Misreading LSAT Questions

Comments

• jdawg113 Alum Inactive ⭐

  March 2015 2654 karma

  Would really say just keep going at it untimed, take your time to really break down each stimulus as you go and sort out the context, premise and conclusions. If you are misreading I would think you are going too fast and/or not recognizing the different parts of the stim
• kclubs323 Alum Member Inactive ⭐

  March 2015 275 karma

  If you're misreading the question stem, then you may not have a solid grasp of what your task is and how you are supposed to complete the task. Assuming that you've completed the course, you may want to revisit the lessons going over each question type to confirm your understanding of the different question types and how you're supposed to tackle them.
  This video may also be helpful for you:
  http://7sage.com/lesson/lr-question-stem-grouped-by-direction-of-support/
• JustDoIt Alum Member ⭐

  March 2015 edited March 2015 3112 karma

  When I approach a question untimed, it really helps me if I am relaxed and composed before I try and attack it. Then when I do, I try and remember some of the key parts of the lessons, such as negating answer choices for NA questions. Also, during untimed, I try and get in between the premise and the conclusion as much as possible in order to try exploit the flaw or whatever else the question is asking
• 1 Like

  emli1000 Alum Member Inactive ⭐

  March 2015 3462 karma

  When you BR untimed write out why each answer choice is incorrect and why 1 is correct.
• 4 Likes

  alexroark5 Alum Member Inactive ⭐

  March 2015 edited March 2015 812 karma

  @matthewllc
  When it comes to reading LR questions, I've derived a very formulaic system.
  
  Step 1: Read the stem and understand whether you will be reading a set of facts or an actual argument. (approx 1/3 of LR questions will be a set of facts and approx 2/3 will contain an argument).
  
  IF IT IS A SET OF FACTS:
  
  These questions should be gimmes for the most part. Generally they break down into two general situations.
  
  Situation 1: only a small portion of the stimulus will be relevant (as little as one sentence out of the 4 or 5 that are in the stimulus. These can be somewhat time consuming since the relevant portion of the stimulus represents only a small percentage of the total stimulus and often demands revisiting the stimulus.
  
  Situation 2: the fact sets will relate to one another and form a logical chain. These are often very easy to pre-phrase and answer quickly.
  
  IF IT IS AN ARGUMENT:
  
  In these stimuli, all content can be categorized into one of three different categories:
  1. background/contextual information (sometimes you need it to understand the stimulus better, other times it is completely irrelevant and can cause inexperienced test takers to waste time deciphering their meaning.
  2. premises and intermediate conclusions that support the main conclusion
  3. main conclusion
  
  If nothing else, after your first read through of the stimulus you should be able to have identified the argument's overall conclusion. Then locate the support for the conclusion and immediately force yourself to remember that the premises will NEVER adequately support the conclusion. This is where it is CRITICAL to go through the beginning of JY's course where he goes over all the grammar lessons (referential phrasing, embedded clauses, language key terms that indicate premises and conclusions, etc.) This will be key to accurately reading the stimuli in a manner that is expedient without sacrificing comprehension. The better you are able to see the conclusion and the premises that support that conclusion, and ignore/not waste time trying to understand the irrelevant portions of the stimulus, the quicker you will be able to eliminate wrong answer choices. So much of timing in the LR section is being able to realize when you no longer have to read a loser answer choice. You want to realize as quickly as possible when an answer choice has no chance of being correct (for example in principle questions when the stimulus conclusion is presented as a sufficient condition in an answer choice).
  
  Hope this helps you! Best of luck.
• Matthew LLC Free Trial Member

  March 2015 114 karma

  Thanks for the responses everyone. @alexroark5 I'm going to try that. I'll start breaking up every argument in search for their premises and conclusions. I've been trying to keep all of the information in my head, but I think staying organized is more logical. Thanks for the post.
• 1 Like

  nicole.hopkins Inactive Sage Inactive ⭐

  March 2015 7965 karma

  @alexroark5 that reads like an airtight synthesis of 7sage, the Trainer, and the better points of Powerscore ("losers"). You brought all of my worlds together. And I feel whole.
  
  Srsly though great summary/analysis.
• 1 Like

  alexroark5 Alum Member Inactive ⭐

  March 2015 812 karma

  @nicole.hopkins haha indeed, those have been my primary studying materials!
• 1 Like

  nicole.hopkins Inactive Sage Inactive ⭐

  March 2015 7965 karma

  @alexroark5 I knew it—you and I have the same "accent"
• VegMeg55 Alum Member Inactive ⭐

  April 2015 587 karma

  I totally understand the frustration of misreading questions. There was once a question about a raise in the ceiling of halibut catches (meaning the quantity of halibut caught) but from the stimulus I thought it was a device used to catch halibut and the ceiling of this fish-catching device was being raised. It's safe to say I totally missed the question and *facepalmed* harder than ever when I realized the actual intent of the question. But I'm vegan and don't eat fish so that's probably why I missed the question. Not because of um... stupidity.
• 1 Like

  kraft.phillip Free Trial Member Inactive Sage

  April 2015 444 karma

  Misreading questions is the most clear indication that some external causality is impacting your studying and focus. Things we often take for granted or ignore, such as sleeping sufficiently, ensuring we eat good food and are exercising, having not too much or not too little caffeine in our systems (depending on your personal habits) are all things I would examine in your situation. I tracked the amount of sleep I was getting, and it correlated positively with my LSAT PT scores. Another cause you might consider is burn out, but in my experience, the solution to burn out is to eat better, sleep better, exercise better, etc. anyway.
• nicole.hopkins Inactive Sage Inactive ⭐

  April 2015 edited April 2015 7965 karma

  Sage (O, pun!) input from @kraft.phillip .
  
  Bulletproof coffee, folks. MCT's are good for the body and the mind. Eat some chia seeds. Drink some alkaline water (no, you don't drink enough unless you're a hydration freak—you know who you are). Full fat, high protein. Keep fiber intake at a minimum of 25g a day. Just eat real food. These things sustain brainpower, keep energy levels consistent, and promote gut health. Grab some kombucha while you're at it (but make sure it's the kind without added cane sugar—I did NOT say seek out fermented/pro-biotic soda pop).
  
  Oh, and bacon.
• 1 Like

  emli1000 Alum Member Inactive ⭐

  April 2015 3462 karma

  @nicole.hopkins turkey bacon perhaps? lol