LR pattern of getting 2nd half of section wrong...Please help me understand why?!

puglover

I've noticed that when I practice questions on LR I consistently get the harder half wrong and the easier half right. Does any one have advice for how I can possibly improve and polish up my LR skills. This is my hardest section on the exam, and have just begun to understand the differences in question types. I feel like I am missing something to unlock getting these harder questions correct. Thank you guys for any insight!

kkole444

Hello,
knowing what to do and your plan of attack on different question types makes you more accurate and faster.
The easy questions are testing you on the same thing the harder questions are testing you on and vice versa, the difference is usually how subtle the assumption and how abstract the language and topic. However, the process of doing a weakening question does not change because it is harder or weaker the process of finding the assumption between the premise and conclusion still holds and picking an answer choice that weakens the assumption leading to making the conclusion less likely to happen is still going to be the correct answer. Learning the common arguments the LSAT uses on different question types and the common wrong answers will help as well. For example, a lot of weakening questions will use the phenomenon/ hypothesis set up and then the conclusion will be the authors explanation of why/how the phenomenon happened, common answer choices would be correlation/causation, temporal correlation, groups versus sub group confusion, when phenomenon is not present the effect is not present. these are some of the common answers you'll get on a weakening questions, sometimes one of these will be the correct answer and other times they will be the attractive wrong answer, it is good to know what each one looks like so you can quickly select or eliminate answers.
Also, one must have a mastery over identifying the premise and conclusion, how are you able to weaken an argument if you cannot identify the conclusion? How are you going to find the gap when one cannot see where the gap is? you can't. Look at the easy questions because the common answer choices are easier to see relative to the harder questions and start to identify the patterns the LSAC employs. Another Q type where they repeat ACs is flaw they repeat ACs there a lot.
Just in general doing more Qs will help you be better at the harder questions, the harder questions are just dressed up easy questions with a few extra layers of difficulty. the LSAC varies the level of difficulty by: topic, grammar, length, how abstract, and how attractive ACs are, for the most part, what lies underneath all the layers is the same, there is a gap in the argument that needs something done to it depending on what the Q stem wants.

achanne1-1

Try starting your section from 16 onwards and then 15 backwards. That has helped me a lot with those harder questions. I use to feel mentally rushed and pressed for time by the time I got to the later questions because I knew they were more difficult. However, since starting with them I’m able to use that burst of energy going into a section on the harder questions and by the time I get to the easier ones and am starting to feel fatigued questions 15-1 don’t seem/aren’t as consistently difficult as questions 16-25/26 that require more of me.

Hope this helps!

cklomoooooo-1

Hard LR questions are hard because of the abstract answer choices. Some common patterns that I find that makes the question extremely hard when I am drilling 5 star LR questions are: flaws can be hidden between premise and sub-conclusion. Instead of saying mistake necessary for sufficient, they say something like the absence of sufficient can still lead to necessary

McBeck418

I know a lot of people say spend the most time in the stimulus and I think this is a good approach, but my advice is not to do that at the expense of actually understanding what the answer choices are telling you. There have been so many times where I understand the flaw in the stimulus and then rush through the AC without fully understanding what they mean just to pick the wrong thing.

Having a really good foundation for how the argument is laid out is important, but also take the time to examine the answer choice. The harder questions tend to have more convoluted/abstract answers, so slow down, take your time through them. If you read them and you're confused by what they mean, skip the question and go on to the next one under timed conditions.

Austin.hutchinson1

If you have one of the paid 7sage plans, the amount of info and user data they have for every single question and answer choice is pretty substantial. It might help you or not, but it's all there really.

Timmy Is an Avg Kid that No One Understands

SKIP HARD QUESTIONS. Even if it's question 1, if you can't understand a word within a few moments of reading it just skip it. Flag them, come back after you have CONFIDENTLY answered everything you can. Track and see what TYPES of questions you are getting wrong consistently. Do NOT dread how many questions are in the test, just think of them at levelling up and keep going at them, don't get tired in the middle of the section, it catches up to your brain reaaaal quick.

WinningHere

Perhaps slow down, do not even attempt the later questions, until you start to incrementally improve on getting more answers correct through the section.