Strengthen and Weaken Questions

mkariyeva94

So, I've been taking LSAT courses and studying everyday for hours on end in preparation for my October exam. I took my 2nd diagnostic exam and did worse than my 1st exam. I figured because more than half of the LR questions were type 2 and 3 (strengthen/weaken) and I'm still having difficulty grasping the concept. I understand what it's asking, but am finding it so hard to get to the correct answer choice. Can someone please help me? In dire need, thank you!

[Admin note: edited thread title for clarity of question type. Originally "type 2 and 3 questions".]

NYC12345

@mkariyeva94
What does type 2 and 3 mean?

DumbHollywoodActor

Are you Blind Reviewing? What's your score there?

ENTJ

@mkariyeva94 Lol. Total former TestMaster's student. Type 2=Assumption questions, Type 3=Weaken questions.

mkariyeva94

@alexandergreene93 type 2 asks to strengthen the argument (look for the missing premise) and type 3 asks to weaken the argument presented in the stimulus.

mkariyeva94

@DumbHollywoodActor I have a horrible tendency to check my answers right away (or at least after sets of 10). I read all the explanations if I get it wrong, or even if I'm right to double check that my reasoning was accurate.

mkariyeva94

LOL yes I am..their training is pretty intense..I think it's just me :X @ENTJ I practice a lot and do my hw/watch videos and I do well and grasp on to it fast..the moment I get to a diagnostic, I panic.

DumbHollywoodActor

@mkariyeva94 You're robbing yourself of a valuable learning opportunity. When you go into reviewing a question knowing the answer, you passively just say, "ok. Got it." When you're not sure of the correct answer, you're actively thinking through why each answer is right or wrong. Stop this bad habit at once. You'll thank me later.

ENTJ

@mkariyeva94 Yeah TM sucks. It's all based on impulse (i.e., checking your answers immediately after doing a section or PT). Look at the Blind Review lessons on 7sage. I would have paid the $1500 I spent on TM just for the Blind Review that 7sage teaches.

mkariyeva94

I can thank you now haha so do you recommend me to review all the answers once I finish or what? @DumbHollywoodActor, also any tips on how to actually weaken/strengthen an argument?

DumbHollywoodActor

Weaken/ strengthen are tough because you have to be flexible. Sometimes you need to explain why the conclusion might be more /less likely. Sometimes, you need to find/block an alternative explanation. Sometimes, you're undermining/bolstering an assumption that the premises are making.
This is why they're usually the question types that take the longest to master.


Just keep practicing.

mkariyeva94

Thank you Hope it will all work out for the best! @DumbHollywoodActor

ENTJ

@DumbHollywoodActor I've always liked the bridge metaphor that JY talks about. I always think about little Goku and that pinto.

DumbHollywoodActor

@ENTJ while I think the Goku metaphor is helpful, it can also be misleading because beginning students can sometimes have a difficulty differentiating undermining the premise (which happens a good amount on the LSAT) with contradicting the premise (which is a big no-no).

Either way, weakening/strengthening questions are hard because they have so many ways to do so.

ENTJ

@DumbHollywoodActor That's interesting. I think it's important for beginning students to always be able to identify the premise and conclusion. More importantly, the relationship between said premise and conclusion. But I do agree with you that the idea of attacking a premise is a hard concept to grasp.

c.janson35

Just a side note: ditch the "type 2S" and "type 12" etc. terminology. It's convoluted and unnecessary. Just recognize that the question you are working on is a strengthen or weaken and don't spend the extra effort trying to reclassify it according to numbers. The simpler the better for this kind of stuff... Which is also why nobody else classifies games as "two-way multiple association" and such lol.

DumbHollywoodActor

Is that what Test Masters advocates? Wow. As if the LSAT wasn't complicated enough...

Pacifico

LMAO where do they get off teaching stuff like that? To me that's just meant to encourage retakes to get more money on the backside... Shady...