7sage and old teaching materials?

malthele

I'm doing some new prep tests these days, and they're shockingly more difficult than the old ones we use to practice on here in 7sage, this is extremely annoying to me. prep tests 60 and up are much more harder to a depressing level, my score in the old prep test are much more higher than in the new ones! i'm wondering if the other 7sage packages are making the the new prep tests exclusive. if this is the case then i'm doomed.

runiggyrun

All 7Sage packages include the same curriculum, and the curriculum only uses old tests for practice to make sure the new ones are left fresh to practice as full PT's. The skills needed are fundamentally the same, so once you've mastered them on the old material they should transfer to the new stuff, maybe after a few attempts, to get used to the newer wording/question types and other subtle differences.
There are definitely differences, and some people definitely find them somewhat more difficult, but if you find them "shockingly" so there might be a specific gap in your understanding that the new tests exploit more than the old ones. Identifying and filling that gap would help bring your scores for the new tests in line.

Mr.lopez

@malthele can you describe what you mean by shockingly more different.

malthele

check logical reasoning sections in prep test 66, this is just an example, you'll know what i'm talking about.

runiggyrun

@malthele, I don't think anyone other than yourself looking over the sections is going to be able to pinpoint exactly how the new tests are more difficult than the old ones.
I got a -1 total on LR on PT66, but I got a -7 total on LR on PT23 and a -8 on PT9. My average missed on LR went down in the newer tests - part of that might be that I did them later in my prep, part because I found the answers "tighter" and the wrong answers more clearly so than they were in the 1-50 tests. You are having the opposite experience, so there's something in the new tests that doesn't sit well with your pattern of thinking or your testing strategy - you need to find out what that is, because it's not going to be the same for everybody.
I do find that even though my accuracy went up for the newer tests my speed went down - it takes me just under 35 minutes to finish a section, whereas I was able to go through in just over 25 on the old tests. So, while to me it feels that the logic is clearer, it's often hidden in more convoluted, wordier stimuli. If you were bumping against the 35 minutes on the old tests, I can see how it would be hard to finish the newer ones.

Cant Get Right

The difficulty in the newer LR sections comes from more subtlety worded, deceptive wrong answer choices. The logic is the same and so are the lessons from missed questions. The newer tests are simply less forgiving of your gaps and soft spots. So close your gaps and harden your soft spots. The task is the same as it ever was. You got this.

Cant Get Right

Wow, that's crazy that you find the answer choices on the newer tests more concise @runiggyrun . Almost everyone I've discussed this with has it opposite of you. I guess you've just got an eye for the newer tricks. They seem to do a lot more answers that would be right logically if not for inappropriately equating terms. So maybe the argument is talking about silverware and the answer choice is structurally correct except it says forks where it ought to have said silverware. Have you noticed that? I'm taking 72 tomorrow which I know is notorious for coming in well below folks' average score. I'm kind of excited to see what happens!

runiggyrun

@"Cant Get Right" said:
Wow, that's crazy that you find the answer choices on the newer tests more concise

No, definitely not more concise - they are lengthy and convoluted as hell - but somehow I find the wrong answers more decisively wrong, so I'm torn between two answers less often than I was before. If I were to explain the answers to someone I would have an easier time pinpointing exactly why the wrong answers are wrong for the newer tests than I would for the older ones.
Maybe I've got a wifely nitpicking gene - if I were to use an analogy, the newer tests have long, curly hair, but they have clearer "nits" whereas with the old ones have shorter hair but I'd have a harder time deciding between potential nits and dandruff.

Matt Dare

In the entire catalog of test analogies you went with lice.

Nicole Hopkins

@runiggyrun said:
Maybe I've got a wifely nitpicking gene - if I were to use an analogy, the newer tests have long, curly hair, but they have clearer "nits" whereas with the old ones have shorter hair but I'd have a harder time deciding between potential nits and dandruff.

WOW

just wow

dying right now ... this is full win!

runiggyrun

I thought that would take people's mind of tomorrow's test :-P

malthele

English is my second language, try the LSAT in Arabic and then try judging yourself for only finishing 19 Qs in 35 minutes! i've done nearly 50 preps, time remains my issue.. very little improvements.. am i stupid or mentally crippled? .. i don't know!! maybe!! my exam is in 3.5 hours .. wish me luck.

runiggyrun

@malthele - the new LR's can definitely be harder for a non-native speaker, due to the lengthier stimuli. Your experience is going to be different from that of a native speaker who might not even notice the extra words.
Not much to do about it now, but best of luck with your test!