Alright, so I've been grinding for the last 3 months to prep for the the June LSAT. Done upwards of 30 PTs with Blind Review and I seem to have plateaued at about a 168-172 score under timed conditions. Wondering if anybody has any tips for the next two weeks that might help me eke out a few more points. I would be ecstatic with a 170, I know what an achievement that is, but the difference in scholarship money between a 170 and a 173 is probably tens of thousands... I usually ace the Logic games unless I run out of time, LR is usually -2 or 3 per section, and RC is toughest for me, averaging -5/6.

Hi all,

I was just curious what people's experiences were with overtraining. Specifically:

Thanks in advance.

Let's say I'm taking the newer LSAT questions 2011-2014 and I've been scoring well and for the 2010 LSATS I'm not doing as hot.. does it matter that the tests are older and perhaps made a bit differently/harder?

If you are having trouble with Logic, or maybe just interested in gaining a more in-depth understanding of logic then check out this book:

Introduction to Logic (2nd Edition)

by Gensler

This was one of the first text books I used in in undergrad for an Intro to Logic class. I recently came across it in a box with all my other books from undergrad and decided to give it a quick skim -- turned out to be a great refresher!

It goes way more in-depth than anyone taking the LSAT would need, but still, I think it really has helped me understand the logic that undergirds much of the test. Even reading a few chapters I think would be of great supplement to anyone from beginners to high scorers alike. No need to read the entire thing, even skimming through it would be worth it. Especially the relevant chapters!

I haven't seen a post about the experimental section in a while, so here's my nagging question I keep having about it when doing PTs: what section do most of you insert the "experimental" section into your test, and how does it compare to the rest of your score?

On and off I've PTed with an additional, "experimental" section so I can really work on my endurance. I've randomly inserted the experimental section in the middle of the exam, the very last, and the very first section. I generally use a random section from a PT I've done in the past, but several months ago. My "scored" portion of the exam doesn't seem affected by the experimental section being there. I tend to get better and more accurate the further along in the test I am, so adding the experimental first doesn't make me burn out faster or anything. It's more just a nuisance section that annoys me while I'm taking it, but doesn't otherwise effect my overall score.

Even though my overall scored section isn't effected by the experimental, my experimental section is always terrible. The last PT I took (yesterday, actually) I inserted a LR experimental as the first section in which I missed 12 questions! - but overall I actually gained 5 points, finally getting back in the 160s. I'm beginning to think that since my experimental section is 100% dreadful despite the section type or order, that I must have some psychological barrier to doing well on it. Like I "know" it isn't part of my scored section so I don't really try. (That's my theory I tell myself so I don't freak out at the low score, anyway.)

Has anyone else experienced this weird experimental section slump? Are there better ways to drill with it, or should I just keep doing what I'm doing? Or maybe just ignore the experimental section entirely, considering it doesn't seem to negatively effect the other sections?

I am currently hovering round a BR score of 174.

I usually make about 4 to 5 overconfidence errors, spread out over LR and RC.

Sometimes I get a question wrong in my BR as well. How do I fix that?

I usually go through the whole exam.

Also, what are your thoughts on retaking PTs?

Rainymood.com and the self control app.

If you're like me and need some white noise while studying, check out rainymood.com :) I'm obsessed with thunderstorms and the sound of birds chirping and this site has both!

Second, since most of our studies nowadays require an internet connection, it's harder to avoid social media and sites such as youtube, reddit, etc. and that's where SelfControl comes in. It's an app that can be downloaded on your Mac or PC that essentially blacklists any websites you have listed for the amount of time you choose ( you can pick from anywhere between15 mins - 24 hrs) I mentioned this app on here a while ago but thought I'd do so again since it has helped me so much with concentrating.

Feel free to share any apps/sites etc. that help you study :)

Hi everyone,

I've taken the LSAT once (last September) and decided to retake the test in June (two weeks from now).

I have been studying rigorously since April and have initially been hitting around the high 150's and low 160's range. Maybe it's because I have been burning myself out. I try to study around 3-4 hours everyday and light studying on weekends. I've been attempting to finish a PT once every other day and then writing down how/what I did wrong on the BR questions I have circled and the questions I actually got wrong.

Recently, I've been dipping.. I was able to get about 5 wrong on a LR section but now I get only about 13 correct.. I'm not sure what's wrong.. I feel like I am understanding the stimulus/questions correctly but I am getting so many questions wrong so I'm obviously not. I have also tried to take at least one entire day off, re-looked at the basics of the LR questions, but none seem to have helped.

Please let me know what you think is wrong/give me some advice!

Hi everyone,

So sorry for the stupid question, but I'm trying to print PT 80 and don't see an icon to print it when it's opened. Am I missing something? How do you print the PTs off?

Thanks!

So i am just finishing the CC and i have always struggled with LGs. I find that sometimes i can finish a game which is rated at a 5 in difficulty with no problem at all. But then i will completely bomb a game that is apparently really easy and after 7 or 8 minutes i give up and watch JYs explanation. Not sure why this is happening. Any insight would be much appreciated.

Hi Everyone hope all is well. So I have a quick question. How does application fee waivers work? I took the recent Feb LSAT and I received no fee waivers however when I saw some forums with people who had comparable scores to mine, they spoke about being able to apply to a bunch of reach schools because of fee waivers. Could it be due to the timing that I took the LSAT seeing as how I took it in February? I plan on applying for Fall 2018 by the way. Any insight would be great. Thank you!

Hi,

I have seen a couple threads regarding how people get ready before a test but I was hoping to get some more opinions. The June 2017 test is a noon test so does anyone prepare differently or have suggestions on how to prep/warm up for a noon test? Also, what do people normally do a week before their test?

Ramadan Mubarak to my fellow Muslim 7sagers! Perfect time to recharge our faith and get more LSAT prep in without having to worry about eating/drinking throughout the day :D

would anyone else be in favor of adding a six section preptest option to the proctor on the 7Sage app?

test day is six sections: 4 actual, 1 experimental, 1 written. and six section preptests can help prepare for the grueling nature of test day.

lastly, who is responsible for the remarkable impression of bruce wayne as a proctor?! is it @TheBatman?

This one tripped me up quite a bit. I need a better explanation than J.Y. gave in the video. In a flaw question, are we to assume all the premise are true? In this question it says;

"...to play a card game devised to test perception and memory."

When I read this, and this might be my major issue, I automatically assumed that this card game was perfect to test perception and memory. I did not see a reason to question its credibility. Then I read the conclusion which said the idea that perception and memory are reduced by 80 is false.

This lead me to believe that I had to show that perception and memory could not be tested in any real way. So I chose answer C.

C.) Perception and memory are interrelated in ways of which we are not currently aware.

My reasoning here was that if we didn't know how perception and memory interact, then the card game could not have allowed for an accurate reading and therefore the conclusion could not be properly drawn.

the correct answer choice just seemed to easy and to not really do anything to counter the argument. Answer E. says;

E.) Playing the study's card game perfectly requires fairly low levels of perception and memory.

this just seemed so weird to me. How can I just say "oh hey, your card game that you designed to test perception and memory does not actually test perception and memory"? This seems like I'm attacking the premise directly, and I thought in arguments we were not allowed to do that.

help...

https://classic.7sage.com/lsat_explanations/lsat-35-section-4-question-08/

Principle or PSA question?

In LR, I try to identify the question type as quickly as possible, but sometimes I cannot identify immediately. I have hard time differentiating PSA and Principle questions under timed conditions.

Typical PSA questions are like:

"Which one of the following principles, if valid, most helps to justify the reasoning above?"

and I can identify it as PSA immediately.

But for example, PT57.S2.Q1. says:

"The reasoning above most closely conforms to which one of the following principles?"

https://classic.7sage.com/lsat_explanations/lsat-57-section-2-question-01/

This is a fairly easy question, but I didn't know that this is a PSA question until after I read the stimulus and ACs.

Do you have any tips in differentiating PSAs from Principles quickly?

=============================================

Is Q39.S2.Q11 a PSA question?

Also, 7Sage labeled Q39.S2.Q11 as PSA, but I feel like this is a Principle question since we're given a conditional statement in the stimulus, and answers give us a premise and a conclusion.

"Which one of the following judgements most closely conforms to the principle above?"

https://classic.7sage.com/lsat_explanations/lsat-39-section-2-question-11/

Is this a PSA question? If so, can someone elaborate on the difference between PSA and Principle questions?

Thank you :)

I believe that brushing up on English grammar is necessary for RC and LR success. JY also mentions the importance of referential phrasing and grammar in general in the CC. However, I think that it is beneficial to go beyond the grammar lessons covered in the CC and independently build a strong foundation on grammar. By a "strong foundation," I mean the ability to effortlessly capture the grammatical structure of a sentence: being so skilled to the point that one no longer needs to consciously "identify" the grammatical structure, but the grammatical structure just reveals itself to one at a quick glance. It is like unconsciously seeing the skeleton first and then filling in the flesh.

https://www.englishgrammar101.com/

This free website covers grammar pretty comprehensively, if anyone wants to check it out.

I personally have benefited a lot after seriously studying the grammar using the above website: my speed, confidence and accuracy in LR and RC have improved.

Below are my speculations on why a strong grammar foundation is critical for RC and LR success.

Reading accuracy. Oftentimes, the difference between the correct and the incorrect AC lies in a single word, modifier, or even a verb tense. It is really difficult to capture these subtle shell games, because they seem so random and negligible. However, if we really understand the grammar structure of a sentence, then these differences no longer appear so random. They are no longer a hard-to-find nitty-gritty detail; rather, they become structurally pronounced. For example, if we can identify not just the verb of a sentence, but also the nature of the verb (is it an action verb? helping verb? Combination of both? etc) , then the subtle differences in the ACs stand out. If we saw a helping verb in the stimulus (for example, a qualifying "may") but don't see it in the AC, we can articulate the difference in a grammatical language. We can even anticipate the wrong ACs based on the identified grammar structure.

Confidence and speed. As we all know, the LSAT purposefully uses convoluted stimulus structure. It is testing whether we can capture the "essence" of the stimulus while getting rid of and paying less attention to unimportant details. Therefore, when we are reading a stimulus, we practice identifying the premise and the conclusion and reorganizing the stimulus in a way that the essence of the stimulus is more pronounced.

Reading a sentence is the same thing; the LSAT purposefully employs convoluted sentences to make active reading difficult. However, reading becomes easier when we understand the grammar well. The essence of each sentence is the subject and the verb; they are like the premise and the conclusion equivalent of a stimulus (in terms of the relative importance). Identifying the subject and the verb, and then reorganizing the sentence in terms of the distilled essence-- "who did what" --improves speed and retention, because we know exactly what happened in each sentence. This in turn helps with confidence in RC and LR, because no matter what kind of complicated sentence or difficult topic is thrown at us, we know that we will be able to distill it down to the core and understand what is going on. No sentence is daunting anymore.

If you are struggling with active reading and accuracy in general, you might want to brush up on grammar b/c of these reasons. I certainly struggled a lot with mindlessly reading a paragraph, not retaining anything, and going back to the beginning completely panicking.

Is there anyone in the Peoria, Illinois area who would be willing to practice Logic Games with me? I could use a little help.

With these being a bit wordier than your average LR question (especially with the AC's), what is an appropriate time to shoot for?

Hi,

I've been taking PTs with 32 minutes for all sections and felt quite challenging to get those difficult curve-breakers right in 32 minutes, especially for LR. I definitely think those extra 2-3 minutes could be very useful (currently getting 5-6 wrong combined), but for those who score high in LR, do you think 2-3 less minutes should not make a huge difference? How do you guys use the last 5 minutes of the section (in full 35 min section)? Should I rather go back to doing 35 min section PTs?

I'm sort of in a dilemma: I use a watch because I need to keep track of time in each section, but when I look at my watch and if I see I'm a bit behind my pacing, then I get stressed about not having enough time to finish a section, and do worse!

RC is a good example. Sometimes I'll get to the last passage with, say, 6 minutes left, but then I get stressed that's not enough time to answer all of the questions, and I ultimately do worse overall on that section than if, I imagine, I kept on going and maybe did not reach the last question. Same with LR; if I don't finish the first 10 in 10, then I feel pressured to rush through the next questions, and see my performance drop overall.

The takeaway seems that I need to improve on timing so I don't feel rushed (which I imagine also will improve my LSAT confidence). I've also thought about no longer using a watch.

Has anyone else been in a similar situation or have any advice?

Hi all,

(Background Info) I was originally going to sit for the June LSAT, allowing me (hopefully) ample time to perfect my applications to apply early cycle next fall. However, the semester and work got in the way and I did not want to sacrifice my grades to simply devote more time to studying LSAT when the LSAT can always be postponed. Thus, now taking in September. Being as that I plan to apply early cycle, can any fall LSAT takers share some advise on how they balanced both of these goals to crush the LSAT and also produce an awesome application? Please note that I work T-F 8-5 at a law firm as a legal assistant. FWIW, I have my past

Criminal Law professor that specifically offered to write me a LOR and am close with my Faculty Advisor who I plan to ask to write me a LOR. I also plan to ask one of the partners at the firm I work for to write me a LOR and have a great relationship with all of them.

Also, can someone please let me know if the following are considered medium/good/great softs? I am not sure how to accurately assess where I am on the soft scale.

Thank you in advance!! :)

Hi dear 7sagers, and sages,

First of all, I am having trouble understanding the difference between negation and contrapositive but I think I am slowly getting it.

What troubles me, however, is how to negate a relationship, or in other words deny it, which has an And/Or statement in the conditionals. So, for example, I will use @JY's example from his lesson on DeMorgan's Law:

"If Tom plays, then Jerome and Simmi play too"

Translated into lawgic that would be: T→(J and S) (which could be split)

Now, if we negate the statement altogether, what happens then? "It could be the case that if Tom plays, neither Jerome nor Simmi play" am I right? ....T→NOT(J and S)

Moreover, how do you translate that? T→/J and T→/S ??? Or in other words, T→(/J and /S) (which could also be split)

Hey, anybody out there scoring 170 on their practice LSATs? I'm beginning my studying, and I want to make sure I kill it and do it right. How are you going about it? Do you make sure that you're only studying in absolute silence or something? Always in a library/ in your favourite chair at home? Have some sort of night ritual that helps it all sink in? My GPA is 3.9, so I think I have a real chance at bringing in a high score. Much appreciated.

Hope everyone had an opportunity to gain insight on JYs PT80 calls last week!

If you are still committed to taking June, join an informal group for BR on PT79 review during our final weeks of prep:) If interested, post or send a PM for details.

See you Tuesday!