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Diagramming SA's

Marco AntonioMarco Antonio Alum Member

To all of you who are masters of SA's: do you diagram them on the actual exam? I feel that if I don't then, I won't get them correct. Should I diagram them on the exam, or do I just need more practice diagramming them in general

Comments

  • FixedDiceFixedDice Member
    1804 karma

    Better safe than sorry, no?

  • paulmv.benthempaulmv.benthem Alum Member
    1032 karma

    For me, it really depends on the level of difficulty. In most cases, if I read the passage carefully, then I can usually pick out the gap. I'll then make a little annotation in the passage to highlight the gap, and then I will move onto the ACs to find a choice that will allow the conclusion to be properly drawn. In such instances, I find that the diagramming can sometimes become both time consuming and confusing.

    For more difficult SA questions, however, I will often need to draw a crude diagram to the side of the passage. For instance, when the AC is describing a negation that allows a postive conclusion to be drawn.

    I've found one of the most helpful forms of practice for tackling SA questions is to write down the passage in a document (I use Evernote) and write up a structural outline in my own words. Oftentimes, SA question passages reuse argumentative structures, meaning that reviewing past structures allows you to more easily conceptualize the structure mentally and then anticipate a correct AC. :) It takes time, but it's definitely worth it!

    Keep up the great work! :smile:

  • akistotleakistotle Member 🍌🍌
    edited February 2018 9382 karma

    After practicing, you will be able to do it without diagramming.
                             
    I write arrows on the stimulus and undeline the sufficient and necessary condition: "For something to be successful, → it must B" and do everything in my head like:

    "Something is not successful
    Something is A
    success → B

    Ok, now we need A → /B"

  • AlexAlex Alum Member
    23929 karma

    @"Marco Antonio" said:
    To all of you who are masters of SA's: do you diagram them on the actual exam? I feel that if I don't then, I won't get them correct. Should I diagram them on the exam, or do I just need more practice diagramming them in general

    The thing is, don't try to take the test like a master until you have the skill set to back it up. One of the worst mistakes I've made in my prep was trying to take sections/PTs like someone who is scoring a 180 when I was far from it.

    Ideally, you don't want to be diagramming out SA's on the test. I think if you can get really good at them, you won't need to diagram 99% of them. Although there was a tough one about sentient beings on PT62? that I had to diagram... But that's the only one I can remember having to diagram in all the PTs I've taken.

    Yup! You got it! Tons of practice diagramming SAs will help you achieve a level of mastery. You've got the Ult + package so you have plenty of material to drill and practice on. Plus, JY's explanations always have diagrams in them for SA questions, which make it that much more helpful.

  • akistotleakistotle Member 🍌🍌
    9382 karma

    @"Alex Divine" said:
    Although there was a tough one about sentient beings on PT62? that I had to diagram...

    I remember that one. I skipped first. lol
    https://7sage.com/lsat_explanations/lsat-62-section-4-question-18/

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