The Economist

emli1000

Hey!
I just wanted to share with you all this deal I came across on Ebay. I actually paid $11 to get the print edition of The Economist for a full year! If that's not a deal then I don't know what is! lol But since I don't like reading stuff through my screen I looked into getting a subscription and this was totally worth it. I feel that I spend more $ on printing 4-5 articles daily. So I gave in and in all honesty I think that this has helped my RC score. Also I am more aware of what's going on in the world. Which is important for all of us especially since we all want to practice law one day. It's like I'm so used to reading a couple of articles throughout the day that when I don't I feel like I'm missing something. And I'm sure when I'm done with the LSAT I will still find pleasure in reading these weekly articles. So if anyone else has been looking for a cheap subscription to purchase I have posted the Ebay link below.


http://www.ebay.com/itm/331409917512?_trksid=p2060778.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

mpits001

Looks like a great deal, but why will it take so long to get delivered? I'm retaking the June LSAT so receiving it in April may be too late

emli1000

@mpits001 It took about 5 weeks for mine to arrive and meanwhile I was just printing articles online to make myself read them in get in the habit of reading daily. Plus I've also been reading at least 1 (350-500) page books every week. I WILL improve on RC some way lol

I follow them on Twitter so whenever they posted an interesting article I would favorite it and when I was in the office at work or at home I would print it and add it to my stack of articles I needed to read. I would right-click and print it out. Then I would open an Incognito window and print another two. LOL but then I found out I could access any of their articles through the public library ^_^

harrismegan

Omg. so much dedication. What's your average RC? I ususally get -7 to -8. It's one of my worst sections!!!!

emli1000

@harrismegan I started out around -14 and so yea I'm scoring like you now. But not always so I'm still working on it. It's mainly because I am not interested in what I'm reading. I'm just reading to read. Which is terrible on my part. And it's like I can't even fake my interest in those passages.

mpits001

@emli1000 Awesome! I should order then. I guess I'll have to wait till my next paycheck, but that's not too far off. I need to improve my RC as well! I averaged 10-12 wrong before taking the test in December. Now it's 9-10. I definitely need to improve. I can print them at my school's library for cheap I'm pretty sure, so I have that option. Reading 1 book per week? I don't think I have time for something like that with 5 classes, part-time job, and LSAT >.<!

Thank you!

emli1000

@mpits001 Yes you should. It's like I tend to relate what I've read to what I'm reading in the RC section =/ which is weird. I feel like I'm becoming more of a nerd lately with all of this prepping lol. Yea your school library should also have a paid subscription online and you'll probably only need to pay to print. Ahhh.. Busy schedule there, but when there's a will there's a way. I'm sure that if you really wanted to you would find time to read for at least 20 mins every night ^_^

Noticevish

You guys really should focus on reading comprehension on the lsat not the economist unless you simply enjoying reading it. I am actually holding off reading any economist until after I've taken the lsat. Think about there is a plethora of rc passages with questions! Have you done all of them? If yes, then I guess go ahead and read up and if you haven't then know you're just wasting your time reading something that is not the LSAT. Great it has complex argument similar to the LSAT but it's simply not the LSAT. Do it on your own time if you actually enjoy it for fun but don't do replace with it rc passages. Thats just my advice. Almost a little off topic but just want you guys to be aware in case you're under the assumption you need to read the economist in order to well on reading comp.

pseudonymous

Hahaha this thread could read like an LSAT question.

Emli1000: Reading The Economist is beneficial for LSAT prep. Since reading The Economist, my average RC score has improved significantly, and it is easier to focus on long passages.
Noticevish: One should not read The Economist for RC practice, as they are sufficiently different enough that replacing reading actual LSAT questions with The Economist is not an effective strategy. Reading The Economist is neither necessary nor sufficient for doing well on the LSAT.

Which of the following, if true, most weakens Noticevish's argument?

(A) Many 7Sagers read The Economist, and most 7Sagers are likely to do well on the LSAT.
(B) Both harrismegan and mpits001 are interested in subscribing to The Economist.
(C) There are other more difficult journals that one can read for practice.
(D)...

Ok guys, won't lie, ran out of steam there.

emli1000

@Noticevish You're correct. I also read LSAT RC passages. I'm basically finished with the course so yea.

emli1000

@pseudonymous LMAO I'm out!

iiiSpoon

OR read for free by using Google chrome's incognito mode (not sure if it works for every browsers' incognito mode ie firefox); every time you max out how many articles you can read, close the browser, restart a new incognito mode and start over again until you max out again.

fernandoframe

Sadly, it's only available to Americans. Take advantage if you can.

emli1000

@E.CH.Poon lol that works too.

harrismegan

Faking interest is a good idea. I don't do that nearly enough. Sigh #thestruggle!

emli1000

@fernandoframe where are you? Ahh. I thought it was a GREAT deal and wanted to share it with anyone else who might be interested.

emli1000

@harrismegan The struggle is real outchea! lol

Drackedary

I've subscribed to the Economist on the same deal. RC is my strongest section, but I figured anything that will improve me by even a little is worth it.

The Economist is an excellent news magazine even if you don't believe in liberal economics (which this publication is a strong advocate of). The opinion pieces are generally well reasoned, and the articles are very well written. In fact, I recall one my first year college English professors telling students to read the Economists just because it's good writing.

But it's for this reason that, at least for people who don't have any major problems with RC, that I don't recommend the Economist for. I agree with Noticevish. The Economist is too well written because it's meant to get a message across and make you believe in it. The LSAT is not "well written" because it's meant to mess with your head and test your reading and reasoning abilities. I doubt any English professor would consider LSAT passages well written outside of the exam.

Regardless, I don't mind subscribing to the Economist even though I'm not too sure if it's as useful to the LSAT as I've been reading. It is a good news magazine, and I have learned more about current events around the world that I would from more mainstream news sources. That's good enough for me.

mjjohns6

What works for some people may not work for others. It really depends because the economist is very dense.

harrismegan

It is very very dense. I've read a few articles briefly and thought "wtf did I just read"

LSATman1

If you look through the references at the back of Prep Tests, occasionally you will see an article from the Economist that was adapted for use either for an RC passage or for an LR question. Most of the articles are older (often 20-30 years), so the odds of you seeing a passage on the LSAT that you already read in the Economist are pretty low. Nevertheless, some of the LSAT passages are written in a similar style to the articles in the Economist, making the magazine a good resource

LSATman1

You also might see articles from Scientific American, which is helpful in preparing for science passages, cited in Prep Tests

LSATman1

I also like to read articles from the NY Times "Room for Debate," which has 3-8 people weighing in on an issue from different perspectives. This is helpful for the comparative passages. There are a lot of good legal topics in Room for Debate, which helps with the legal passages.

emli1000

@LSATman1 True. Those were on the old PTs now not as much. But I just wanted to share my experience. I think it's been pretty helpful plus implementing other material that I have been using along the way. Yes, I once saw a post from Jon about SA and it's been Bookmarked ever since lol but I just can NOT get into it like I would like to plus I don't like the way their website is setup LOL this is bad lol I KNOW. I have also kept up with articles from NY Times "RFD" they're pretty interesting but sometimes they make me upset because I'm so against some of the stuff people are saying and how they approach a certain race. Since I've read a few on Immigration. But then I have to remind myself that it's a debate.

xqr1s4f3ed

Don't forget about Scientific American, which is the source of many actual RC passages.

Matt1234567

Hi guys, I actually just signed up for the print edition on their website. It's actually not that expensive. Just say you're a student, and for the first 12 weeks it is just one dollar a week. They charge just a little more after 12 weeks but you can cancel at any time.

emli1000

@Matt1234567 It's not but this deal on ebay beats the $12 for 12 weeks.
I rather pay $11 once for 51 issues