Are there any LR Q’s that are pretty much giveaways and you should almost always get correct?

Hi everyone,

So I’m about to start PTing now and I have a question when it comes to reviewing your exam, either via BR or without.

I know what BR is but what exactly is it about BR that makes it work?

And I’ve been wondering: what if someone checked the answers right away after a PT and tried to figure out why they got a question wrong without consulting other resources. Does it offer the same benefit as BR and why? Thank you :)!

Hi everyone!

I was going over the questions I got wrong and I really do not understand what C is saying. I understand why all of the other AC are incorrect, I also understand why D is correct; however, I am having trouble understanding what C is saying. From what I understand: is C saying that only one cause can have one effect? But isn’t Ray saying that the effect (trunk popping) could be caused by anything other than a pothole? Or maybe I’m not understanding the logic of this question? It was shocking that I got this question wrong because I have usually only been getting questions near the end wrong. I really don’t understand why C is wrong. Can someone please clarify?

Thank you!

https://classic.7sage.com/lsat_explanations/lsat-54-section-4-question-04/

Hi everyone!

I am wondering how long it took you all to start going -0 to -1 on LG. How many LG sections did you complete by the time you started hitting that -0/-1 consistently?

Thanks! :)

I am wondering if my approach to NA questions is wrong? Despite some concerns about my approach I am still usually getting the correct answer; however, this is not good for test day!

I read the question stem

Read the stimulus, but look for the conclusion

Find the support

Try and find a gap between the conclusion and support (but I struggle with this step sometimes).

I usually get answer choices down to 2-3 (mostly 2)

At this point I’m sort of confused so I just try and negate the remaining answer choices. But sometimes when I negate both answer choices, I feel as if both would destroy the argument?

Thoughts/advice??? What is your approach to NA questions? Thank you! ?

Hi everyone!

I hope you are all doing well.

I have been meaning to write this for a while now; however, I got very busy with exams. Now that I am all done, I really want to write a detailed post about my LSAT journey in hopes of inspiring someone else on here. There is a lot I want to say and I will try to organize everything in chronological order and in as much detail as I can.

To start off, the entire LSAT process and law school application process was very isolating for me. I did not know anyone that was applying or taking the LSAT. I had to be proactive throughout the process. Yes, mistakes were made, but I am glad I went through it no matter how difficult it got at times. I hope those reading and still going through the application/LSAT process will learn from my mistakes. And please do. Don't make this any harder than it has to be!

My very first post on here was some time last summer 2017, when I asked for help regarding improvements in my score. I did not seem to be making any improvements. I wasted so many tests studying the wrong way (no proper review following an exam and taking an LSAT every single day). By the time I realized this, I had already gone through tests 50-65~

Another big mistake I made was I took the September test without being ready. I went in thinking I'll be fine and maybe I'll end up with a really high score. Let's just say man... was I wrong, lol.

About 3 weeks after the September test, I decided to start from scratch and signed up for the February test. I started visiting many forums like the one on here, Reddit, and even TLS (to some degree) to get an idea on how people prepare. After reading a bunch of guides/advice, I started with LG and fool proofed games 52-80. I decided to stick with the newer tests and did no tests before PT 52. I am not sure whether that was a mistake or a good thing, but it turned out fine.

After semi-figuring things out, here was my plan, and yes, mistakes were STILL made (lol).

I fool proofed the games from PT 52 to 81. I did all of this in about one month. Yes, you read that right. One month. I was waking up at 5 am every day and doing nothing but the LSAT/school work all day until about 7-8 pm. I was literally fool proofing an entire LG section per day. And once I finished fool proofing tests 52 - 81, I did some games I found difficult again, which took more time.

After I was done fool proofing the games for the day, which would take approximately 3-4 hours depending on how easy I felt they were, I was alternating between an LR or RC section as my second section for that day AND blind reviewing it that same day... (I know, some of you may think that this already sounds like a bad idea).

After the BR, I would look up explanations for the answers I got wrong. I created a document which I organized by question types for LR and wrote down the conclusion, premise(s), wrong answer choice explanation and the correct answer explanation ALL IN MY OWN WORDS, followed by a "takeaway" I had learned from this question -- something to look out for the next time I see a question/idea like this.

I was taking classes during this time too. I am in my final year and I was also completing applications, which were due November 1st (Canadian deadlines). AFTER my LSAT work, depending on whether an essay was due soon or whether I had an exam or not, I would do schoolwork. I did not want to ruin my GPA that I worked so hard for over the past 3 years so I know I had to suck it up. And when I was not doing school work, I did a little bit of my law school applications.

I really enjoy playing video games and going to the gym; however, because of how stressed I was with the LSAT and how much of my day it was consuming, I sacrificed playing video game until I was done with the LSAT for good. But, I kept up with the gym as I knew how much it helped me to concentrate while studying. Sadly, I also did not have much of a social life. Based on the schedule I was working with (whichI know is bad), I pretty much did not see my friends until the LSAT was done either... another mistake.

Around mid December, I was legitimately starting to get frustrated with this schedule. I felt I was burning out, but there was only a month left and I pushed through. I tried to do whatever I could to help with the burnout... relax, take frequent breaks during the prep, listen to motivational talks from one of the best motivational speakers IMO (Greg Plitt), etc...

Fast forward to the February LSAT, I went in feeling VERY confident with the material but also feeling kind of burnt out. The week before the Feb LSAT, I literally stopped everything except LG and going over that long document of wrong answers I had created from LR sections I'd done in the past few months. The Feb LSAT went GREAT. I finished every section before the 35 minutes and I felt great. In particular, the LG also seemed very easy as I did not find one of those "misc" games on it, so that helped. After the Feb LSAT, I can't tell you how relieved I was; however, over the course of this LSAT journey, I was beginning to feel more and more stressed out at the fact that it was getting late in the cycle. Clearly my September score was not going to help me no matter how good my GPA was. I was getting worried that regardless of how strong my LSAT score is, I may not even get in as classes may have gotten filled up. I was also worried about not doing well. What if I had to do the LSAT again? I really don't think I would have had it in me to prepare AGAIN. I stopped thinking about things that I did not have to worry about though.

Fast forward a little bit more to when we finally got the scores, I was SO happy. I got a 169. The past several months of excruciatingly difficult prep and balancing school work were finally over. This score was good enough for every school in Canada and I was SO relieved.

And you must be wondering: what about the schools you applied to? Did you hear back? Yes, I did! I heard back from all the schools I applied to. You may consider this another mistake but I only applied to two of the top schools here, and yes, I know that is a risk, but it was a risk I was willing to take. I did not want to leave where I lived and I was happy going to either. I got the call from U of T one afternoon at the end of March and the next morning, I got an email from the other school, Osgoode. It was by far one of the happiest moments of my life. The journey was very difficult and I know I still made many, many mistakes and I hope whoever is reading this can really learn from it. There were many times I felt I was going to quit and just apply the next cycle, but I kept pushing. If I had to do it all over again, there are SO many things I would have changed.

Along this LSAT journey, there are many, many of you whom I messaged for help on LR or LG or RC and I cannot thank you all enough. I know I asked so many questions and it may have gotten annoying at times (I don't blame you). There are too many of you to list but you know who you are if you're reading this. Thank you, thank you, thank you. The community on here has been so supportive of me throughout the journey. No one turned me down when I asked for help. Everyone always made me feel welcomed. This was very important to me because despite not knowing anyone applying or taking the LSAT personally, I knew that I had an entire awesome community in 7Sage that is full of supportive individuals. And for those of you reading this who are also alone on this long journey: reach out to others. Dealing with this alone may only do you harm. Others WILL help you. I wish everyone here the best of luck on their LSAT/law school/life journey. We will all make it. DO NOT QUIT. I am strong believer in not thinking "what if" later in life because I know at that point, there is nothing I can do. I would have wondered "what if I pushed through that adversity? Would things have been different?" - regardless of the answer to that question, the outcome won't change anymore and that is something I really could not live with if it had happened. Be honest with yourself and keep working. Improvements are slow and what works for someone else may not work for you. Do things in the manner that they work for YOU. You know yourself best. And with that said, I think that ends my LSAT journey. If anyone has any questions, please feel free to ask! Also, sorry if this was a long post!

THANK YOU ONCE AGAIN TO THE MOST SUPPORTIVE COMMUNITY I HAVE KNOWN.

-LP

Hi everyone,

I have a bit of a weird problem... Over my preparation for the LSAT, I have made HUGE improvements but I have one thing in LR still holding me back and I am really not sure what I should/can do to fix this. Whenever I am doing an LR section, I am not sure if I get nervous or anxious but I read a stimulus and have trouble remembering what I read, which sometimes requires me to have to reread the stimuli a second or a third time before moving to the AC. Interestingly, as SOON as I am done the section and the 35 minutes have passed, I read through the section again and I have no problem with recall. It is as if timing resulted in me having trouble remembering the stimuli. Also, this only happens in the LR section and usually at the beginning. I think by question 4 I am fine. Even with this problem, however, I am still under -9 for both LR combined.

Has anyone else experienced something similar? Will it go away as I just do more timed sections? Any advice would be appreciated!

Hi everyone! I have a few questions regarding BR:

How long does it generally take you to BR one LR section? Is it more beneficial to BR every question or just the questions you circled?

The reason I am asking is because I’ve noticed that BRing an entire LR section and THEN checking the answers and properly understanding them is taking me quite a while! Thank you!!!

Hi everyone!

I am having trouble with this question. I can see why the other 4 ACs are wrong but I am having trouble understanding why E is the correct answer. When negated, is E essentially saying that L comes AFTER the leaf litter becomes thin, which weakens the argument since it claims that L causes the thinning?

Thank you!

https://classic.7sage.com/lsat_explanations/lsat-69-section-1-question-19/

Hi everyone!

I’ve noticed that when I’m doing BR, I sometimes struggle trying to come up with an explanation for why an answer is the wrong answer (especially when I’m picking between the last two). It does get frustrating at times and gets me tempted just to check answers lol. Any advice on that? Thank you! ?

Hi everyone,

I am wondering whether there are any general/broad question strategies for LR (i.e., any tricks that can help you in eliminating answers).

Thank you!

Hi everyone,

I have been at the stage where I have consistently been going -1 to -3 on untimed LR and RC for a while. Now, I have decided to start transitioning myself into timing; however, I am not sure what the best approach is from here.

I am wondering about what the general consensus is regarding PTs vs. timed individual sections. Should you be doing more of the latter and less of the former? I am considering making a schedule of doing mostly timed individual sections (i.e., 1 LR and 1 RC one day and 1 LR and 1 LG another day) throughout the week with BR? And then, at the end of the week doing a PT? I have read on this forum and several others that constantly taking PTs is not the best way to improve your score; PTs are much better for building stamina. Taking many individual timed sections and thoroughly reviewing them, on the other hand, is much better. Lastly, I think it is worth mentioning that I am fortunate enough to have a lot of time to dedicate to studying.

What are your thoughts? Thank you so much!

Hi everyone,

I have a quick question: does if A then B otherwise not B translate into a biconditional? Thanks!

Sorry if this has been asked before or just sounds silly, but are there benefits to blind reviewing RC?

For those who have done many PTs: did your anxiousness and focusing more on time than the actual test get better as you did more tests?

I would assume that when one first starts PTing, he or she will likely be so eager to rush through the test by keeping time in their head while sacrificing accuracy? What are your thoughts?

From my understanding, RC seems to be subjective. I'm still unsure on which approach to use as all of them give me similar results.

How do you all approach RC? Suppose you have a passage in front of you. Do you refer back to the passage? How long do you usually spend on reading the passage? Do you notate at all? What were your RC scores when you first started and what are they now?

Thanks!

The new NA and SA questions in PT 70 onward are killing me. I thought I had a strong grasp of them since I did well on almost all of them from PTs 52 - 69. And now I feel super discouraged and feel as if I am not even good at them anymore...

Any advice?

Is it true? Newer PTs are harder than older ones? Should I focus more on tests 65 onward for December/February? Thanks!

Is there a way to get the Cambridge Drill Packs at all anymore?

Hi everyone,

I am wondering what type of skipping strategies you all use. Also, what are some common question types that you skip when pressed for time?

Thanks!

Hi everyone,

I am really not sure how to relay my situation but I'll try my best. I am sorry in advanced if it seems all over the place. So here is a general background (can I even call it that)? of my situation: I was fortunate enough to be able to spend extensive time studying for the LSAT since last summer 2016. I should have used my time WISELY. Instead, I continued to procrastinate and push back studying for the LSAT. I had a lot of time and because of this, I kept telling myself not to worry; however, the few days that I DID study for the LSAT (which was usually two or three times a week for about 30 mins to an hour) I did not put my full effort in either. I purchased the Powerscore LG and LR books and essentially rushed them for the past year. After finishing them this summer 2017, I began taking PTs untimed. My scores started to increase up to mid 160s untimed after a few. Similar to reading the Powerscore books (two or three times a week), I only did the untimed PTs once or twice a week with several breaks (yes, I know. Terrible). Throughout this period, however, I frequently consulted LSAT discussion boards such as this, TLS, and the reddit forum.

My current situation:

I am currently registered for the September 2017 test (which is about a week away now). I started taking my FIRST timed PTs for about a week now and my scores are continuing to stay in the low 150s. I also made the mistake of not thoroughly reviewing the PTs or using BR. I am pretty sure I will do just as poorly on the test next week as I have on the PTs I am taking. I am not really sure what to do... Do you recommend I start from learning the fundamentals properly? I was considering using the 7sage course to study for the LSAT. Even if I did bomb this September test next week I am signing up for December to retake it with much better study habits because I have learned (the hard way) that there really are no shortcuts to this test.

What I have been hoping for is my GPA (cGPA of 3.90) to compensate for the low LSAT score in this September test since I am applying this cycle and thinking I am a splitter. I am a Canadian applicant and have hopes of getting into either Osgoode or U of T. What are your thoughts/advice/opinions? I know my approach was really, really bad and I will likely get criticized for it but I chose to ask this question in the 7sage forum instead of TLS and the Reddit forum because having I find the help here to be much better and I feel the sense of community is much stronger here.

Thank you for taking the time to read my lengthy post. Apologies again!

Hi everyone!

So... I am watching the PT 61 LG section while FPing and I am having a little trouble understanding how JY got the contrapostive for R2 (—�) /U in the game. Can someone please clarify? Thank you so much!

https://classic.7sage.com/lsat_explanations/lsat-61-section-3-game-3/

I’ve always wondered how people approach the LR section. Do you read the question stem first or stimulus? After that, how do you approach the question - finding conclusion and the support?

Also, what is the best way to review LR? And what are some important fundamentals when it comes to the LR section of the test? Thanks :)!