explanations to confirm/correct my reasoning. It takes freaking forever, but I know that's the best way to learn. I'm just nervous that I'm not doing something correctly since even my BR scores have dipped, and I only have a few weeks to figure this out and avoid burnout at the same time. Words of advice/comfort/anything-of-an-anxiety-reducing-nature, someone? Anyone? Please?

I'll be taking the LSAT this Saturday, and I feel much better about it this time around thanks to 7Sage. (You guys rock!) However, I'm finding that I have a LOT of nervous energy (read: I'm having trouble sitting still long enough to focus on reviewing this week). I did the same thing the first time I took the test, which culminated in a mostly sleepless night before the big day, even though I went to bed in plenty of time. I think I tossed and turned for at least four or five of the eight hours that I had allotted for sleep, though I didn't feel tired at all the next day, which I attributed to adrenaline.

Given that I didn't do as well as I wanted to that time, I'm hoping to avoid the same scenario this go round. I've taken off work the Friday before the test, and I was thinking about checking out a local martial arts studio to both take my mind off the test, and, hopefully, wear out all my nervous energy so that I will sleep well Friday night. Does anyone have any other suggestions for staying energized but focus this week and for getting a good night's sleep on Friday so I (and all my fellow 7Sagers) can rock this test?