Predicting Answers

Comments

• 1 Like

  Ron Swanson Alum Member Inactive ⭐

  September 2015 1650 karma

  Jsohn,
  
  For many questions, especially the toughest ones, I think it's very hard to consistently and reliably predict answer choices (so I've found).
  
  For these questions, I think using process of elimination in your best bet. Just envision J.Y.'s voice, like in the lessons, and efficiently analyze each answer choice and why it could be right or wrong. Often you'll be able to immediately get rid of 2 or even 3.
  
  Additionally, it's crucial to have a grasp of what the premise(s) and conclusion(s) of an argument are; these will guide you in your task of eliminating clearly wrong or slightly out of scope answers.
  
  Good luck in October!
• Alejandro Member Inactive ⭐

  September 2015 2424 karma

  Just have a good grasp of what the flaw is and go to the answer choices with an open mind! That should be enough. For questions like SA it is good to have a prediction of what the answer would be though.
• 1 Like

  c.janson35 Free Trial Inactive Sage Inactive ⭐

  September 2015 2398 karma

  Right, predicting answers really just means indentifying the flaw in the stimulus. Are you consistently analyzing the stimulus and identifying the flaw in the argument? This line of thinking is what will lead you to the correct answers.
• lpadr009 Free Trial Member

  September 2015 379 karma

  Predicting (esp in NA and strengthen) is good but have MULTIPLE FLAWS in mind, cuz there are so many, and the answer WILL be the most obscure flaw in the hard ones.
• 4 Likes

  gs556 Member Inactive Sage

  September 2015 568 karma

  Pro tip: You don't need to predict right answers. When I was studying I rarely tried to predict right answers. Instead, I relied on process-of-elimination to quickly strike out the wrong choices and then made an educated guess based on what was left.
• nye8870 Alum ⭐

  September 2015 1749 karma

  @gs556 said:
  I relied on process-of-elimination to quickly strike out the wrong choices and then made an educated guess based on what was left.
  

  Indeed, until you find you've struck out all five. Then you might want to have a vague idea of what the flaw is.
• gs556 Member Inactive Sage

  September 2015 edited September 2015 568 karma

  At 15 PTs it may still be a bit early to have developed the intuition necessary to have a general idea what the LSAT writers are doing/wanting on a given question. Focus on BR and watching the 7sage explanations for questions that are stumping you.
• NYC12345 Alum Inactive Sage

  September 2015 1654 karma

  @gs
• 1 Like

  c.janson35 Free Trial Inactive Sage Inactive ⭐

  September 2015 2398 karma

  @gs556 I have a feeling that you may be underestimating how often you "predicted" right answers. After all, predicting right answers doesn't mean guessing what form it will take; it's really just analyzing the argument up-front and having a solid understanding of it. Then, based on this, you'll know what you're looking for in the answer choices. For instance, if you see that an argument is taking the absence of proof for a theory as evidence of its falsity, you'll know what form the answer is going to take. You will have effectively predicted the right answer through analyzing it, even thought you didn't spend any time consciously predicting it. The two concepts are closely related, and by earning your high score I can't see how you wouldn't have at least subconsciously engaged in this process. It's probably what you're chalking up as intuition, but in order to develop this intuition for people who are learning the test, taking the time to analyze and make predictions really helps.
• 1 Like

  gs556 Member Inactive Sage

  September 2015 568 karma

  @c.janson35 you make a lot of great points.
  
  I'm just hesitant to the idea of a "prediction," because it really did feel more like an intuition to me. For example, when I would read an NA question, most of the time I really couldn't tell you what the right answer might look like until I saw the answer choices. In fact, that was true for a lot of question types.
  
  OP's experience may be different but I just want to let him know that it isn't a skill necessary to do well on this exam. Personally, I found more value in the skill of identifying wrong answer choices than in making predictions about what the right one would be.
• c.janson35 Free Trial Inactive Sage Inactive ⭐

  September 2015 2398 karma

  @gs556 yea I totally get where you're coming from because at this point, at least for me, it feels very intuitive. But I don't think this is something that is just natural at the start of prepping, and so forcing yourself to predict answers and to articulate flaws helps you sharpen this intuition, which is especially important for eliminating answer choices also because you have to have reasons for eliminating.
  
  And I've also found that the tougher NA are definitely ones that you don't prephrase and that you just know the right answer is correct when you read it. But if you don't have this intuition built up then it may take a little work to get it there. I'm just wary of telling people to rely on intuition because if it's a skill they don't have built up yet then it can be incredibly frustrating, and so I think articulating flaws and predicting/having an idea of what you're looking for--even if you're not correct in your prediction--can really help overcome this frustration.
• Jsohn001 Member

  September 2015 70 karma

  @c.janson35
  Thank you so much for the tidbits. I totally agree that intuition will take time. As long as I'm in the ballpark, it's a good start for me. Just got to keep on drilling and building that intuition. Thanks guys