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tlpalmer98138

Joined: Apr 2025
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PT149.S4.Q11

tlpalmer98138

Sunday, Sep 29 2024

So, giving full credit where it is due, LSAT Lab on YouTube uses a term for this type of flaw that makes perfect sense for this type of situation IMO... No shade to J.Y.

LSAT Lab calls this an unproven vs. proven false flaw. Just because the opposing argument is not convincing or not supported by the premises does not mean that their conclusion is automatically wrong. It just means that the jury is still out!

EX. Bringing up the point that humans have not yet discovered alien life is not, on its own, able to refute the conclusion that aliens exist. It just means we don't know until better evidence to refute the conclusion is discovered.

PrepTests ·

PT150.S3.Q3

tlpalmer98138

Sunday, Sep 29 2024

So glad I was not the only one that eliminated B because I thought normal levels of fuel efficiency was an unwarranted assumption. Don't let it get you down!

General · Drop After Core Curriculum

tlpalmer98138

Sunday, Sep 29 2024

I definitely do not think you wasted your time! The curriculum is great info and I doubt it could ever cause you harm, so please don't look at it that way.

Are all other factors constant between your -6ish sections when you started vs. now that you are done with the curriculum? Were they timed before and are they timed now?

Timing pressure can add a lot of additional stress at first that can make your scores drop. It will take a little bit of time to get your pace down to where you don't feel anxious to rush through the questions.

Are you flagging questions you are not 100% about and meticulously going through them in blind review after?

One or two bad PTs or a bad drilling day every once in a while is not uncommon to my understanding. My first timed PT was considerably worse than the rest. It's OK, you are not doomed to repeat a bad day.

You may be getting burnt out! Maybe take a day or two to relax and reset and then approach it with a clear head.

Lessons · You Try - Parking Citations

tlpalmer98138

Wednesday, Aug 28 2024

I am not sure why I assumed that the premises had to come first in the answer choices in order for it to be parallel to the stimulus. Reminder to myself to always identify/read the premise first even if it comes after the conclusion! Would have made E a lot more obvious I think.

Lessons · You Try - Auto Mechanics

tlpalmer98138

Tuesday, Aug 27 2024

Lessons · Lesson 12 - Building a Shelter Site

tlpalmer98138

Monday, Aug 26 2024

Is this the same type of argument flaw as what is known as "unproven vs. proven false"?

If it is, I think using that term is much more intuitive for seeing why it is a bad argument.

Just because the opposing argument that the courthouse would be a better location is unproven by the lack of evidence does NOT mean that it is proven false.

There could be a very strong argument that exists that simply has not been brought up yet in favor of the courthouse.

Lessons · Lesson 7 - A Trip to Mars

tlpalmer98138

Sunday, Aug 25 2024

Very good lesson! The diagram in this one was particularly helpful. I tried to find the flaw in the stimulus before the video began and I was so stuck.

PrepTests ·

PT104.S3.P4.Q22

tlpalmer98138

Tuesday, Sep 24 2024

I am glad I came across this passage before test day. It threw me COMPLETELY off kilter when I was reading it during a drill. I was so conditioned to expect that the subject of discussion would come out of the first paragraph and without a good understanding of "the uncanny" that I was missing the main point of the passage. Typically, at least for me, the first paragraph is a make or break moment with passages.

But this is a good example of how the subject does not always have to come out of the first paragraph and, sometimes, you just need more context by reading further. Not to mention that this reinforces the salient point that on test day you need to do your best to understand and keep moving.

J.Y. brings up another great point when he reminded us that the purpose of the passage is just to help us answer the questions. We do not need to understand each little detail unless the questions ask that of us. While this passage was ridiculously dense, the questions were almost laughably easy. Kevin Lin mentions this concept in the new RC curriculum.

I am going to remember this passage as a reminder to control my sense of confusion on test day and try my best to just forge a path forward.

Lessons · You Try - DNA as Admissible Evidence

tlpalmer98138

Saturday, Aug 24 2024

I see the argument J.Y. is making, but I am still trying to get myself to wholeheartedly believe that the logic is sound.

How can the considerable controversy and widespread agreement be consistent with each other!? I can 100% see the argument being made for C if the stimulus said "unless there is widespread agreement on if a certain test is reliable or not.

That would make sense, because then I would understand that even though the scientists argue about how reliable the tests are, they can all still agree that the tests are generally reliable overall.

But J.Y's explanation literally shows that there is not widespread agreement on how reliable the tests are, even if it comes down to specific percentage points.

#feedback

Lessons · You Try - Long-Term Friendships

tlpalmer98138

Saturday, Aug 24 2024

Seems like I got lucky because I did not even pick up on the causal logic. I just treated it as conditional logic and ended up getting the right answer anyways.

I have to get better at identifying causal reasoning.

LSAT

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Tuesday, Sep 24 2024

tlpalmer98138

Best RC tips, especially for implied questions?

Taking the October LSAT here in a week. Nervous, like most, but I am confident in the time and work I have put in. Five of my six PTs are at or above my goal score so I'm just hoping for consistency.

I actually feel pretty comfortable with LR at this point. Not too surprising considering how great the new curriculum is and how long it spends going over every question type. RC is a totally different story. If they are easier passages I can score as well as a - 3, but more often than not I am struggling to finish all four passages and ending up anywhere from -7 to -12. I will try working on that this week by just drilling as much as I can.

According to analytics, a huge area of emphasis for me is implied questions. Maybe it's easily explainable due to me consistently not finishing passages, but any advice/tips are greatly appreciated considering how frequently these question types come up on the test.

P.S. If you are taking the October LSAT, good luck! Just apply what you have learned and see where it takes you. Don't let this test take control of you, even if you start off with a rocky section. You CAN bounce back.

PrepTests ·

PT139.S1.Q22

tlpalmer98138

Monday, Sep 23 2024

I wonder if changing the some quantifier in answer choice D to most would have made it a viable weakening answer?

I knew I needed to attack where the sample size was coming from, but I came at it from the wrong direction. I was looking for an answer that explained that, even though most of the best sales reps were engineers with no sales experience, a majority of engineers with no sales experience employed by the company are not good at the job.

In other words, yes, 8 of our 10 best sales employees are engineers with no sales experience, but we have hired 100 others that were awful. That would not be a convincing ratio.

Lessons · You Try - Slipped Discs and Back Pain

tlpalmer98138

Thursday, Aug 22 2024

Does answer choice A (A factor that need not be present in order for a certain effect to arise may nonetheless be sufficient to produce that effect) boil down to the phrase that "just because a factor is not necessary does not mean that it is not sufficient?

Edit: I should have finished the video first lol. J.Y. confirms this.

LSAT · Should we skip the Logic Games curriculum

tlpalmer98138

Sunday, Oct 20 2024

Please do not waste your time. The LG curriculum is totally unnecessary for diagramming conditional statements.

Spend the extra time drilling or taking PTs after you finish the new 7Sage curriculum.

Lessons · You Try - Perception and History

tlpalmer98138

Tuesday, Aug 20 2024

Interesting point about how when there is an argument by analogy, the second conclusion is the one that is the "true" conclusion so to speak. I never thought about this, which lead me to believe the first conclusion was the one the answer questions would be referencing.

Does this happen often?

PrepTests ·

PT109.S1.Q21

tlpalmer98138

Friday, Oct 18 2024

Hmmm. Like most other people here, the "every" quantifier threw me off the trail here. I thought it was too strong/broad here and quickly eliminated it like I would in a necessary assumption question.

But the more I think about it, the "every" quantifier is actually what makes it such an appealing answer choice. Almost to the point where it is nearly a necessary element. Imagine if the answer choice said "some" instead.

Since this is PSA, it might still pass as the right answer depending on how bad the other answer choices are, but if this was an SA question, using a weaker quantifier like "some" would absolutely cook that answer choice.

In that hypothetical, the principle only applies to "some" arguments. Now, the principle only has teeth if we make the unwarranted assumption that the argument in the stimulus falls inside that "some" subset.

General · Drilling vs. PTing (Short Timeline)

tlpalmer98138

Monday, Sep 16 2024

Drilling and curriculum lessons are probably more important if you have not mastered the question types. Don't forget to take advantage of blind review though! The curriculum covers this at the end, but I try to bookmark every question that I am not 100% sure why the right answer is right (in other words, taking an educated guess).

Before I score a drill section or PT, I go back over these questions without the timing constraint and see if I can understand why the right answer choice is correct, and each wrong answer choice is incorrect. I use the orange highlighter to specifically highlight the part of the wrong answer that made it incorrect (e.g. using a most quantifier when it should have been all, etc.)

Start untimed, and then gradually add more time constraints. You have to become comfortable with that constant duress of being timed or you will be prone to panic when you take the real thing. This is why the PTs are important too. Pacing really does matter a lot, and so does knowing when to skip a question and come back if you have extra time.

If you can squeeze it in, I would recommend taking 1-3 PTs before October though. It is a grind, but it's very possible to take two PTs in a weekend! You just have to accept that you won't be doing anything else on those days.

Good luck, friend.

LSAT · Best study strategy for approaching LSAT

tlpalmer98138

Monday, Sep 09 2024

Are you using the blind review process for your drills and PTs that has been outlined in the curriculum? This lets you go back and look at every question after you finish so you can take a second look without the time constraints to see if you think you chose the right answer.

The hope is ideally that you should be able to catch most, if not all, of the mistakes you made in your drills/PTs in blind review. This tells you that you have the fundamental building blocks in place to understand why a right answer is right and the wrong answers are wrong. If this isn't clicking, you are probably better off carving out more time in your day to revisit the curriculum and rewatch some videos. I make it a point in blind review to point out at least one reason why EVERY wrong answer choice is wrong. This is a serious time commitment but has been so helpful.

Timing is, of course, an issue that all of us deal with and just have to rely on practice and repetition to help us speed up. Especially with RC. Overall, the consensus advice that I see online is the only way to get faster at these is just to do more of them. Also, get better at translating abstract concepts into real world examples as you read to help yourself from getting bogged down in a particularly dense passage.

Mastering this test is a SERIOUS time commitment. I would highly advise you to not take the test before you are ready if you can help it. I initially intended to sign up for the September LSAT, and being honest with myself and pushing my test back a month was, by far, the best decision I made. I have been studying since mid-June and I am only now starting to feel prepared to kick my PTs and drilling into high gear to get ready for the October LSAT.

As someone else suggested, sign up for the November test as a backup as well. As an October test taker, I will be doing the same!

Lessons · You Try - Development of Insight and Effective Education

tlpalmer98138

Friday, Aug 09 2024

The formal logic is wrecking me. Definitely have identified my biggest area for improvement for LR.

It's not even that I don't understand the logic, it's just typically writing it out takes me far too long and so I try and conceptualize it in my head. When I do that, I usually end up somehow screwing up the sufficient and necessary condition translations.

Got the question right in blind review, which gives me hope. Just have to hone my skills.

Lessons · You Try - Mayor's Commendation Award

tlpalmer98138

Friday, Aug 09 2024

I know I am being incredibly lazy right now, but did we have a lesson on biconditionals?

I took the "but not otherwise" to mean that the exemplary record was a necessary condition for Mayor's commendation eligibility.

Lessons · You Try - Arvue Hires the Most Productive Candidate

tlpalmer98138

Friday, Aug 09 2024

I am getting WRECKED by these SA questions...

Lessons · You Try - Ms. Sandstrom's Newspaper Column

tlpalmer98138

Friday, Aug 09 2024

Got it wrong because I POE'd the rest of the answer choices and forgot to go back and mark A as my answer lol. Hope that doesn't happen on test day...

Lessons · You Try - Pesticide on Peaches (PSAr)

tlpalmer98138

Thursday, Aug 08 2024

For those of you that are thrown off by the use of "only if", I hear you! There are definitely times to be scared of such language.

But for the case of justifying someone's reasoning, "only if" is a great way to preclude any other possibilities as long as everything else matches up with the framework set in the stimulus.

Lessons · You Try - Tracks in Sandstone (W)

tlpalmer98138

Sunday, Aug 04 2024

I remember in earlier lessons J.Y. bringing up the point that just because a group of scientists or specialists believe a certain theory does not necessarily mean that it should be taken as truth. Unless the answer choice makes the extra effort to say correctly believes.

I understand that the scientists specifically having knowledge of early animal life gives them more credibility, but I am struggling with coming to terms with how that immediately means we can assume their belief is true. Especially when it says most of the subset of scientists believe. Implying there is some internal debate on the matter.

These two issues allowed me to immediately disqualify E. I hope this reasoning doesn't get me into trouble later.

Lessons · Lesson 7 - Relaxation Training (W)

tlpalmer98138

Saturday, Aug 03 2024

I feel very frustrated with the explanations for why answers A and D are wrong. I certainly don't think they are right, but I don't really follow J.Y's logic on the explanation for why they are wrong.

I don't see why setting up the perfect experiment is important when we have the benefit of the answer choices being true. I don't need a control group in the stimulus to prove that answer A, which says that a decrease in symptoms of anxiety often occurs even with no treatment or intervention, is true. Because we get to assume it's true!

Any insight?

Lessons · YOU TRY: Main Point Question (Late Heavy Bombardment)

tlpalmer98138

Monday, Sep 02 2024

How would we best describe the relationship and differences between summary and main point questions?

I understand we have made the distinction that a summary of the passage is NOT the same as the main point point of the passage, even though a main point answer can include some elements of a summary as long as it focuses on the main perspective.

What about if we were given a summary question? Does a summary HAVE to include the main point to be accurate? If so, should we be treating summary and main point questions as being more or less the same in that our goal is looking for the main point in both?

#help