Hello,

I used the last two sentences of the 2nd paragraph: “A problem associated with the cognitive interview is that it is a complex procedure… Because of this complexity…trained officers often deviate from the procedures specified in the cognitive interview training.”

I re-worked answer choice A in my mind. Hence: If police interviewers deviate from the procedures specified in the training, then there is reason to worry that the cognitive interview is less effective.

Think of less effective as not working as well. If there’s a problem with something (officers deviating from procedure), then there’s reason to worry that it won’t work as well (reason to worry that it is less effective). Also, answer choice A is not saying it is less effective, it is saying there’s reason to worry that is less effective. It’s a subtle difference but it makes it easier to pick answer choice A then any of the other answers.

Hope this helps!

Remember that you are trying to get rid of wrong answer choices especially when you are down to two. If the answer has something you don't like, get rid of it. I sometimes highlight the word or phrase that I don't like in the in the answer choice. For instance, I might highlight "All" because I feel like it's too strong or "few" because it is too weak or "average sales" because the premise was about total sales not average, etc. Then during review, if I get the question right it is a confidence builder. It affirms my gut instinct to have crossed out the wrong answer because of a word or phrase that I highlighted. On occasion, when I get the answer wrong, it also sticks to me better because I wasn't passive in the process. I made a real attempt and got it wrong so I remember it for next time.

Also, for weakening LR questions: You are trying to weaken the relationship between the premise/support and the conclusion. So first identify each then ask yourself why even if the premise was true the conclusion doesn't follow.

Example:

Premise: Sally gave me 2 apples. Mark gave me 3 apples.

Conclusion: Therefore I have 5 apples.

Weakener example #1: I already had 1 apple before Sally and Mark gave me apples.

The premise is still true (Sally gave me 2 apples & Mark 3 apples), but the conclusion doesn't follow (I would have 6 apples not 5)

Weakener example #2: I ate 2 of the apples.

Again, the premise is still true but I am weakening the relationship to the conclusion. (I would have 3 apples not 5).

Weakener example #3: Robert game me 4 apples.

In weakening LR questions, it is common for LSAT to say, "Which of the following, if true, weakens the argument". The "if true" allows them to introduce new info. If Robert gave me 4 apples, then I would have 9 apples. This totally weakens the argument.

Trap answer choice example: I also have 3 pears. This doesn't do anything. Sure it talks about another fruit, but the conclusion and its support are about apples not pears. LSAT is just trying to waste your time on this answer choice. Don't let it.

Congrats on -0 on Logic Games! For LR and RC review: You have to understand why the right answer is right and why the wrong answer is wrong. It sounds self-explanatory, but it's very tempting to just gloss over the answers on review and not engage with them. Think about it this way: any question you got wrong you made two mistakes 1.) You chose the wrong answer and 2.) eliminated the correct answer. On review, slow down and ask yourself why did I not choose the correct answer? Was it a single word that changed your mind? Example: Did they use strong words like "all" or "never"? or a word you didn't understand? Was it that they paraphrased the answer and that threw you off? Did two answers sound the same to you and you chose one at random? You're basically trying to find out where you made the mistake and teach yourself not to go down that same path the next time. I would suggest reviewing every question you got wrong, but also every question you got right but were not 100% sure of. You can also create a wrong answer log/diary to check for patterns. Are you missing the same type of question multiple times (Ex. MBT, MSS, NA, etc.)? It might be time to review the lessons on that again. I hope this was helpful!

My suggestion: Don’t sign up for the LSAT until you have already scored your goal score on your practice tests or are within striking distance (typically 1-4 points away) of your goal score. For example: If your goal score is a 160 and the last 4 test you’ve taken are a 159, 158, 161, 160, sign up and take it. However, if your last 4 tests are 148, 146, 149, 147, and you are hoping to get a 160, don’t sign up just yet. The LSAT registration deadline is typically two months ahead of the LSAT test date. Increasing your score by 1-4 points in two months is doable, however, increasing your score by 10+ points in two months is much harder. It is not impossible, but why waste money and a test attempt? You only have a limited number of tests you can take so don't waste them when you aren't close to your goal score. Preferably, you'll take it when you are ready and would only take the LSAT 1-2 times and be done with it.

Note: If money is not an issue. You can sign up anyway. Just be mindful of the test withdrawal date. You can withdraw from the LSAT days before the test is set to begin and it doesn’t count towards your attempts but there is no refund so you'll loose out the $200 you paid.

When I have a hard time with a question, I slow down and simplify. Here’s how I arrived at the correct answer.

Conclusion: “People’s intensions cannot be, on the whole, more bad than good”

Simplified: This statement must be true.

Premise: “Were we to believe otherwise, we would inevitably cease to trust each other, and no society can survive without mutual trust among its members”

Simplified: Because if we don’t believe this is true, bad things will happen.

Reasoning: So, what if bad things happen? That’s not a good enough reason to disregard the conclusion. Are things only true if they have a good outcomes? No. The argument is assuming bad things can’t happen based on true statements. That’s the flaw and why answer choice A is correct.

Here's an example I made up:

Conclusion: People cannot smoke cigarettes.

Premise: If they do, they’ll develop lung cancer and die at a younger age.

Reasoning: So? You’re are assuming that you can’t believe or do something that has a bad outcome. People ‘til this day smoke cigarettes even though they know it's harmful to their health. Just because it has negative consequences doesn’t mean that “people cannot smoke cigarettes”. People still smoke.

Hope this helps!

There's an awesome biconditional lesson in the core curriculum of 7 sage that you should definitely check out. But if you just need a quick reference. Here are the two most popular biconditionals: 1.) forever together 2.) forever apart.

1.) Forever together:

If you have one item, you must have the other. They are always together. Never apart.

Key indicators:

If but only if

if and only if

if yet only if

Example: Alan attends the meeting "if and only if" Chris attends the meeting.

A (-) C

To understand it better, try breaking down the biconditional as follows:

Alan attends the meeting "if" Chris attends the meeting.

C ->A

Alan attends the meeting "only if" Chris attends the meeting.

A->C

Now put them together "if and only if" is combined as the biconditional: A (-) C

2.) Forever apart:

If you have one item, you don't have the other. They are always apart. Never together.

Key indicators:

(either) or, but not both.

Example: Alan or Chris goes to the park, but not both.

/A (-) C

To understand it better, try breaking down the biconditional as follows:

Alan "or" Chris goes to the park.

/A -> C

Alan and Chris "cannot both" go to the park.

A -> /C

Now put them together "or, but not both" is combined as the biconditional: /A (-) C

Hi Margeret7,

I just called LSAC about the very same thing yesterday. I wanted to know if I could take the writing portion 2 weeks after the test and they said yes. The writing portion of the exam opens 8 days prior to the LSAT exam, but you are also free to take the writing portion of the exam anytime after the official LSAT test because there is no deadline for the writing sample. They just won't release your official LSAT score until it's submitted. Here's a link to Frequently Asked Questions about the LSAT Writing portion.

https://www.lsac.org/lsat/frequently-asked-questions-about-lsat/frequently-asked-questions-about-lsat-writing