Learning Wrong Questions

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• 6 Likes

  BinghamtonDave Alum Member ⭐ 🍌🍌

  September 2018 8716 karma

  Read it and pull apart the premise, conclusion, any assumptions and what the credited response does between 15 and 20 times. Set a 45 minute timer. Sit with the problem and pull it apart, watch the explanation on 7Sage, engage with the responses on the video's comment section: you will be surprise how many people have had the same problems you might be having with the problem and have received an answer. Try to apply that form to future questions.
  So for instance, I missed PT 77-4-13. I did this question 30 times, spent 90 minutes on it. When I came across 80-1-22, I knew the form from my previous mistake and was able to answer that question in 29 seconds. It is the small victories that count.

  I hope this helps, feel free to reach out with any further questions
  David
• BinghamtonDave Alum Member ⭐ 🍌🍌

  September 2018 8716 karma

  I should add here that pulling apart a question like this helps not only with the underlying form of that specific argument, but also lends strength to our general approach toward future, different problems.
• Trusttheprocess Member

  September 2018 776 karma

  I agree with @BinghamtonDave! The LSAT is all about those small victories.
• jkjohnson1991 Alum Member

  September 2018 766 karma

  @BinghamtonDave
  Just to be clear, are you saying you do the pulling apart 15-20 times within the 45 minutes that you set time for? Thanks in advance, this post was great for me.
• 1 Like

  BinghamtonDave Alum Member ⭐ 🍌🍌

  September 2018 8716 karma

  @jkjohnson1991 yes. Sit with the argument and do it several times. Each time trying to get a layer deeper in the reasoning. So I look at it like this:
  Reads 1 and 2: find premise and conclusion, pay attention to indicator words and ways in which the argument introduces concepts like correlation etc.
  Reads 3,4,5: take the premise and conclusion and try to phrase a possible assumption: something that is being assumed in the background in order for the premise to support the conclusion. This step I am also trying to frame the argument in a cookie-cutter way: phenomena hypothesis, analogy etc.
  Read 6:reread putting it all together and the task of the question stem take that and eliminate an answer choice. give a reason why
  Read 7:reread putting it all together and the task of the question stem take that understanding and eliminate another answer choice. give a reason why
  Read 8:reread/ take that understanding of the argument and eliminate another choice. give a reason why
  Read 9: take that understanding of the argument and eliminate the last incorrect answer choice. give a reason why
  Read 10: read the stimulus and answer choice and question stem, try to find out what the correct answer choice does: for instance: provides alternative hypothesis, thus weakens the argument
  Reads 11+: watch video, interact with comments, see where others struggled, maybe even consult the superprep book if available.
  Reads 15+: relate the question to other questions that contain its unique pattern

  It is arduous, for sure, but I started barely being able to break 140: didn't even bother taking a diagnostic because my LR was so bad. Take 62-2-5, what are the possible flaws here? What is a necessary assumption? What are the premise and conclusion, does it conform to a cookie cutter type of question? Is the conclusion prescriptive? is the conclusion strong?

  I have found that doing hundreds of questions like this, each time doing a single operation: finding the premise/conclusion structure, allowed me to get sharp enough at these operations that I can do them all at once in 1 or 2 reads, on a timed fresh section. Inch by inch my friend.

  Hope this helps, the approach might not be for everyone.
  David
• jkjohnson1991 Alum Member

  September 2018 766 karma

  Much appreciated!