Powerscore LR Bible

ChrisN21

If you have used the Powerscore LR Bible, this question is for you!

I have previously used the LSAT Trainer and have just begun the Core Curriculum (Starter Kit). My LR can improve to say the least. That being said, is there information to gain from the Powerscore LR Bible that I cannot gain from 7Sage Core Curriculum and/or LSAT trainer?

Any additional advice towards improving LR would also be much appreciated!

Cant Get Right

I plateaued pretty hopelessly on Powerscore. When I started 7Sage, I told myself I was going to forget everything I knew and start over from scratch. After finishing the curriculum, I broke the plateau.

I suppose that does not necessarily mean that PS didn't work. To be fair, my 7Sage experience had the benefit of being built on top of my PS work. It is certainly possible that my improvement was simply due to having studied longer, and I mistakenly attributed the improvement to the switch in the curriculum. Maybe if I had started with 7Sage and then switched to PS, the experience would have been exactly the same only reversed.

But I don't think so. While I can only evaluate my own experience subjectively, I do feel like I am able to look at the actual curricula fairly objectively. So:

If you just look at the sheer quantity of information, of course 7Sage pounds PS (and every other print based program) into the ground. If 7Sage were printed into a book, I seriously doubt The Mountain could lift it. The digital medium is simply much more powerful.

But quantity isn't everything, so what about quality. Well, that's much more subjective. However, if my experience is at all representative, I feel safe in predicting that a vast majority who have used both would give the quality metric to 7Sage as well. Because there is so much more information, every point is explored in greater detail. So immediately, simply on the greater detail, there is more potential for greater quality. From there, I think David Killoran is very good for the most part; and I think J.Y. is consistently phenomenal [except that one thing (just kidding JY;)]. So, in my estimation, 7Sage provides more exceptional quality and on matters of much greater detail.

The other thing I'd address concerning quality versus quantity is, make sure in your own studies you are prioritizing quality. It sounds like you're trying to cover an awful lot of material, and that is often an indication of trying to avoid the real grunt work of studying. Not saying you're doing that, just that it is something a lot of people do. Covering more resources will ultimately do very little for you. Make sure you're really going as in depth as possible with whatever you do study. The study material is just a resource. What matters most is how effectively you use that resource. I would much rather see you master the Powerscore curriculum than skim through the 7Sage curriculum without taking the time to really study it. The quality of the study program only matters as far as you work to utilize it.

Hope this is useful!

Alex

@ChrisN21 said:
Powerscore LR Bible that I cannot gain from 7Sage Core Curriculum and/or LSAT trainer?

I used both the Powerscore LR Bible and Manhattan Prep LR. I think Manhattan LR is better for a higher level approach. that is to say, if you have the basics down, I don't think you'll get much out of Powerscore's LR Bible.

To answer your question though, the answer is, it depends.

I think 7Sage is better in every way, so I will start with saying that. I am a fan of getting different perspectives on things, however, I would go through the CC first before using anything else. I think the video lessons and corresponding problem sets/explanations do a great job of teaching the material. I did find Manhattan LR + The LSAT Trainer quite helpful too, but if you've already gone through the Trainer I would recommend sticking the CC for now. I feel like The Bibles were useful in teaching me the very rudimentary stuff and not as useful beyond that. 7Sage's in-depth lessons on conditional logic and argument forms does a WAY better job. I feel like Powerscore tries to find every way to teach students to do LR first, rather than focus on the underlying logic. Essentially what the community here (at least at large) would call "gimmicky"

Overall advice I would give for LR:

For LR questions you need to be able to weed through the excess verbiage in the stimulus and identify the argument core with surgical precision, identify the conclusion first then the reasoning and figure out why the premises do not completely substantiate the conclusion (there will always be at least one reason, there has to be). If you're able to pre-phase an answer it'll make it easier for you to identify the correct answer, that said don't fall in the trap of eliminating wrong answer choices because they don't match up with the answer you pre-phased.

The arguments almost always have many reasoning issues and sometimes the correct answer choice will either be one that you did not anticipate or if it is it may be worded in a different way so be cognizant of that too. Also, one important thing when eliminating wrong answer choices work from wrong to right, not vice versa. A skeptical state of mind is imperative to doing well on this test, especially when eliminating answer choices.

Usually there are 1 or 2 blatantly wrong answer choices which that you can eliminate pretty quickly. Of the remaining choices, the wrong answers will often contain a quantifier/modifier like "most" that extends the scope of the argument or something, so play close attention to stuff like that, one word can make an otherwise seemingly correct answer incorrect. Come up with one reason for why an answer choice is incorrect, if you can't don't eliminate it because it could be the correct answer. If you blindly eliminate an answer choice which turns out to be the correct answer, it's going to make it that much harder for you to evaluate and address your thought process when you were answering that question.

In short, get good at finding the conclusions and the support that tries to substantiate it. Find out why it doesn't and use that to pre-phrase your answer choices. You really want to have some idea of what you're looking for before you dive into the answer choices. That is how the LSAC tricks you and pre-phrasing is your best defense against it.

Also, make sure you pay close attention to the lessons on conditional logic, valid/invalid argument forms. To me, having a grasp on those concepts in essential to doing well on the test. I also kept a mental note of all the cookie-cutter flaws that he provided a list of in one of the lessons. That also helped - that and a lot of drilling!

Good Luck!

Not Ralph Nader

@ChrisN21 I started with PS and it helped me to improve from mid140+ to low 150+ but after that not much. I think given that you already have starter pack you probably might not need PS specially if you are already scoring in high 150+.

ChrisN21

@"Alex Divine" @"Cant Get Right" thank you very much. I often become fixated on covering as much material as possible and in turn, I inadvertently do not go as in-depth as I can. Today was a great lesson during the Context/Argument segment on 7Sage - It really opened my eyes. Thank you for the wealth of insight!

Alex

@ChrisN21 said:
hank you very much. I often become fixated on covering as much material as possible and in turn, I inadvertently do not go as in-depth as I can

I hear that my man. I actually wrote a really long post about this a couple months back but I'm having trouble finding it. Essentially, I spent the first month and half of my prep buying every LSAT prep book. I was secretly looking for a magic bullet to gaming the LSAT or a secret prep schedule that would guarantee me a good score. But as always @"Cant Get Right" words it perfectly in regards to quality study vs. quantity.

Studying for the LSAT kind of reminds me of when I was trying to learn coding back in high school. I spent a few hundred buying every book on coding I could find or convince my grandparents to buy me. However, I would never finish reading the books or skim them and spent the better part of a spring/summer worried about sheer quantity. Eventually I just decided to get through one book and thoroughly an intensely master the knowledge inside. Within 4 weeks of doing that I progressed more than I did that entire previous summer.

Also, now that I think about it, I don't think I know of anyone who was decent at LR who find the LR Bible to help them master the section. 7Sage will serve you well though!