Introducing a change in logic games approach

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• 1 Like

  wf2191 Alum Member

  December 2014 9 karma

  Why are you solving for all possible worlds up front? That takes far too much time, and they wont even ask you questions about several of the scenarios. Instead, let each question's local rule (if x is 3rd... etc.) determine what scenarios you write out.
• olennkka Alum Member

  December 2014 48 karma

  I can relate to this as well. I usually try to do as much work I can up front and sometimes there is a big payoff ( I can power through the questions very quickly), but other times I need to recopy the relevant gameboard over and apply the question's local rule anyway-- and the intital work ends up being a big waste of time. I find it hard to distinguish when to solve for all possible worlds, and when to go into the questions after just making sure I have a good understanding of how the rules interact.
• Matt1234567 Inactive ⭐

  December 2014 1294 karma

  I've heard of that method, and one of the classes I took coined it the "exhaustive approach." It's a really good drill to do when you're reviewing, but not so wise when you're under timed conditions. Knowing all the possible sets/worlds to a game will greatly help you with your inference abilities which you can carry into the test. Try just trusting your game board and go with your gut feelings, and leave the other approach for when you're reviewing.
• alexroark5 Alum Member Inactive ⭐

  December 2014 812 karma

  Hey sunflower, you really shouldn't, in my opinion, solve for all possible worlds when there are more than 6 worlds. However, when there are more than 6 worlds you can identify several basic templates that capture the basics of all possibilities (even though it doesn't take all possibilities to completion). This approach can be extremely useful as well. So don't forget that you have this third option that is in between the two options you speak of.
• 3 Likes

  Jonathan Wang Yearly Sage ⭐

  December 2014 edited December 2014 6874 karma

  Regardless of what the 'best' way is to do things, you won't fix this in six days. If you're dead set on taking the December, DO NOT change what you're doing five days before test day - all you'll do is confuse yourself. What you're doing now may not be the best way, but changing it around this close to the test will almost assuredly make it worse.
  
  If you're open to a retake or to pushing the test date, however, you will want to practice limiting your game board splitting and playing more of the games in your imagination. Start with games that have "easy"/"obvious" splits and see whether you can get by with just one or two more general game boards, instead of 4 or 6 or 8 scenarios. Get some experience playing into 'empty' game boards and being okay with the uncertainty, even if you feel like it'd be faster for you if you just wrote it all out. If you never practice and never push your boundaries, you'll never develop the skills necessary for you to transition to that higher tier of understanding.
  
  Rule of thumb - you never have to brute force the LSAT like that. There is an elegant solution for everything you encounter; your task is to find it. Get in this mindset and practice hard!