Thanks 7Sage -- You've taught me LR

Stevie C · October 2016

Hello everyone,

I'm sort of cramming law school apps, since July is when I decided that I wanted to apply. I started using 7Sage in August.

In the beginning, I was about -3 or -4 per LR section, even with flexible timing. With JY's videos, he has helped me to master LR. On my last PT (I think it was # 61) I went -0 and -1 on the two LR sections, with time left over to spare.

I actually enjoy doing LR now. Every question is like a mini word puzzle

Thanks 7sage,
Steve

Sprinkles · October 2016

I really enjoy reading threads like these. Congrats man. https://i.imgur.com/IsZF8pX.gif

Alex · October 2016

@montaha.rizeq said:
I really enjoy reading threads like these. Congrats man.

Inspiration for sure!

Congrats, Steve!

Stevie C · October 2016

Thanks guys.

There used to be a few questions per section that I just didn't get, even during blind review... now, when I see a trap answer choice, I hear JY's voice saying "What?! Why do we care?! Oldest trick in the book!"

plutofireball21 · October 2016

Hi Steve!
Thanks for sharing! Congrats! So I am missing 4-6 per LR section. I was just wondering what your strategy was to have flawless LR sections? That would be a dream come true if I could see a flawless section! Thanks

Sprinkles · October 2016

@"Stevie C" said:
now, when I see a trap answer choice, I hear JY's voice saying "What?! Why do we care?! Oldest trick in the book!"

HAHA that's literally the key to success on the LSAT.

Stevie C · October 2016

@dannyshaw said:
Hi Steve!
Thanks for sharing! Congrats! So I am missing 4-6 per LR section. I was just wondering what your strategy was to have flawless LR sections? That would be a dream come true if I could see a flawless section! Thanks

Hi Danny, I'm no expert, but a few things

1) Speed is key. Like JY says, you get 2 chances at every question: finding the right answer and eliminating the wrong answers (aka POE). However, most people only have time for one pass, which wastes their potential second pass. If you get fast enough, then you can take 2 passes and greatly increase your chances of a right answer. The biggest benefit of PTs for me has been increased speed.

2) Reading comprehension. Better vocabulary and reading skills will enable you to read the stimulus once and usually get what it means (sometimes I do read it twice, but only on hard questions). Therefore, I think drilling RC could have spillover effects into LR.

3) Question type. If you can't identify the question type (weakening, necessary assumption, etc.) within a few seconds, then it will be hard for you to get -0 on LR. You won't have enough time.

4) Core curriculum. If you're getting questions wrong during BR, it's worth checking out again.

5) Serious reflection. You have to think about what you got wrong, why you got it wrong, and how to prevent it in the future (I guess this applies to all LSAT sections and probably life in general)

Alex · October 2016

@"Stevie C" said:
1) Speed is key. Like JY says, you get 2 chances at every question: finding the right answer and eliminating the wrong answers (aka POE). However, most people only have time for one pass, which wastes their potential second pass. If you get fast enough, then you can take 2 passes and greatly increase your chances of a right answer. The biggest benefit of PTs for me has been increased speed.

2) Reading comprehension. Better vocabulary and reading skills will enable you to read the stimulus once and usually get what it means (sometimes I do read it twice, but only on hard questions). Therefore, I think drilling RC could have spillover effects into LR.

3) Question type. If you can't identify the question type (weakening, necessary assumption, etc.) within a few seconds, then it will be hard for you to get -0 on LR. You won't have enough time.

4) Core curriculum. If you're getting questions wrong during BR, it's worth checking out again.

5) Serious reflection. You have to think about what you got wrong, why you got it wrong, and how to prevent it in the future (I guess this applies to all LSAT sections and probably life in general)

Great advice and very well said!

I love #4 Returning to the CC! This has been what has helped my score in LR go from missing 6 down to about 3 per section.

cam · October 2016

@"Stevie C" said:
I hear JY's voice saying "What?! Why do we care?! Oldest trick in the book!"

I have had that experience since getting into the CC. Looking over previous PT's, a significant amount of my wrong answers in LR (weakening type comes to mind) were those options.

LSATaker · October 2016

Hi,

Can I ask a question too?
How many hours did you study per day&how many questions or PTs did you take before you come to this result?
So nice&congrats

Stevie C · November 2016

@LSATaker said:
Can I ask a question too?
How many hours did you study per day&how many questions or PTs did you take before you come to this result?
So nice&congrats

I did 10 PTs. Plus, I did the core curriculum. I'm still learning, though. I plan to do 8 more PTs throughout the month of November and then try the December test.

I quit my job a few months ago so I've been studying 6+ hours per day for the last few months

Cant Get Right · November 2016

@"Stevie C" said:
5) Serious reflection. You have to think about what you got wrong, why you got it wrong, and how to prevent it in the future (I guess this applies to all LSAT sections and probably life in general)

Amen.

tams2018 · November 2016

Sage excellence.

notguilty90 · November 2016

Hi

Any advice for increasing speed? I normally run out of time as I get to Q19-20 (21-22 once in a while). My accuracy is acceptable (-2 to -4 on those attempted) but not getting to those last questions, which I would get right have I had more time, really hurts my overall score. I haven't tried hustling for speed so much though as you mentioned which I should try! Any other advice is appreciated!

Congrats on this achievement and best of luck in December

Stevie C · November 2016

@notguilty90 said:
Any advice for increasing speed? I normally run out of time as I get to Q19-20 (21-22 once in a while). My accuracy is acceptable (-2 to -4 on those attempted) but not getting to those last questions, which I would get right have I had more time, really hurts my overall score. I haven't tried hustling for speed so much though as you mentioned which I should try! Any other advice is appreciated!

I think you would improve by doing PTs. The "easy" questions initially took me 90+ seconds to get right. By my 10th PT, they were so familiar that I could usually get them right within 60 seconds. There are still several questions per LR section that stump me a bit, but I have a time buffer to think them through. For some people it could take them a different number of PTs to get the point where they finish in 35 minutes, but generally I think PTs (plus BR and watching explanation videos) would improve speed

orangebeer · November 2016

Hi,

So do you read all answer choices in easy questions or just pick the one you felt right?
I guess you read all answer choices on hard ones but what about for easy ones?
And in long stimulus do you actually read all of them or just skim over the context and focus on only the argument parts?

Stevie C · November 2016

@orangebeer said:
So do you read all answer choices in easy questions or just pick the one you felt right?
I guess you read all answer choices on hard ones but what about for easy ones?
And in long stimulus do you actually read all of them or just skim over the context and focus on only the argument parts?

1) I always read the whole stimulus. I don't see a way around this -- how can we determine that a sentence is context if we haven't read it? If the stimulus is very long, it might be worth skipping the question. But -- when you ultimately attempt that question, you'd still need to read the stimulus.

2) Whether you read all answer choices or move on is a strategy decision. One consideration is if you usually finish the section within 35 minutes: if not, then you probably can't afford to keep reading answer choices. Another consideration is how many choices are left. If I'm 90% sure on A, is it worth reading 4 more answers to gain a tiny bit more certainty? Not if it comes at the cost of attempting other questions. On the flip side, if I'm 70% sure on D, then I'm definitely reading E.

Cant Get Right · November 2016

@"Stevie C" said:
Whether you read all answer choices or move on is a strategy decision. One consideration is if you usually finish the section within 35 minutes: if not, then you probably can't afford to keep reading answer choices. Another consideration is how many choices are left. If I'm 90% sure on A, is it worth reading 4 more answers to gain a tiny bit more certainty? Not if it comes at the cost of attempting other questions. On the flip side, if I'm 70% sure on D, then I'm definitely reading E.

I was typing this out when I realized @"Stevie C" had beaten me to it. This is how you increase speed @notguilty90 and @orangebeer . By combining this with a well executed skipping strategy, I consistently finished LR with 10 minutes to spare. With 10 minutes left, I am able to get the easy points out of the way and whittle the test down to fewer questions which I can precisely prioritize in order to maximize my points. If there was one I skipped entirely, that's my best opportunity for points. If there's three more where I'm only 50%, 70%, and 90% confident on respectively, I start with the 50% and work my way up. If I don't make it to the 90% where I didn't read all of the answer choices, then fine. I'm 90% confident I had it right anyway, and I'm sure glad I had that time elsewhere. I don't want to lose the chance to bump the 50% up to 100% because I spent it bumping 90% to 100%. I just netted a 40% loss in that exchange.

notguilty90 · November 2016

@"Cant Get Right"
I know what you mean and usually I dont think twice when I see an answer that matches my prephrase or hits the spot; I choose and move on...
However, sometimes I catch myself spending huge amounts of time dwelling on 2-3 remaining choices... Do you suggest I abondon and move on despite the time I already invested into the question? What if there is no time to return at the end to complete it? And how exactly do you recognize a question as "skipable" or hard?
Im really stuck on doing 18 questions and the 7 questions I dont get to could really boost me up if I can get to them

It would be a dream to get to everything without even time to spare lol
Do u think i should just prep LR sections alone to get better? Something like the first 10 Q's in 10 mins, etc...?
Thanks

Cant Get Right · November 2016

@notguilty90 said:
sometimes I catch myself spending huge amounts of time dwelling on 2-3 remaining choices... Do you suggest I abondon and move on despite the time I already invested into the question? What if there is no time to return at the end to complete it? And how exactly do you recognize a question as "skipable" or hard?

My favorite way to ID skip questions is when I read the stimulus and can't quite process what I just read, I skip immediately. That turns a question I'm likely to struggle with, potentially burning lots of time on, into one I spent -30 seconds on. For me, even the potential to be a time sink is enough to skip a question. By the time I've read the stimulus, I can pretty accurately gauge the potential. If there's moderate to high potential, I just go ahead and skip it. Maybe I could answer it fast. If that's the case, great. I'll knock it out fast on my second pass.

And yes, if you do get bogged down and are unable to choose an answer, you need to cut your losses. The faster the better so don't agonize over it. For me, if I read through the answer choices and then haven't made any progress on choosing between my contenders within about 20 seconds, it's time to go.

@notguilty90 said:
Do u think i should just prep LR sections alone to get better? Something like the first 10 Q's in 10 mins, etc...?

Yeah, the only way to develop a section strategy is to drill sections, so definitely do that. 10 in 10 is a great start, just make sure that you realize that that includes skips. So if you answer 9 and skip 1 in 10 minutes, mission accomplished. Setting a timer for 25 minutes and attempting 25 in 25 is a great exercise as well. It will force you to skip if you still find you are reluctant.

wilderness · November 2016

@"Stevie C" said:
I hear JY's voice saying "What?! Why do we care?! Oldest trick in the book!"

Oh god I love this. Or when you see a right answer and go there ya go C is the correct choice xD

Hilarious. JY is a god

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Thanks 7Sage -- You've taught me LR

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