Just wondering how valuable a retake score is. I took some later PTs (60s) back in March/April long before I discovered 7sage. If I thoroughly erase any writing on those tests, would I be able to get a decently accurate score? Should I give myself 30 mins per section instead of 35 to account for maybe remembering a question?

Thanks

So I've been at this LSAT thing for a while. One aspect of test-taking I am really struggling with is consistency. On my last round of testing leading up to June 2015 my PTs regularly fluctuated between 162 and 171. This round of prep honestly hasn't been much better, with scores ranging between 165 and 178. I've controlled for repeated content as well as testing conditions like location, noise level, etc.

What I am coming down to is that most of my issues are around focus and consistency. I'm trying a few new things to address this, and I was wondering if anyone with similar problems with test taking can weigh in here - what have you done to "get in the zone" and perform consistently on your PTs?

What I'm doing:

-Big Picture: Trying to be aware of how my week is going at work and in life in general, and proactively preventing any issues or concerns from creeping into my prep by getting really proactive about keeping work and life separate from test prep

-Routine: For my weekly practice tests, making sure I get a good night's rest on Friday night, wake up on saturday and go biking, then eating and get ready in my workspace for test. Usually start testing around 11am each time I test.

-Mindset: try to do a mini-meditation where I completely clear my mind before I actually start the test - this is usually only a 2-3 "quick meditation" exercise where I try to get absolutely clear in my head, then snap into test-taking mode

-Logic Games: Creating a template for how I will lay out every game, its game pieces, rules, etc. and stick to that setup for every game

-Logical Reasoning: Forcing myself to focus and spend adequate time on every question by instituting a mandatory "1 free skip" rule

-Critical Reading: Focusing more on text and less on marking my passages, although working on how to make this a consistency thing I can bring to my test taking

-Also crushing my flashcards to make sure I don't slack on fundamentals

7sagers - what are you doing to get in the zone and ready for your tests? How do you deal with, uh, absurd fluctuations in your score that you are pretty sure are not due to repeated content or bad test taking conditions?

Hey 7Sage,

When I was practicing some of the logic games, I found that a few of the video explanations had additional videos attached. When I watched those videos, I saw that JY was narrating them as the people in the videos were doing the questions in real time. I found this to be super helpful. One distinction that I struggle with are the techniques that I will actually be using when working through questions, versus the techniques shown in most explanation videos which are sometimes (for the purposes of teaching) drawn out and include way too many things being written to the side. I would love it if there were clear instructions as to what I will actually underline and actually note to the side when taking the real test. Also, seeing someone working the questions in real time and seeing how they do them is an awesome and very helpful perspective. I would love if every one of these problems sets that contained those videos was identified somehow on the syllabus, and I would love it even more if those videos existed for every problem set. Any chance that some of these are coming soon????

For all of those taking the Dec. LSAT on Sat. evening we will BR PT 43.

Note on all groups

• For the newbies: Please send a PM with your Skype handle.

Annoyingly (worryingly???) I have the most trouble on the law passages in RC. I'm not great with the law vocab and pretty terrible with the history of law. Especially those ones with things like the history the medieval British legal system. I'm like...what? I heard a great recommendation for law podcasts, but I really need something I can read and carry with me. Digital is fine too! Thanks in advance!

Hi,

Every time I try to watch an explanation video (excluding LG ones hosted on YouTube), I get an error message about the video player being unable to load, and that the file can't be found. So I try the flash player too but that also says the video can't be found.

This happens for every video I try - I'm running on a Macbook Pro all up-to-date, and this error occurs in both Safari and Chrome. Tried it on a different laptop to double check it wasn't just mine and got the same results. Please help, this is so frustrating and I need to learn! :(

I notice that I tend to get a bunch of easier LR questions wrong, which is incredibly frustrating. A lot of the time, the question type/category varies, so it's hard to pinpoint exactly. According to the analytic feature, though, my weaknesses are weaken and flaw questions mainly. I've already done the Cambridge drilling packets for those and I have improved but not as much as I was hoping I would. What else can I do, not only for these specific types, but for my LR performance overall? I know I can get -2/-3 with enough practice and focus but the question is how do I get there?

My average passage read time is 3:15.

My average passage question time is 5:15.

So, roughly 40% read time and 60% question time.

My average RC scores run from 17-21 correct answers.

I feel like I need to slow down a little on the read, because I find myself looking back for the "author would likely agree" and "what can we infer about author's attitude" type questions.

Is it reasonable to think that by slowing down on the read I can answer questions more quickly?

I'm just trying to figure out what conclusions I can draw with the info above to help me in my preparation.

Any help is appreciated.

Question, while you're BRing with Step 2, after initially timing your work in a section, is there a more effective method of writing out the answer choices? Separate colored pen? Directly on the test versus on a separate sheet of paper? Gradually work to just doing them in your head? I understand the process clearly. I would just like to know if theres a methodology you would recommend for the implementation of Step 2. Thanks!

http://classic.7sage.com/lsat_explanations/lsat-19-section-2-question-23/

Can anyone kindly analyze this argument for me?

So I've been studying the LSAT for a little over a year now, and I've got LR and LG down (-0 to -2 on each section)

My real worry is RC. I've been getting -7 to -13 per RC section for PT 56 and above. But when I BR the RC section, I can usually get -0 to -3

When I did the RC for PT 40-56, I finished the RC in time and stayed within -3 to -7/8. Somehow for the new tests, this is a real problem and it's gone downhill. I'm currently working on doing RC from older tests for practice while I work my way up doing full length tests (I'm currently on PT 62... RC-13,LR-3,LG-1,LR-0 ). My time for reading passages varies from 3-5 mins and my timing for the questions also varies quite a bit; overall timing seems to be my real problem where I sometimes spend way too much time especially on the questions and don't even get to answer some of the questions at the end.

The RC section seems to be the main one stopping me from breaking the 170 bound so any advice would be highly appreciated!

So with about 6 weeks left until test day, it's time to start cracking down.

Now I am happy with my current PT average. However, it seems like a waste of time to just hammer preptest after preptest for the next 6 weeks, especially if I have no problems with timing and stamina. So I've been taking more time with Blind Reviews to try to bring my score up a couple of points.

But I think that I'm doing it wrong.

So, I'll write my preptest, and circle any questions that I hesitated on. I'll then use a clean PT and go through the questions thoroughly, writing down "A is wrong because ____, B is right because _____, C is wrong because ______". Im consistently BR'ing in the 170s (I don't BR my Reading Comprehension, because I don't really see a point as there is no consistency to the types of questions I get wrong. Perhaps this is a problem too).

If my BR is wrong, I'll watch an explanation on it. If I change my answer, I'll also explain to myself what I was thinking at first, and why it was wrong.

...but then once it's done, I don't really feel like I'm getting much out of it. I've done a BR like this for the last 4 tests now, and my scores have stayed relatively the same (165).

Should I save the questions and come back to them again on another day? Perhaps should I only save the questions I still got wrong after a BR (as it's probably not the best way to spend my time going through all of them over again)?

I just keep getting around the same score every time for every test. LG: usually 0 or -1, LR: average of -5/section, RC: average of -7.

I think I've hit a window with RC, but I'd really like to bring my LR up 2 points/section. Am I BRing right? Should I add something else to what I'm currently doing?

Thanks :)

Can we start a page within our LR discussion category similar to Manhattan's LR explanations page, or do you guys think it's redundant because of the videos? I only have the starter pkg, which doens't include all the LR questions and explanations, so if I still have questions I normally go to Manhattan's page or ask here in our forum. We could follow the same format as Manhattan: Questions listed in chronological order as they are posted; 32-4-17 (ex. Idk if that's actually an LR section). Thoughts? Of course, if this requires too much for the Admins then I think we're fine just how we are. @"Dillon A. Wright"

http://classic.7sage.com/lsat_explanations/lsat-40-section-3-question-18/

Between Answer Choice A and B. I am having some issues.

I am looking at this question thinking ok, Historians do not take the playwrights serious because they exaggerate how bad their own socieities are compared to other societies. So Shakespeare will say English society is evil and french society is meh or good.

This makes A look attractive but B too.

A is a good answer because if playwrights are more critical of their own society than others then they are being inaccurate of their portrayls and it would explain why Historians do not want to use them.

B is good because he is saying playwrights exaggerate the bad for dramatic reasons. The reason I eliminated B was because we do not really know that they exaggerate the "Weakness" of a society or that it is even viewed as a weakness. It does resolve the discrpenancy kind of but I felt A was way way stronger answer.

A says explicitly why historians don't take it serious and it resolves both issues. Historians don't take it serious because the playwrights are just more critical and the playwrights want you to empathisize so they are more critical of their own society.

For anyone who has ever had a huge jump in reading comp...what changed? I am struggling a lot with this section. I get like -12 in the section :((

Quick Question. I bought the starter coarse and it is set to expire let's say October 20th. If I upgrade to the next level to get more practice set's will it also extend my membership time past October 20th? And if it does add time onto my membership how much time is added?

http://classic.7sage.com/lsat_explanations/lsat-64-section-1-question-22/

The following is my reasoning for why the answer to PT64S1Q22 is D, and is not B. The answer-sheet states that the answer is B, while online explanations for why the answer is B seem to me to be confusing, non sequitor, flawed, and specious. That being said, im likely wrong, and the LSAT writers and expert teachers are likely right, and I simply currently cant see why. PLEASE someone explain to me how my reasoning is flawed, and why B is correct. THANKS!!

....

Summary: The arguments conclusion incorrectly points to a cause (using the word "promoted"), based on a correlation. B indicates a correlation, not a cause, so B doesn't strengthen the argument. D, however, points to a cause (an indirect cause), helping to justify, and thus strengthen, the argument. D is therfore the correct answer.

Argument in Question Stem, presented in syllogistic format:

Sewage sludge concentrated with heavy metals = C

Surviving bacteria of C are resistant to heavy metal poisoning = Rh

Surviving bacteria of C are resistant to antibiotics = Ra

• C

• Rh

• (C --> Rh) (relationship is causal)

• Ra

☆ therfor, (C --> Ra) (relationship causal)

Flaw: The correlation of Ra, C, and (C --> Rh) does not mean there is a causation from C to Ra. The answer which strengthens this argument will show that (Rh --> Ra) (C causes Ra because it causes Rh which causes Ra) or directly that (C --> Ra) (C causes Ra) or some contrapositive to that effect (~Ra --> ~C) or (~Ra --> ~Rh)

Answer choices, presented in syllogistic format:

A) (~Ra --> ~Rh) with a correlative relationship, not causal. Also uses the word "most" further discrediting a potentially causal relationship. Wrong answer.

B) [(~C --> ~Rh) & (~C --> ~Ra)] with correlative relationships. Even if they were causal, it at most only proves the latter relationships contrapositive that (Ra --> C, relationship causal) which in no way strengthens the claim that (C --> Ra) for the existence of a causal relationship in one direction in no way indicates that such a relationship exists in the opposite direction. Wrong answer.

C) (Ra --> Rh), relationship causal. This doesn't tell us that (Rh --> Ra) for the existence of a causal relationship in one direction in no way indicates that such a relationship exists in the opposite direction. Wrong answer.

D) (C --> A), whereas the relationship is correlative and A = the presence of significant concentrations of antibiotics. This isn't the ideal answer, clearly. However, it introduces a new player (A), which in turn offers a prospective causal link. If (C --> A) then it's possible that (A --> Ra) which would obviously mean that (C --> A). Though we don't know to what degree it's possible that (A --> Ra), the existence of this new possibility is real; indeed, it makes sense from outside knowledge that higher levels of antibiotics in a medium likely means that the only bacteria who will survive are those that are resistant to antibiotics (duh). This renders the reasoning in the argument much stronger. Correct answer.

E) [(~Bs --> Rhp) & (~Bs --> Ra)] definitely wrong because it's completely changing the subject matter.

So what's my Achilles heal here?

Hello All,

My name is Erik Jimenez. I signed up for a free account just now. I’ve taken advantage of the YouTube material 7Sage provides for students seeking explanations for logic games and have found them extremely useful. Instead of reading the explanations from textbooks, I enjoy seeing the actual explanations.

I am writing this post because I am hoping someone out there will provide me some advise/recommendations for my LSAT Prep.

I started on this journey about 5 years ago. I was just finished with my junior year of undergrad and took a Blueprint summer LSAT course. Following Blueprint, I took a fall Kaplan LSAT course. I ended up not taking the LSAT and instead went to graduate school. Why you may ask? For one, I did not feel ready. Second, a great opportunity to teach while going to graduate school came up so I took it.

After I finished graduate school I took a repeat course through Kaplan. Again, I did not take the LSAT. I had just graduated with a master’s degree and was in dire need of a job. I finally landed my first real job out of college, and once again, I passed on the LSAT.

That same year I learned that I had been admitted to a fellowship, which provided an LSAT prep course, so once I finished the fellowship, I took TestMasters. Finally, I took the LSAT last October, but I cancelled my score. I paid a TestMasters tutor $500 for a few video chat tutorial sessions and prepared for the December exam. I took the December exam and scored a 145.

I applied to law school with that LSAT score. I was accepted to several law schools, which I would probably not have been accepted to if it weren’t for my GPA, personal statement, and extracurricular activities. Here is why I decided not to start law school this fall: I have a 3.93 undergrad GPA, 3.97 graduate GPA, I am an undocumented individual with a compelling personal narrative, and I really believe that despite the adversity I have gone through, which includes failing time and time again in my LSAT prep, I believe I can improve on the LSAT. I know I can.

I just scored an exam, which I took this evening and I am right where I left off in December. I scored a 146. It was my first exam since December. You might be asking, “What have you been doing this entire time and why did you just take your first practice test a month before the October LSAT?” Truth is, up until May of this year, I was still considering law school and had been applying for scholarships aggressively. Moreover, I work full-time and also mentor youth in my community so I am always busy. Also, my now ex-girlfriend who I broke up with less than a month ago is in graduate school so I spent most of this year helping her with graduate school, which included proof reading her papers, formatting papers according APA guidelines, and many other things.

I am hoping someone out there can help with the LSAT. Even if I could get up to the mid 150s, I would have better scholarship opportunities. As an undocumented student, I do not qualify for federal financial assistance, so it comes down to the LSAT if I want to receive merit scholarship awards. Please let me know if there is anything you can do to help me. That can be a package offered through 7Sage or some advise. I am determined, committed, and driven. I could have given up but will never give up on my dream of becoming an attorney. I also could have given up on the LSAT but I know I can do this. That is why I didn’t start law school this year. I wanted to give it one more try.

I will end this with the following quote: Be strong enough to stand alone, smart enough to know when you need help, and brave enough to ask for it. This quote speaks to me because I am know I need help and now have to courage to admit it and hopefully someone will relate to what I am experiencing and provide me with some help. Thank you all for your time.

Sincerely,

Erik

http://classic.7sage.com/lsat_explanations/lsat-22-section-2-question-16/

Hello, I was wondering if someone could help me understand why D is incorrect? Thanks! :)

http://classic.7sage.com/lsat_explanations/lsat-58-section-4-question-05/

OK. So I have a problem with this question. Sorry if this is a destructive mindset!

The conclusion states that because they are only interviewing people for the management consulting position from the top 1 percent of firms worldwide, then they can rest assured that their ultimate selection would be ONE OF THE BEST available.

To me that doesn't presume that ONLY THE BEST work at these firms. You can acknowledge that people who work at other firms are some of the best and even better that the ones who work at the firms in the top 1 percent but still rest assured that the ones who work at the top are one of the best at their job.

To me the flaw rested in the fact that they didn't specify what type of job the person had at one of the top firms. Maybe he could have been the janitor or something else completely unrelated to management consulting so that's why it can't be said that they are one of the best at that.

Any thoughts?

Hi All, I took my first lsat in December 2013 after 4 months of studying. I have a bad case of test anxiety and during the LSAT in December 2013 I freaked out and decided to cancel my score. To my horror, I received an email from LSAC three weeks later with a 145 test score. I thought it was a joke, but turns out my proctor didn't properly explain how we should fill in the cancellation bubbles and since it wasn't properly filled in LSAC counted the score. I took a year break since I had to plan my wedding and move overseas and now I am back in full swing on LSAT studying so I can retake the LSAT in October 2015. I think I have been able to suppress my anxiety, but I have been studying about 6-10 hours a day for the last month and a half (following 7sage and PTing religiously) and my highest PT score was only 153. I am feeling a bit overwhelmed and bummed with the reality of my scores and want to know if anyone has any suggestions on how to deal with this or if anyone has had similar experiences? With a month and a half to go before the exam I'm already thinking I need to take it in December -_-

I thought the conclusion should be the natural process study doesn't need plentiful of resources as the study and discoveries started under the condition of drought and hunger

Quick question:

I've taken some PTs since finishing the curriculum and consistently score at 164 but BR in the low 170s. How do I translate this discrepancy into appropriate adjustments to my study habits?

I'm pretty good with LR, often getting only -2 or -3 and having time at the end of sections to look over tough questions. LG is my worst section.. usually score -7 but get between -3 and -0 on BR.

Basically, does my BR score indicate decent fundamentals but a need to focus on timing and staying cool under pressure- especially during LG? Want to be consistently around 170 timed before I sit for the exam.

Thanks!

So I'm on my 15th PT now (just took PT50) and I've been noticing that the Logic Games section in the last like 8 tests I've taken PT43 - PT50 have all been listed on 7sage's score tracker as a difficulty of only 1/5. Is it typical for LSATs in later years also to consistently have easier logic games sections and more difficult LR and RC sections? Or is it pretty random and this has just been a crazy fluke streak of really easy logic games sections?

I'm just wondering because I used to do pretty spotty on logic games and would have a lot of variability in how many I missed in that section, but by the time I fixed it and was able to get much more consistent (I've thankfully gone -0 on the games for like 7 tests in a row now) I started to notice that the game sections themselves were actually easier too. Hoping that my skills haven't only been honed for the easier games or at least that what I've been practicing so far is representative of the typical relative difficulty of the section as a whole

I just redid the logic games for preptests 75 that I took live and panicked over causing me to cancel my test. I scored a 20/23 and 2 of the misses came on the ridiculous last game. Things I thought were difficult on test day were likely just missed inferences and overthinking. Good luck to everyone in October.