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Need help from a Sage? (Closed)

Allison MAllison M Alum Member Inactive Sage
edited March 2015 in General 810 karma
Hi all,

I got a ton of help from fellow 7Sagers when I was studying for the LSAT. Now that I'm a Sage, I'm trying to pay it forward by helping out current students. I'm mostly going to spend some time going through the course and writing out explanations for questions where videos don't yet exist.

If you want some input from me on a particular problem that you're having, please tag me ( @"Allison M" ) or send me a PM. If you need help with a question from a specific problem set, please include a link!

Cheers!
Allison
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Comments

  • emli1000emli1000 Alum Member Inactive ⭐
    3462 karma
    Thanks!

    LSAT PrepTest 27, Section 4, Question 16 | D
    LSAT PrepTest 27, Section 4, Question 02 | B
  • Allison MAllison M Alum Member Inactive Sage
    edited March 2015 810 karma
    [ @"Dillon A Wright" , let me know if there's a better place to answer questions about specific PTs!]

    @emli1000:

    LSAT PrepTest 27, Section 4, Question 16 | D
    The stimulus says that the four food groups idea promotes unhealthy eating. We're looking for one AC that does NOT support this conclusion.
    A) Incorrect - it encourages overconsumption of meat and dairy, which is unhealthy.
    B) Incorrect - it discourages people from eating fish, which is unhealthy.
    C) Incorrect - it misleads people into thinking one fruit/veg per day is sufficent, which is unhealthy.
    D) Correct - it reminds people to eat fruits and veggies, ergo their nutrients, which is healthy
    E) Incorrect - it distracts people from the real issue - overeating.

    LSAT PrepTest 27, Section 4, Question 02 | B
    The stim says that thanks to the better value of fiber optic TV relative to cable TV, cable companies will displaced by telephone companies within a few years. We are looking for an AC that supports this argument.
    A) Incorrect - this definitely doesn't help us, and possibly hurts us -- will the long-term value of fiber optics encourage people to overcome the high upfront cost? Or will the opposite be true?
    B) Correct - this tells us that the extra 50 channels available on the fiber optic network will include the most popular programs currently on cable. Without this, it could be the case that the channels will be much lower quality than those on cable -- 100 yule log channels, perhaps?
    C) Incorrect - if the cable companies respond to competition by improving their services, then the value of switching services decreases.
    D) Incorrect - why do we care about this info?
    C) Incorrect - extra regulations may hurt the competitiveness of FO networks vis-a-vis cable, so this one definitely doesn't help us.

    Let me know if this helps. I'm new at this, so feedback is always super, super welcome!
  • emli1000emli1000 Alum Member Inactive ⭐
    3462 karma
    Perfect! Thank you. I just wanted to make sure my reasoning behind these two was correct since there aren't any explanations for either of these two in the course.
  • Allison MAllison M Alum Member Inactive Sage
    810 karma
    Sure thing, @emli1000 . You can always PM me with your explanation for a question, and we can chat about why it is/isn't correct. This would have the added benefit of forcing you to articulate your reasoning :)
  • emli1000emli1000 Alum Member Inactive ⭐
    3462 karma
    @"Allison M" even better. Thanks.
  • jdawg113jdawg113 Alum Inactive ⭐
    2654 karma
    I think maybe just posting the comment on set page and afterwards posting the link in here letting them know it was posted might be best (a little more work for you though)
    and then obvi if it is just a random question not in any set or lesson that someone asks then here would make sense, my $.02
  • DumbHollywoodActorDumbHollywoodActor Alum Inactive ⭐
    7468 karma
    @"Allison M" you are amazing! Thanks.
  • Allison MAllison M Alum Member Inactive Sage
    810 karma
    @jdawg113 : Yeah, that's a good idea. I'll change my OP to ask people to include links.

    @DumbHollywoodActor : Aw, shucks.
  • Nilesh SNilesh S Alum Inactive ⭐
    3438 karma
    @"Allison M" ..dayum... why did you have to become a sage after my LSAT run??? if only i had known before , I would have peppered you with questions... :)
  • Allison MAllison M Alum Member Inactive Sage
    810 karma
    @"Nilesh S" Just be glad that you're no longer in need of help ;)
  • JudyyyyyJudyyyyy Alum Member
    136 karma
    Wow. This is great Allison :)

    If you don't mind me asking, how did you study for the test? What was your weakest section and how did you overcome that? Did you retake or do well the first time around?
  • Allison MAllison M Alum Member Inactive Sage
    810 karma
    @Judyyyyy that's a hard question to answer concisely, but I'll try!

    I worked my way through the 7Sage ultimate curriculum before taking any PTs (other than the diagnostic). I then moved on to PTs. I did 2-3 per week (one on a Saturday morning to replicate test day; the other one or two whenever I could), and always included an experimental section from PTs 1-35. I also drilled sections throughout the week. Toward the end, I would try to set challenges for myself (for instance, completing sections in 30 minutes instead of 35).

    I also met with a study group once per week for the last two months leading up to test day. We would sit a PT together in a quiet (but not silent) part of the library and then BR it as a group. I really recommend doing this, if you can!

    To be honest, I made most of my gains during the course itself. I scored 156 on the experimental, and 175 on the first PT after finishing the curriculum. I don't know whether this is because I really took my time on the course (i.e., BR on all problem sets, fool proofing games, etc.), or whether it was some other factor. Regardless, it helped a lot.

    In the end, I completed all PTs available to me (at the time, 72 + 3 February tests) over a 5 month period.

    I don't know that I had one particularly weak section. LG was almost always my best, but LR and RC are tied for worst. I didn't really have a strategy for improvement, other than taking tests and doing BR. Sorry that I can't be more helpful on that front!

    I did retake the test once. I actually cancelled my September score, because I realized during the test that I had made a huge bubbling error -- one big enough that it would have made doing well pretty much impossible. Mostly, my studying from that point consisted of doing PTs to stay in the groove -- I wasn't too concerned with improving my score.

    I hope this answers your questions. If not, feel free to shoot me a message. I think I should point out that everyone is unique when it comes to studying for the LSAT, so don't be discouraged if what worked for me isn't working for you :)
  • Allison MAllison M Alum Member Inactive Sage
    810 karma
    @rachelHaw I'm going to assume that intermediate conclusion = major premise/sub-conclusion (the terms used by 7Sage). If that's incorrect, let me know!

    A sub-conclusion is something that receives support from a premise *and* is used to support the main conclusion of the argument. I could say:

    Anyone who has studied hard will do well on the LSAT. [premise]
    Rachel has studied hard. [premise]
    Therefore, she will do well on the LSAT. [intermediate/sub-conclusion]
    Everyone who does well on the LSAT gets into HYS. [premise]
    Therefore, Rachel will get into HYS. [main conclusion]

    The important thing is not where the sentences are relative to each other, but rather which direction the support flows. To figure this out, think to yourself: why do I know X to be true? To use the above example: why do we know Rachel will get into HYS? Because she's done well on the LSAT, and everyone who does well on the LSAT gets into HYS. Now, ask yourself why we know she'll do well on the LSAT. Because she studied hard, and everyone who studies hard does well.

    I find that thinking about it this way can really help untangle the relationships between argument parts. It doesn't matter whether we put "Rachel will get into HYS" first or last; all of the premises still flow toward that conclusion. Some premises also give support to the fact that she'll do well on the LSAT, which is how we know that this, too, is a conclusion.

    Get it? I hope that this makes things clearer... and even more than that, I hope I haven't confused you even further!
  • tsamvelyantsamvelyan Alum Member
    431 karma
    Same here. I think my strongest points has become logic (embedded conditions, contrapositives) and etc....if any of you have questions on that stuff, feel free to tag me.
  • SapphireSapphire Alum Member
    289 karma
    is there a way in which we can skype with you at a specific time? that's if you're open to that.
  • Allison MAllison M Alum Member Inactive Sage
    810 karma
    @Sapphire shoot me a PM and we can discuss
  • AlejandroAlejandro Member Inactive ⭐
    2424 karma
    When I become a Sage (I will), I will follow your footsteps ;). You're awesome!
  • JudyyyyyJudyyyyy Alum Member
    136 karma
    @Allison M wow! A 175 on your first PT after learning the basics is awesome! Also, sadly, not very relatable. lol

    Scoring in that range, it seems like your RC and LR scores were pretty spectacular to begin with. But in your opinion, how did you improve your RC skills?
  • Allison MAllison M Alum Member Inactive Sage
    810 karma
    @Judyyyyy, that's another hard one to answer!

    In LR, I spent some time working on my weakest question types (parallel/parallel flaw). I also lost points through misreading question stems, so I worked on slowing down and double checking that I was reading everything correctly.

    How I improved in RC is somewhat unclear to me. I think that doing so many RC passages helped me learn to read for tone (always my weakest question type), points of view, structure, etc. instead of getting too bogged down in the details of a passage.

    At the end of the day, I really think it's just a matter of practice (and review). But everyone's learning style is different, so I encourage others to chime in with their recommendations!
  • Allison MAllison M Alum Member Inactive Sage
    810 karma
    Hey all,

    Just a quick note to let you know that I'm retiring from the 7Sage community. I've taken a job teaching the LSAT for a competing company, and a condition of my employment is that I not provide LSAT assistance outside of my classroom/tutoring sessions. It's a huge bummer.

    Good luck to you all! I'll be back as soon as my non-compete expires...
  • LSATislandLSATisland Free Trial Inactive Sage
    1878 karma
    Good luck, @"Allison M"

    I'll just comment that I am available to help as much as I can. I'm a private LSAT tutor so I don't have any non-compete issues :) I might not be on this forum as much as some others (I'm currently finishing up 1L and preparing for final exams), but when I am here I am happy to help as much as I can.

    You can also feel free to PM me if you need help with anything, and I'll respond when I am on the forum.
  • emli1000emli1000 Alum Member Inactive ⭐
    3462 karma
    The good ones go if you wait too long :( lol

    Good luck Allison! and thanks for all of the advise.
  • inactiveinactive Alum Member
    12637 karma
    Congrats and good luck, @"Allison M" ! Hope you go far. We still love you here at 7Sage.
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  • Nilesh SNilesh S Alum Inactive ⭐
    3438 karma
    Best of luck @"Allison M"
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