I think you can include it in your essay, but I would focus more on the progress you have made in your adult life to overcome and become a better person. Echoing @lucykelly459 and @andrewrsn567.

The best answer I can provide is that English is a natural language. And especially in a hard question like this, the LSAT writers will call on your ability to intuit the English in front of you rather than mechanically translate the sentences - that's what makes the question tough.

"A is brought about by B" is exclusively causal language. Check out the lessons on causality in the core curriculum then come back to this question and I think it will click a little bit more.

After doing this, if you're still unsure why causal language can't be conditional at the same time, hit me up by dm and I can try to help further.

Good question. In my view, because we have causality here ("brought about by" = causal language), we have to place an emphasis on this, rather than treat it as a conditional.

For instance, try to forget everything you know about Sufficiency Necessity relationships for a minute. (In this case, pretend like you didn't know that "only" = Group 2 = Necessary). Now when you read this clause: "a given political structure is brought about only by certain ecological or climatic factors" can you see how what we really get here is the following,

Certain eco or clim factors cause a given political structure.

Or more simply, A causes B, rather than your above translation.

In this way, can you see how what we have is more causal logic rather than conditional logic?

@juliet7sage You are an all-star!! Thank you so much.

@gabeshelton3715 I use Headspace and it has worked wonders.

Hi there, where are you deriving "if and only if" from in this stimulus?

Hi there, they certainly are, just be sure to pay attention to what part of the stimulus the "claim" is in - as you want to discriminate between the various types of conclusions that can be present in a stimulus (Other People's Opinion/Sub-Conclusion/Author's Main Conclusion).

In this instance, the claim (1st sentence) is in fact the author's only conclusion.

But for example, in a stimulus structured in another common way:

1) Some (specialists) believe X.

2) But they're wrong.

3) (Support for why they're wrong).

There are at once two claims in this stimulus. One in the context (1st sentence), which is Other People's Opinion (not the author's Conclusion of the argument). And one in the 2nd sentence - the author's Conclusion of the argument.

Can you see that?

Additionally, you have to be on the look-out for Intermediate/Sub-Conclusions by the author. Because these are "claims" too. Just not the Main claim.

At it's most basic level though, yes - you can think about a claim as a conclusion.

Hope this helps!

@gabeshelton3715 Same for you as well! I just took Nov but am anticipating an additional take sometime in 2022. Hbu?

@gabeshelton3715 I do 2 hours AM and 2 hours PM. Any more than this and the zoning out effect @warddarien10969 mentioned begins to happen. Unless you're going near perfect in LG, I think drilling a game or two is always a great way to start the study day.

@milesnicholsonjr507 @johnzawarski486 @almhall821 Glad to help. Also for clarification on my sequencing advice, something I will do is draw a horizontal slash through the board below each split-board created, just to separate things out more clearly - still takes less time than the individual dashes and numbering each time. Happy studying.

Hey @johnzawarski486 , something I do to cut down on "setup" time is be on the look-out for aesthetic tweaks you can make to your game-boards that will not be detrimental to your ability to interpret them. For instance, things I do to save seconds during my setups are:

For sequencing games: only numbering odd slots (1, 3, 5, etc). Putting the numbers on TOP of the slots with game-pieces below, and then placing all my split-boards/different worlds below as well, rather than drawing out the lines and numbers for every single split-board. I just reference back up to the top to ensure I'm dropping pieces into the right spot. (Let me know if you need more clarification on this).

For in/out games: Only drawing the check and X on the master game-board. If you have a decent comfort level with the game, you can also make the call on whether to only draw the individual slots (if necessary), and group close-outs (if necessary) on the master game-board, making the split-boards just completely empty shells and then referencing back to the master game-board for the global rules. This is something I only elect to do on in/out games if they are 1) of the easier type 2) require 4+ split-boards. In this scenario, I believe the time you save by not drawing out all the aesthetic aspects of your split-boards is substantial.

Additional timesavers:

ALWAYS doing the acceptable situation question in tandem with your set-up.

ALWAYS doing the additional premise questions before the others.

If you're not nearly perfect in LG yet, ALWAYS skipping the substitution and equivalence questions and coming back to them if you have time at the end.

Hope this helps!

Hi there, I can definitely relate and my advice would be to cancel your Nov take before going into it, and then regroup and go from there.

I took the LSAT not once, but TWICE, with the same pre-test state of mind you're in now and it went horribly not once, but TWICE. Ultimately I don't think there's a way to ever be 100% prepared for this test. But there is a BIG difference between being 20% prepared and 85% prepared. When you're closer to the 85% level the week of the test, the thoughts that will naturally be going through your mind are things like "OK - I got this. I know there will be curve balls, but I am confident in my ability to handle them. I know it won't be perfect, but I know I can do well!"

This is the place you need to be in before going into an actual LSAT. If a certain thought or someone is forcing you into rushing this process - you have to quell it. This test takes time for some, and postponing your actual take to a later date is more often right than wrong.

Hope this helps!

@johnzawarski486 You are why 7Sage is meta!!

@noraprener549 said:

If you haven't checked out the LSAT Lab RC videos, I highly recommend checking them out. They're available for free on Youtube and they totally changed my RC game.

On top of that, I totally agree with @gabeshelton3715, especially with 5: Worry less about speed and more on comprehension. I improved my score a ton simply by slowing down and making sure that I understood what I was reading.

Hi @noraprener549 -- I checked these out, can I ask what particularly in them changed your game?

@kittywang1997924 Thanks for the tip!

@dulciexue49 Thanks for the help! I've tried the computer screen cleaning version of windex but it hasn't fixed the problem completely. I'll definitely have to look into if there's a problem with the air quality in the room. It's a basement conference room of an office building, so on first blush it doesn't seem like there should be an issue, but I appreciate your recommendations!

@andrewrsn567 I recommend using @andrewrsn567's advice in your PTs as I believe it provides a more calibrated reflection of your skill level, but for the actual LSAT, because it's still only 3 graded sections, it will be about a -18 for the 160.

A _ _ B with a box around it and a switch on the A/B, and a mini "Ex" written either above or below the 2 spaces between.

@analuciasuazo132 said:

@johnzawarski486 said:

@botailiyas585 said:

Cancel your score and retake in November amigo.

Unfortunately I don't have that option, as the next international testing date is January. By the point I will have to just wait until next year, because I need the better odds of merit money by applying "early." ):

If you in fact get a lower than expected score (which may not even happen), January is a perfectly viable option. While earlier is better, scholarship money generally doesn't "run out." Schools overcommit several times their budget and are constantly getting money"back" as people withdraw, and re-awarding it. Anecdotally, I applied with a January score and am at a T14 with the highest scholarship they offer.

Petition for a retake, then focus on self care until you hear back. Best case, take another shot next week... worst case, kill it in January. Either way (and even if things had gone smoothly this time) holds possible that you both do or do not ultimately get viable admissions outcomes. It could very well be that the extra study time between now and Jan makes the difference... it was for me. Just focus on what's in your control.

@johnzawarski486 I agree with @analuciasuazo132's take here. This application cycle will be slower than usual as well because of the spillover effect from last cycle, so I think you'll be just fine with January.

That being said if you're really not feeling January, couldn't you board a plane to the US/Canada in November and take the test that way? Might sound extreme to some, but as long as there's not some LSAC rule against doing this (there's not that I'm aware of), then I wouldn't say this is an extreme measure at all. When it comes to accomplishing your goals, there has to come a point where nothing will get in your way.

Cancel your score and retake in November amigo.