Another thing that may help is to memorize the list of flawed methods of reasoning that 7Sage provides.

(1) Yes, you are essentially predicting the correct answer choice.

(2) How far along in your prep are you? If you're still in the early stages, I'd spend a lot of time reviewing the core curriculum to at least get your mind thinking in a particular way for each type of question. That way, it facilitates your ability to pre-phrase. Personally, I think my best pre-phrase practice comes from my Blind Review. Because I am spending as much as needed on a particular question, I am allowing myself to think about everything that could be possible, within the constraints of the stimulus and the question stem. And as I do more Blind Reviews, I'm finding it much easier and more intuitive to pre-phrase.

(3) I think it's extremely helpful and actually necessary in order to score well on the LSAT. It saves time that could be spent on a much harder question.

Hope this helps, best of luck!

Ah ha! Damn you Verizon FiOS...you charge me a premium for a fast reliable connection and yet this happens...Tsk, tsk, tsk...

I will also be there!

@

@

Thanks for sending that over! Unfortunately, I could watch both those videos at 3x speed without any buffering freezes, so I'm still struggling with reproducing this problem.

I noticed one suspicious thing in the server logs, but that thing has been going on for at least 2 months, so there's a good chance it's not related to this problem. Still checking it out though.

If you or anyone else who's having problems with the videos could answer some questions to characterize the problem it would really help my investigation:

1. Are there (a) SOME videos that cause problems, or do (b) ALL videos cause problems?

(a) If some, then please send some URLs that work, and some that don't work. That way I can inspect to look for differences.

(b) If all, then please let me know if 720p YouTube videos are loading for you. (If YT videos don't work you, please try resetting your modem, router, and computer)

2. If there is a problem loading the video, does trying to load it again 30+min later work better?

3. Please let me know if you notice *any* trends in problematic videos. E.g. trends in time of day, type of video, explanations vs lessons, etc.

I've tried watching them again, and I can't reproduce the problem anymore. I'm not sure why that had happened and I'm pretty confident it wasn't my wireless network because I had actually contacted my service provider and got an A-okay on my connection speed.

I also don't think it was because I was using my laptop because when I tried loading the video on my desktop the problem had persisted.

The only plausible conclusion I can think of is that maybe I was just watching the video explanation when there happened to be high traffic on the 7Sage site? If a lot of users are watching videos at or around the same time, would that potentially slow down the buffering?

Anyway, I'm just relieved that the videos are now loading without issue. Thanks a lot for your troubleshooting!

@ This video also freezes right at the 1:24 mark for me. When I pause and wait a while, it play again presumably because it's finished buffering the following however many seconds/minutes of the video.

http://classic.7sage.com/lsat_explanations/lsat-47-section-1-question-22/

@ Thanks for letting us know about this. Sorry it's going so slow!

I've been trying to reproduce it on my side and haven't been successful yet.

I checked and I'm able to play and buffer the videos quickly here in India, on both the html5 and Flash video players. I tried routing my connection through US East and US West in case it's a local thing, but it still works for me.

I'm looking through the server records, and contacted our service provider to see if they can help figure out what's going on.

In the meantime, any more information about the problem, such as the URLs for a few videos that are definitely going slow for you, would be a big help.

Here are some of the URLs I tested and worked for me:

http://classic.7sage.com/lesson/an-expensive-therapy-mp-question/

http://classic.7sage.com/lesson/advanced-valid-forms-review/

http://classic.7sage.com/lesson/advanced-valid-forms/

http://classic.7sage.com/lesson/industrial-ecosystem-designed-offal-questions-analysis/

http://classic.7sage.com/lsat_explanations/lsat-70-section-1-question-14/

Sorry for the trouble!

This video has been stopping and starting, but it's actually a lot better while using html5 than Flash.

http://classic.7sage.com/lsat_explanations/lsat-47-section-1-question-21/

@ If you mention the PT #, Section (LR 1 or LR 2), and Question # others might be able to chime in and help you better understand the question. Also, LR 1 refers to the first logical reasoning section that appears in the PT and LR 2 refers to the second LR section.

"Arizona Law administrators say they have proved the GRE is just as effective a measure and that it complies with accrediting rules. Traditionally, the GRE has been used for admission to graduate and business-school programs."

I'm actually interested to know how they conducted this study especially because, to my knowledge, the GRE and the LSAT are fundamentally different exams. Wouldn't it be an illogical comparison?

"After analyzing test scores from 78 current and former Arizona Law students, the company determined it had at least as much predictive value as the LSAT."

Is it just me, or did anyone else think "unrepresentative sample" after reading this? lol.

@ This is great! Thanks for sharing.

@ If I am watching JYs videos and able to understand the method, is it necessary to get on the call? If the calls are more beneficial, is it necessary to watch the videos?

Wondering if there is a better (quicker) way to do this without compromising the learning process.

I wouldn't say it's necessary, but I think it's very helpful. As we go over questions together on the BR call, we reason with one another and try to catch one another's reasoning "blindspots," for lack of a better phrase. Even if you're able to BR your preptests well by yourself, I'm sure there are still things you'd learn from others through the BR call. If you can, you should definitely try to make it!

Best of luck

@

If we move back the PT 70s a month, how will this affect the BR group schedule? I'm sorry to trouble you, but at your convenience would you please update the schedule? Thank you!

@

said:

Hey everyone!

I have pretty severe ADHD, which has led me to change my study habits for the LSAT quite a bit. @.hopkins, @ and I have been working pretty hard on really nailing the fundamentals of logic to improve our scores over the past several weeks, and it's been helping immensely. That said, there's still a lot to be done and as Jonathan said a few weeks ago, knowing logic like the back of your hand is crucial to scoring highly on the LSAT.

I've been studying up on mind-maps to help stimulate my creative side and find something that'll really make all of the logic lessons click for me. I'm finishing up the full logic map tonight, and will be doing two more over the course of the week: one for valid/invalid argument types, and one for LR question types.

I wanted to reach out and see if anyone would have an interest in me uploading these to share with anyone who might be more of a visual learner such as myself, or even if any of y'all have made mind maps that have worked for you!

I'm also very interested! Thank you for being willing to share!

So many movies and shows to catch up on! Personally, my go-to law movie has always been "Philadelphia" with Denzel Washington and Tom Hanks. It's pretty heavy, but never stops to inspire and motivate.

Does this mean you're excited for Dragonball Super, JY? Toriyama is writing it!

@ I also don't really feel comfortable touching the 70s until I have at least 10 more tests under my belt (so like, PT 49). I'd love to touch the 70s after 49, and of course cycle through them again before the test.

@ @

I think according to the current June schedule, the 70s would be cycled through twice. If some feel that it's too early to do the 70s, perhaps a compromise would be to wait until the second cycle through of the 70s? By that time, everyone would be up to pace having done all previous PTs. The one caveat would be that you would be BR-ing with the group only once for each of the preptests in the 70s.

Just a suggestion!

@ BUT... there's a cheap kick one gets from showing such people stuff like this to their face and letting them know that they were wrong... so go ahead and knock yourself out! Oh and congrats on the admit!!!!

Definitely cathartic. Congratulations @ !!

@ I think if you watch the videos on how to correctly Blind Review, JY says that the best way to answer any question is by process of elimination. By accurately eliminating the INCORRECT answers, you are ensuring that you get the correct answer. He also mentions that the top scorers (175-180) answer questions by POE and it's a critical test-taking strategy that enables their success.

If you were able to immediately find that answer that you anticipated, good! But you should still skim the remaining answer choices because the LSAT might have inserted something subtle to make your anticipated answer choice a trap answer choice. We have to be extremely careful when we say know without a doubt that an answer choice is correct without having read the other answer choices; the LSAT writers are weirdos who get off on anticipating how test takers would think and serving up trap answer choices based on what we would think the answer choice is. They also have a wealth of data to base this on (pretty much every administered LSAT of everyone who's taken an LSAT).

TL;DR ----> Read all the answer choices. POE to get correct answer is how 175+ scorers do it.

Good luck!

@ Don't be discouraged! If anything, you're just now realizing that the LSAT is a lot harder to master than you initially thought.

How are you doing on the Logic Games section? That is by far the easiest section to see immediate improvement in and getting near perfect on the games (which is entirely feasible for anyone) would definitely help you raise your score.

As for the Logical Reasoning section, I second what @ said about going through the course first. There are a number of crucial fundamentals that you need to understand about the LSAT if you hope to improve.

You also mentioned that you have the LSAT Trainer as well. You should use that book in tandem with the 7Sage lessons.

Also, take your time with the fundamentals. If you rush through any of these, you may not improve as quickly. Good luck!

@ I've heard of a strategy in which you read the stimulus first before reading the question stem, but never one of ascertaining the question stem by reading the stimulus. In many of the older PTs I've seen very similar, if not completely identical, stimuli with completely different question stems. With that said, I don't think the method of reading the stimulus to determine the question stem is a viable LR strategy.

As for whether it's better to read the question stem first and then the stimulus or vice versa, I'm not sure how to advise you on that. 7Sage teaches us to read the question stem first because it instructs us how to read the stimulus and guides us on what we need to look for. However, I do think it's not entirely bad or detrimental to read the stimulus first, figure out if it's an argument or just contextual information, and then go into the question stem. It really depends on what works best for you. Good luck!

@ I don't know how far along you are in your studying, but if you haven't been studying too long, you should ALWAYS split the gameboards. If you're following 7Sage's Foolproof method for mastering logic games, you should always be doing this because it helps you to see every inference. Only on timed practice tests should you be considering whether or not to split. I think JY sometimes doesn't split the gameboards because it's not necessary to do so in every case; this ability to discern when to split and when not to split comes will definitely become more intuitive with lots of practice.

@ I've used both the LSAT Trainer and the Manhattan RC book and I still think that the Memory Method that 7Sage teaches is the best way. If you can really stick to the Memory Method down to the T, I'm fairly confident that your RC will improve. By training our minds to quickly and effectively grasp what we're reading bit by bit, we'll be able to go into the questions without having to go back to the passage so often. For me personally, I've found that through the Memory Method, I've been able to anticipate some answers (especially for main point/main idea questions, author's attitude, author/critics would most likely agree, this is most strongly supported, etc). There really are no tricks to RC, we simply have to train our minds to read in the way the LSAT requires us to read, similarly to how the LSAT requires us to think for the Logical Reasoning and Analytical Reasoning (Logic Games) sections. No matter what you decide, I hope your RC improves and good luck!

@ When I took it, I don't even think I had 10 seconds. The time was called, the proctor instructed us to turn to the next section, and then the timer started again. I think the 7Sage proctor is a bit generous in how much intermediate time it gives. But I don't think it really matters all that much; if you've practiced enough and if you're ready, it shouldn't throw you off.

@

said:

YJ keeps saying not to erate, but rather to copy the entire game board over. That just seems super slow to me, especially when space is limited. Take a simple sequence game. If the rules put S in 5, I'll put S in slot 5 and draw a square around it to remember that it's there by definition. I'll work the question and when done, erase the question specific markings. Its quick.

But I assume there is a reason the experts say to avoid that approach.

Hi, @

I can empathize with you completely because I used to think that erasing would save time and space. But here are some reasons why you should re-write the game board:

1. Lack of space should no longer be an issue on upcoming LSAT exams because each individual game now appears across two pages which provides ample room to draw out each sub-game board.

2. Each game type varies, but for the game that require multiple sub-game boards it is actually in your best interest to write them all out because the questions may hinge on them; in other words, they act as "cheat sheets" that you've already worked out that provide with a clear reference to answer the remaining questions. When you erase the possible game board you've written out, you're putting yourself at risk of getting a question incorrect that could easily have been answered had you not erased that particular game board.

3. For really easy games like simple sequencing, it may seem incredibly tedious to write out a new game board each time, but when you practice like that it helps improve your intuition and "mental" game board so that you can see the sequencing relationships in your mind without having to write them out. This way, when you're taking an officially administered LSAT exam, you can save time because you've trained your mind in such a way that writing out game boards for simple sequencing games is completely unnecessary.

What I've learned from 7Sage is that it's all about putting in the work up front so that it saves you time and energy to devote to the questions. This methodology applies to logical reasoning and reading comprehension as well.

Hope this helps and good luck!

@ May I join the Active Reading and the June BR Group? I've been MIA, but I'd like to get back into LSAT prep with you guys if that's alright!