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Last comment friday, sep 18 2015

41.3.26

I completely missed this question. I thought B was very unattractive, and I confidently eliminated it during the test and during BR. I would appreciate it if someone just completely dismantled my reasoning because I don't understand how my reasoning is wrong on this:

Some people think that highway speed limits should be increased to reflect the actual speeds of drivers (which are higher than current speed limits). This increase would greatly decrease saftey since higher average speeds would result. Most violators would obey the new law and almost all of the people that obey the current speed limit would increase their speed.

What I am looking for: This is a very hard passage to understand. The support for the conclusion is that higher average speeds would result since most violators would obey the new law (either increase, decrease, or stay the same speed depending on how much the speed was increased) and current law abiding drivers would increase their speed. The argument is flawed because we don’t know the magnitude of the change. What if the speed limit is increased by 1 MPH? Almost all law abiding citizens could increase by 1 MPH and the most fast drivers could decrease by 15 MPH (if you assume that they were driving very fast). So, it is possible that the average speed actually decreases!

Answer A: This is consistent with the argument since “almost all” (in other words “some won’t) increase their speed.

Answer B: IDK, I still am very skeptical that this weakens the argument. Where does the argument imply or give evidence that uniformity of speed is important? I have a feeling that the author would just say “so what?” to this. Also, the argument doesn’t talk about what a “low speed” is. The argument is talking about “higher vs. lower” speeds. This answer choice seems to making a “relative vs. absolute” flaw that we talked about during the 7sage course. The argument says that some of the drivers (“almost all” idea like in answer choice A) are not going to increase their speed, so there won’t be “uniformity” of speed because some are still going to be below the speed limit. I just feel like the author would respond by saying “dude, you just helped my argument! The speeds aren’t going to be uniform!” Additionally, I don’t see how JY assumes that a shift in the distribution now becomes a narrower distribution. Can someone break this one down?

Answer C: So what? Just because you haven’t been involved in an accident doesn’t mean your danger level has decreased.

Answer D: This is consistent with the argument, so it is not a weakener. The author says that most will obey the law, which could imply that some will still not.

Answer E: Is believing what is safe the same as actual saftey? What if the violators are very risk loving?

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I'm seriously considering upgrading to 7 Sage Ultimate in preparation for the 5 December LSAT, but it looks as if the latter half of the curriculum is ALL Prep Test work (which I like), how did you buy all of these prep tests and ensure you got the right versions? Next, some of the material seems like it requires "clean questions" (aka Logic Games), if you're practicing in the alloted space, wouldn't this require having multiple (up to 10!?) copies of the questions?? I know LASC offers the prep-tests, does anyone have a link other than Amazon to be sure we're getting the right ones for this course of study....

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Ok so I would appreciate feedback on my thought process for this Nec. Assumption question. I chose B incorrectly and am trying f

Conclusion: philosophical thought is unique to humans

Evidence: Apes are the only nonhuman animals who can learn human language.

Apes have never verbally articulated, in human language, philosophical questions

Ok, so the gaps/assumptions I noted were:

1. The author is assuming that because the apes haven't asked these questions in human language that they are incapable of phil. thought; but what if the apes are perfectly capable of asking phil. questions in human language but just haven't done so. So to add on to the first assumption the author is concluding that in order to prove that a creature can think philosophically, the creature has to have demonstrated that it can think philosophically by expressing philosophical thoughts through human language. The ape hasn't expressed philosophical thoughts through human language and therefore must be incapable of philosophical thought.

I chose B because I was focusing on this gap of the argument; just because the ape hasn't physically expressed a philosophical question in human language doesn't mean that they can't think philosophically. Maybe they can think about these philosophical things without speaking (which means they are capable of philosophical thought). So I chose B because I felt it closed up the gap. If apes are incapable of thinking in human language, that can explain why they haven't asked any phil questions in human language.

But I'm noticing something as I type. Just because apes are incapable of thinking in human language doesn't mean that they are necessarily incapable of philosophical thought. It could be the case that they think philosophically in their own ape language. So the assumption I'm realizing now that the test is looking for is something along the lines that to be capable of philosophical thoughts, creatures must be able to express phil. thoughts using human language.

An ape can't express phil. thoughts using human language and therefore can't think phil.

A bear can't express phil. thoughts using human langauge and therefore can't think phil.

This matches up best with answer C.

Why I didn't choose C was because it discusses the way in which philosophical thought can be expressed and I reckoned that we're more concerned with if creatures can think a certain way not if they can express that they think a certain way. In other words, if the answer choice said THE ONLY creatures capable of philosophical thought can express phil. thought in human language, I would have chosen this.

Can someone explain why answer choice C is correct even though it just talks about how phil. thought can be expressed??

Thanks so much in advance

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Last comment thursday, sep 17 2015

Pain

Can someone explain answer choice E for me and why it is not a good answer?

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Last comment thursday, sep 17 2015

Making 5-section PTs

Sorry if this has been discussed elsewhere, but I'm wondering what procedure people use for adding an extra section in. Do you always do a particular one, like LG, or mix it up? How do you choose where to stick it in? One thing I'm concerned about is that I won't devote my full effort to it if I know which section is unscored. I just want to make my practice testing as representative as possible of the real LSAT

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Last comment thursday, sep 17 2015

First 4 PTs at 153-154. Help!

Planned test date: December 5th. Shooting for 170. Will be happy with 165.

I've been studying about 3 weeks now, and I'm only barely starting to see how the LSAT ticks. I've taken 4 PTs- J07,14,40,71 and scored 153,152,154,153.

My weakest area is Logic Games. I just need to grind them, I think. I'm slow as dirt and don't have the different setups for the game boards memorized (internalized?).

My strongest area is RC- in the 80% range, but I'm not really sure how to improve that except maybe by taking a lot of PTs and going over the missed questions.

LR seems to baffle me. I feel I do good on the questions, and then I see I am only getting around 60%. I have Nathan Fox's LR book. My main problem areas are Nec. Assumption, Flaw, and Most strongly supported. I'm not a complete dunce when it comes to logic (my minor is in Philosophy, so I have a bit of a background in syllogistic logic).

I have not BRd any of the tests. I will start doing so, and using the 7sage foolproof method for the logic games (god, thats going to be painful).

However, as far as LR and RC are concerned, what really makes a difference? Doing PTs or studying a method? Neither of them seem to lend themselves to a method like the LG section does.

Any advice or suggestions as to where I'm off base is appreciated.

Jim

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Last comment thursday, sep 17 2015

RC help!!

Hey guys,

So I've been following the RC memory method that JY talks about, and it's definitely helped me; however, I'm nowhere near where I want to be in my PT's when I grade my RC section. What are some of the alternative methods and ways that I can improve my RC score. Right now, I'm averaging -16 on my RC section *sighhh*. PLEASE HELP!!!!!

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The newest version of Apple's iPhone/iPad/iPod operating system, iOS 9, was just released earlier today. Upgrading to this new version may cause parts of the 7Sage app to stop working for some devices.

I've been running the app on my iPhone with iOS 9 (I got an early release) for about a week without seeing any problems on the app. But I've heard that there are problems with other people's devices, and I confirmed that the Grader and Course options stopped working on my iPad mini after upgrading.

Sorry if this iOS 9 problem affects your device! We already made a fix, and submitted it to Apple for approval just a minute ago. Hopefully they'll approve the update quickly, but they usually take a week, sometimes much longer.

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I remain unconvinced, and still think (C) is a better answer!

Answer (C) does not say that the nesting boxes are smaller, but just that they provide less space for eggs (because they get overcrowded). In my view, the given statements support this conclusion [that the boxes are smaller than the natural nests] because they seem to link the ducks' failed reproductive efforts to the fact that the boxes become overcrowded. If, by negating this conclusion, the natural nesting sites had just as much, or less, space for eggs, then this reproductive practice would seem to be disadvantageous from the start. Therefore, (C) seems to me to be the right answer.

Answer (D), on the other hand, makes less sense in my view. Why would the ducks' reproductive efforts be more successful when the boxes are hidden? Is the assumption that those nests, though hidden, could still be found by some and thus the practice would become less rare?

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Last comment wednesday, sep 16 2015

41.1.6

I don't really understand the argument, which is why I am having a tough time deciding between D and E. Can someone break the argument down and discuss those two answer choices?

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New to 7Sage discussions, but I love how everyone seems very helpful and genuine. I am currently studying for the Dec test, and wanted some opinions on what is going to be more beneficial in these last 2 months and a half.

I currently am PT'ing around 168-169 average, BR around 173-175. My goal for the exam is in the 170-172 range. I would probably not retake if I hit 170. But I also know people's average scores tend to drop 2-3 points, so I want to be at about a 174~ average by the end of my PTs.

I am wrapping up a Testmasters course and have gone through most of the LSAT starter kit to supplement areas where I felt TM lacked (a lot lol). As of now, my main focus is drilling problem areas and PT'ing. I currently have PT 29-38, and like 25 more modern PTs (52+range). I also have the Cambridge packets for all LG PT 1-38, and for Weaken, Flaw, and NA since those are my weak areas. I want to look into some sort of prep for RC, because I do tend to miss avg 5 for this section, but not sure which packet or prep method is best for this.

Now that I am more wise in terms of LSAT prep, I realize that doing PT's 38 and below can be good practice for timing and comfortability but because I am drilling with those older problems my scores are always inflated for the older tests. like 179-180 range haha, which is inconsistent with my scores for newer exams that I have taken through TM. So would it be worth it to buy a few more PT's to avoid having to PT with the older exams?

Is my time better spent drilling or taking more PTs? I currently have like 30 PTs scheduled between now and the Dec test date.

As far as my time available to devote to LSAT, I currently work about 25-30 hours a week and that will increase to 35+ around mid-October.

Opinions and thoughts, thanks!

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so i found a pack at work and after hearing so much about them I've decided to try them out; however the heat (NYC heat, ~85-95F) is making the black paint rubbery and peeling off, now I have black/gold paint stuck to the table and my backpack. this is pretty disappointing and i will definitely not use them on the test, just wondering if anyone else had similar experience?

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After multiple starts and stops due to family, I have covered the basics to prepare. I still have weaknesses in a few areas but feel confident in others. I would really like to expose all weaknesses under time constraints while not burning thru PT's while I am still learning through the BR process.

I started the LSAT journey haphazardly so I do not have a diagnostic, but the few PT's I have taken are 155-160, but no blind review as of yet for optimal knowledge of where I stand or as JY would say that it could have been "blind luck":)

My plan is 2 per week with thorough BR - thanks to everyone sharing their experiences to not burn-out. I am not sure that going sequentially is the best plan given the shifts in the later PT's (not harder, but different - thx again for all of the input). But, I am not sure it is wise to use more current PT's during this stage.

Fortunately, I started studying before PDF ban and have all PT's and JY's videos to make the process easier. My plan is to join as many BR group sessions as I can that do not conflict with family obligations.

For you that have been there - done that - what sequence would you advise to begin serious PT'ing?

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Last comment wednesday, sep 16 2015

Manhattan Prep and RC struggles

While I've seen my LG and LR improve a lot over time, I'm afraid I've plateaued a bit in RC. On average I make -4. I've already done the whole 7sage curriculum (twice) and I'm reading the LSAT Trainer for the second time. Does anyone recommend the RC Manhattan Prep for RC? I saw it's $10 on Amazon, but I was just wondering if it was worth my time to read through it. Any thoughts or advice on this question and more generally the RC section would be appreciated :)

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Yo people

Had a request to move PT72 BR from Friday to THURSDAY (tomorrow).

So. Take PT72. Let me know if you wanna BR it with some fine folks (@pujals and @nye8870 , should be a lot of fun) and then plan to join at 7pm ET.

Again. THURSDAY is the day :D

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Take a pt everday for like 5-6 consecutive days.

Also others take TWO pts a day.

I really need soemthing different in my routine since I'm noticing NO PROGRESS despite all my studying. Has anyone done something slightly extreme like this?

Also there's this guy on yt who teaches lsat prep and he said he took 2 a day as well!!

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Last comment wednesday, sep 16 2015

Huge differences in AM/PM PTs

So basically.....when I wake up before my class to take a PT at 8 AM, I score 5-10 points lower than my PM tests around 2-4 PM. Does anyone else have this problem? I'm not sure how to overcome this difference because I drink coffee and get the sleep, but I don't want to face this on test day. I mean, how long am I supposed to be awake before PTing?

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Last comment tuesday, sep 15 2015

Efficient studying

Writing this post in regards to the most efficient study practices. I know most of us are studying anywhere from 2-8 hours a day, I'm personally studying around 5-6. I take a 10 minute break for every 50 minutes of studying because I find I absorb more in 3, 50-minute intervals than 3 hours straight. Are you guys computing your total hours studied adjusting for breaks or just the entirety of time spent in the library, etc. thanks!

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Hi Guys,

I'm a very committed POE-er, but I was wondering if anyone has found any benefit in not doing it for specific scenarios. For example, say you've prephrased the exact flaw in a flaw question or know what the sufficient assumption has to be in a SA question. If you find the exact prephrase in answer choice A, would you mark it down and move on, or still read over the remaining answer choices?

Do you guys always do POE or are there exceptions? Obviously skimming the remaining choices doesn't take much time, but my skimming is really half-hearted when I feel that I've already found the correct answer. So in my case, it does end up being a poor use of time, if even 5 seconds.

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Last comment tuesday, sep 15 2015

Questions about taking PT

Hi guys, I just finished the core curriculum and decide to take some days off before start taking PT. I will be a senior student this fall semester. I wonder what is the best way to take PT. J.Y. asks us to take stimulated LSAT practice. However, I doubt if I have 4 hours during the morning when the semester begins. Is it ok for me, let's say, to break a PT into 4 different sections and finish them separately? I hope you can give me some advises. My new semester is about to come, although I have the ambition to balance my LSAT and academic goal, I started to feel stressed because I don't know if I can handle it. Please suggest me the most helpful way to take PT. If it is really necessary, I can still make the four-hour morning stimulated practice happen. In addition, do you think 1 PT per week is enough and reasonable for a full-time student? Thank you so much!

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The past two days I've been doing LR and have been doing very poorly. I usually get 3--5 wrong per LR section, but yesterday I got 9 wrong... Today, I'm in the library studying and could not focus during an LR section. I just stopped myself at question 17 and now I'm sitting outside eating a cupcake lol. It's a pretty good cupcake though (chocolate with chocolate chips). No milk on hand unfortunately. Anyway, I marked the 17 questions and got 4 wrong. But I took 26 minutes to get there. I don't feel like doing this right now. And the funny thing is, I always feel like it. Even when I don't, I just say fuckit and do it anyway.

I feel pretty discouraged and yeah I've been at this for like 7 months while working. I didn't sleep well last night, although I don't feel tired right now (freezing shower plus exercise plus caffeine). The area I'm sitting in could perhaps be slightly less distracting as well. I don't know. I'm just babbling. Rambling? I never complain about anything. And I'm not complaining now, but I know my 7Sage friends always have valuable input. Someone come punch me in the face please lol.

I think the discouragement from last night plus slight sleep deprivation plus perhapsssss a tad bit of burnout has caused this but I don't know. I just wanted to write this because you are the only other people that know what I mean. There is an unstated conclusion in here somewhere. And no, I didn't edit this lol

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