I believe all the questions in the Question Bank, including the newest 620, are licensed, real questions released by the NCBE (OPE refers to "Online Practice Exam," which are actual NCBE products).
I think the "[t]hey closely reflect the style of the MBE" just means that these newer questions, compared to the older ones, are probably a more accurate reflection of what the MBE is like now. In other words, on the actual exam, you're more likely to see a question similar to one of the newer ones, compared to an old question from 1995 or something.
(But someone with more knowledge can obviously correct me if I'm totally wrong)
Thanks for the tips!
@ Drilling old LGs has definitely helped me with all of the PTs I've taken so far.
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!
@ I actually signed up a few months ago through their website (on the free events page), but I just checked and saw that the proctored exams aren't listed there anymore. My guess is that they remove the listings as soon as a lot of people sign up and the event becomes full.
I know they're offering one this Saturday in NYC, W. 25th St., at 1:30pm, and I *think* they're also offering one on Sunday at the same time. You might try emailing them to see if they still have room.
That said, I've never seen anyone check in, so I think you'd be ok if you show up without signing up online. I've always just walked in the times I've gone. There are always empty seats too (not everyone who signs up always shows up), though it might be a bit more crowded this weekend since it's a week before the actual exam.
Thanks @.janson35! That definitely makes sense. That's probably the main reason I initially eliminated B & C.
I'm pretty sure JY's video and the LSAT Hacks explanation stated that it was the influential people who opposed the bill and they provided other (equally good, I think) explanations for eliminating B & C. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't completely off base for having that additional reason for thinking those answer choices are wrong.
JY’s explanation was very helpful, but there’s one part of the question that’s been bugging me.
We’re told in the premise that people who would be “adversely affected were [the bill] to become law are very influential.”
Answer choices (B) includes “any bill that is opposed by influential people” and (C) has “those who oppose it are not very influential.” I understand and accept JY's explanations for why these are wrong and why (E) is correct, but I think there might be something else wrong with those answer choices.
A lot of the explanations I see for why B & C are wrong still seem to accept that it is the influential people who oppose the bill. However, can we really make the assumption that the influential people who would be adversely affected by the bill would oppose it?
It definitely seems like an unstated assumption in the first part of the argument, but is it really valid to say that they would oppose it (and that’s why the bill won’t be passed)?
It’s possible I’m not really understanding what “adversely affected” means. However, isn’t it possible be adversely affected by a bill, but still support it? (for example, wealthy individuals might support higher taxes for the rich, even though that adversely affects them).
It’s one the assumptions that jumped out at me when I did my BR and partly how I was able to get rid of (B) and (C). But I’ve read explanations from different sources and they all seem to accept the assumption that the influential people being adversely affected are the ones opposing the bill.
Thanks!
This also happens to me, and with a recent PT as well...I missed 8 in the first LR section (including a few very easy ones that I misread/misunderstood at first and quickly caught in BR). In the second LR section I only missed 3, and they were among the most difficult in the section.
I would agree with Alexandra, but I tend to be more alert in the first LR section. However, I also realize that I'm lot more nervous as well, so perhaps I over think things and second guess myself too often.
I always insert a fifth section from another exam at the beginning of my PTs, so my brain is pretty tired by the second LR section. I rely on eliminating wrong answers and usually get it down to two and when I pick the correct one it's often because it "felt" right (I don't have the time or mental energy to over think things at this point).
If I'm having trouble with a passage, even after re-reading it, I jump to the "easy" questions and try to knock those out of the way. Even if I didn't understand the specifics, I tend to have an idea of the main point (it sounds counter-intuitive, but I can usually eliminate wrong answer choices in main point questions pretty quickly...too specific; completely opposite of what the passage is about; etc), so I answer that usual first question.
Then, I look for questions referring to specific lines (what does "blank" mean in line 16; how does the author use "blank" etc). I also avoid any obviously long questions with equally long answers, and go to those only at the end if I have spare time.
I find that answering these "easier" questions can help me grasp the passage a lot more clearly. I then jump to the harder questions (usually the inference ones for me) and through a combination of quickly of re-reading any relevant points and sheer intuition, I knock out wrong answers and make my best educated guess for the correct one.
@ I hadn't seen your comment before I posted, but I see that some of my strategies aren't too different from yours.
In addition to the wording (competitor’s advertising campaign), I had another issue with (A). All we are told in the conclusion is that the ad campaign was “ill-conceived.”
This strikes me as different than the conclusion in Question 13 of this same section, which states that “putting more people in prison cannot help to reduce crime.” In that answer choice (B), we see that the greater rate of imprisonment could have led to a reduction of crime (compared to if there wasn’t a greater rate of imprisonment.)
I think the issue with (A) is that the conclusion doesn’t say something like “Therefore, the ad led to these worse sales figures.” In that case, you could say “actually, the sales would have been lower without the campaign, so it didn’t lead to worse sales (it actually helped).”
Instead, we have that the ad campaign was “ill conceived.” I don’t think (A) is as effective in this case. “Actually, sales would have been even lower without the ad campaign.” I could imagine the marketing consultant saying, “So? Even if it’s the case, sales figures are still low and new products are selling poorly. The ad might have contributed to some sales and things might be worse without it. However, I still think it’s ill-conceived since sales figures are poor and new products selling poorly.” In other worse, the ad didn’t really help much, did it? An ad that only helps a little can still said to be ill-conceived.
However, (B) is saying that the poor sales might be attributable to an economic downturn. Marketing consultant: “Sales are low and the new products aren’t selling, therefore the ad campaign is ill-conceived.” With (B), someone could say, “Actually, the poor sales are the result of recession, the ad doesn’t have much to do with it.”
What’s the author’s support for saying that the ad campaign was ill-conceived? The low sales and new products selling poorly. Introducing economic factors greatly weakens that premise. If the poor sales can be attributed to economic factors (not the ad), then what support does the author have for saying the campaign was ill-conceived? At that point, he doesn’t really have anything.
@ I know you have the option to withdraw your registration by midnight the day before the exam (so June 7 at 11:59 pm; no refund) if you decide you're not ready to take it.
If you decide to take it and aren't feeling confident about your performance, you have the option of cancelling your score on the answer sheet during the exam. After the exam, you can request a cancellation by submitting a form to the LSAC (they have to receive it within six days of the exam).
Keep in mind that law schools won't know if you decide to withdraw the night before (at least I'm pretty sure this is the case), but they will know if you decide to cancel a score.
Manhattan LSAT offers free, in-person proctored exams in NYC, even if you're not enrolled in any of their courses. I know they're offering sittings every weekend leading up to June, but I'm not sure what the schedule will be like leading up to October. They usually have two exams you can choose from, or you can bring your own (they also provide an experimental section if you forget it).
Just watched one final JY video tonight to pick my brain up a bit (I've just done very light studying this week), but I think I'm set. I'm going to watch an episode of Peaky Blinders now and head to bed.
I'm just crossing my fingers and hoping that all my 20 pencils won't break tomorrow! Good luck everyone!!
lol. Thanks for the tips! I'll just put everything in my plastic bag and hope for the best
1. Is there a limit to the number of pencils we can bring to the testing center or have on our desk during the test?
My mom gave me a weird look as I sharpened my ~20 pencils and I double-checked the guidelines which say we "must bring... (3) three or four sharpened No. 2 or HB pencils, with good erasers." I take it that this doesn't mean that we can ONLY bring 3/4?
2. Does chapstick count as a "medical product"? :P
Seriously though, I'm kind of addicted to it. I jokingly say that my greatest LSAT success wasn't (finally) getting -0 on Logic Games or (finally) breaking 170, but rather managing to go an entire section without putting on chapstick. I can definitely live without it tomorrow, but it'd be nice to have it on me...just in case.
Like I said, these are dumb questions and I'm not stressing over them. But it'd be nice to know now vs. tomorrow.
Thanks and good luck everyone!
@ I bubble after each question I complete. I think it would be more confusing, error-prone and time-consuming to bubble in after ever page or every few problems.