Posts Tagged LSAT Tips
Ye Olde’ Last Minute LSAT Tips for the June LSAT
Posted by noah@manhattanlsat.com in LSAT Prep, LSAT Tips, Uncategorized on June 1st, 2010
If you’re having a bit of an LSAT freak-out, take a break from your umpteenth preptest, stop negating assumptions and talking about contrapositives. Drink some tea (not Long Island), and read some tips:
Final tips from people other than your mother
Tips for chilling out and getting YOUR best score
What to do the night before the LSAT
LSAT Weaken Questions – Logical Reasoning
Posted by dan@atlaslsat.com in LSAT content, LSAT Tips on November 13th, 2009
Weaken questions can operate in a few different ways. Let’s look at some examples.
Sep 09 Exam, Section 4, #2
Here’s the basic logic given in the argument:
You can always keep your hands warm by putting on extra layers of clothing (clothing that keeps the vital organs warm).
THUS, to keep your hands warm in the winter, you never need gloves or mittens.
This argument is a sound argument – no flaws or assumptions. If you have another option for keeping your hands warm, then you never truly need gloves or mittens.
In this case, the correct answer actually attacks the main premise. The correct answer says that sometimes (when it’s really really cold) putting extra layers of clothing on actually is not enough to keep your hands warm. Notice how this contradicts the premise. So, to weaken an argument you can attack a supporting premise.
ANSWER TYPE 1: attack a premise
Sep 09 Exam, Section 4, #10
Here’s the basic logic given in the argument:
Most people don’t eat enough fruits and vegetables to get their daily requirement for vitamins.
THUS, most people need to supplement with vitamin pills.
This argument is NOT a sound argument. It makes a pretty big assumption: People can’t fulfill their daily requirement of vitamins using some other source aside from vitamin pills.
The correct answer could attack this assumption by negating it: People CAN fulfill their daily requirement of vitamins using some other source aside from vitamin pills. This would definitely weaken the argument. However, it’s more likely that the correct answer will be a little tougher to spot. Instead of just outright negating the assumption, it will probably give an example of a source of vitamins other than pills. This is exactly what the correct answer does in this case. It says that many foods that aren’t fruits and vegetables have the vitamins that fruits and vegetables have. This obviously weakens the claim that you would need pills to get those vitamins.
In this case, the correct answer attacks an assumption by introducing a counter premise. In order to see it, you’ve got to be able to spot the assumption first.
ANSWER TYPE 2: attack assumption through counter premise
Jun 09, Section 2, #9
In this case, a single claim is made without any supporting premise:
Reducing meat consumption will not significantly reduce world hunger.
In this case, the answer won’t attack a premise because there isn’t one. It’s hard to attack an assumption because we don’t have a P - C relationship (assumptions usually lie between the premise and conclusion). So, this must be a different type.
Here, the correct answer simply raises a counter premise, an outside fact that seems to indicate that the claim could be wrong: The amount of land needed to raise meat for one person could grow enough grain to feed 10 people. If this were true, maybe, just maybe, we could put a dent in world hunger by eating less meat.
ANSWER TYPE 3: introduce a counter premise.
To see if you’ve got it, take a look at section 3 (LR) of the Sep 09 exam, #24. Which of these three types is it?
Assumptions and Flaws: Focus on the Argument Engine
Posted by dan@atlaslsat.com in LSAT content, LSAT Prep, LSAT Tips on October 13th, 2009
Do you struggle with assumption and flaw questions? Do you often choose answers that seem right, or relevant, but end up being wrong? This may help.
Consider the following argument:
Many respected entrepreneurs assert that insufficient capital, capital required to cover operating expenses in addition to initial start-up costs, is inevitably a factor in the failure of start-up businesses. However, all of the failed start-ups with which I’ve been involved have failed as a result of executives’ lack of expertise in the product or service that the company provides. Thus, insufficient capital is not a factor in causing start-up businesses to fail.
If this were followed by a question that asked you to choose an assumption, this would be a pretty tough question. The average test-taker attempts to memorize, or “learn” the entire argument, and then gets distracted by answer choices that seem relevant to some particular part of the argument that ends up not mattering so much. This leads to wrong answers.
The strong test-taker has a clearer sense for what we’ll call “the argument engine,” and knows that everything else will likely just provide a context for that engine. The correct answer will usually relate or connect the two parts of the engine. The incorrect answers will generally sit outside the engine – irrelevant. So, what’s this engine thing all about?
Let’s turn this argument on its head and start over.
We spend a lot of time deconstructing arguments. Let’s try looking at things in reverse order. Let’s actually construct this argument from the ground up. We’ll start with the conclusion:
Insufficient capital is not a factor in causing start-up businesses to fail.
Now, let’s add a premise to support this conclusion:
All of the failed start-ups with which I’ve been involved have failed as a result of executives’ lack of expertise in the product or service that the company provides. Thus, insufficient capital is not a factor in causing start-up businesses to fail.
To make this argument more LSAT-like, we’ll add an opposing point to the beginning:
Many respected entrepreneurs assert that insufficient capital is inevitably a factor in the failure of start-up businesses. However, all of the failed start-ups with which I’ve been involved have failed as a result of executives’ lack of expertise in the product or service that the company provides. Thus, insufficient capital is not a factor in causing start-up businesses to fail.
Let’s put in some background information, just to add some more language:
Many respected entrepreneurs assert that insufficient capital, capital required to cover operating expenses in addition to initial start-up costs, is inevitably a factor in the failure of start-up businesses. However, all of the failed start-ups with which I’ve been involved have failed as a result of executives’ lack of expertise in the product or service that the company provides. Thus, insufficient capital is not a factor in causing start-up businesses to fail.
Now we have a full argument. Notice that the more we add the more confusing things become. The more words we read, the less we’re able to focus on the things that really matter.
To fight through the confusion, try thinking of the LSAT argument as a car. The engine is the most important part of the car; it makes the car go. The chassis of the car simply provides a frame, or a context, for the engine.
Likewise, the most important part of an LSAT argument, the engine of the argument, is the simple relationship between one supporting premise and one final conclusion: P à C. Everything else, opposing point and background information, simply provides a frame or a context for this simple relationship.
Let’s go back to the example we introduced above. Before we added the opposing point and the background information things were pretty simple, right? We had one simple premise leading to one conclusion:
All of the failed start-ups with which I’ve been involved have failed as a result of executives’ lack of expertise in the product or service that the company provides. Thus, insufficient capital is not a factor in causing start-up businesses to fail.
This is the engine of the argument! We can paraphrase it:
start-ups I’ve seen failed b/c of lack of expertise –> thus, lack of capital not a cause of failure
When we see the engine, or core, of the argument in simple terms, any flaws, gaps, or assumptions become more obvious. In this case, the author assumes that there cannot be more than one reason why a start-up fails.
If you have trouble with assumptions and flaws, try focusing on the engine. Try constructing the argument from the ground up: find the conclusion, find the one premise that directly supports this conclusion, and then recognize that everything else just provides a context for this engine that you’ve just identified.
Once you have your engine, you’ve defined the scope of the argument. The correct answer will generally fall within the scope of the engine.
(ADVANCED NOTE: Sometimes more difficult questions involve a three-part engine: premise –> intermediate conclusion –> conclusion. In a case such as this, you’ll need to examine the logic in two parts. First, look at the premise –> intermediate conclusion relationship. Is there a gap or assumption made in this part of the engine? Next, look at the intermediate conclusion –> conclusion part of the engine and ask yourself the same question. The simple difference here is that there are actually TWO engines at work. You’ll want to check both of them.)
Final LSAT Tips
Posted by noah@manhattanlsat.com in LSAT Tips on September 25th, 2009
I thought I would add one more tip to a previous posting full of tips for those about to go and take the LSAT: http://www.atlaslsat.com/blog/index.php/2009/06/03/final-lsat-tips/
Bring some light warm-up LSAT material with you to the testing center. I suggest bringing some tough questions that you completely mastered. Before you enter the testing center, just run through the questions one last time, toss the paper into the recycling bin and head to your room. Don’t bother checking your work. The reason to do this is that you don’t want to use the first section of the test as your warm-up. You want your logical thinking already moving when you start section 1. The brain is a muscle, so warm it up just like you would your legs.
And I stand behind my night-before-the-LSAT recommendation: Legally Blonde, 1 or 2.
Good luck!
Reading Comprehension: Your Opportunity to Lap the Field
Posted by dan@atlaslsat.com in LSAT content, LSAT Prep on August 18th, 2009
If you’re an LSAT forum poster/reader, you know that the good majority (almost all, in fact) of content-related LSAT posts focus on Logic Games and Logical Reasoning. This makes perfect sense. It’s easy to submit a post about a setup for a tough logic game, and it’s very easy to discuss the underlying logic present in one short LR question. LG and LR questions come in nice, neat packages. They are forum-friendly. Additionally, future LSAT test-takers seem to see and appreciate the immediate impact of a well-designed setup or a clever way to think about a piece of LR logic. The payoff is quick, and often immediate.
Reading comprehension, on the other hand, is messy. In order to have a serious, in-depth discussion about an RC passage, everyone in the conversation needs to be coming directly from a focused read of the passage. It doesn’t work to try to remember back to the passage, or to read a quick summary. For this reason, not many like to talk about it or ask about it. It’s inconvenient. Furthermore, there never seems to be a quick, easy payoff when it comes to RC. There’s not one inference that can be made to change confusion to understanding, there’s no quick gimmick that can be posted concisely to help someone become a better reader. There’s simply no quick fix, no immediate gratification. So why spend time on it? Most people don’t.
These are the people you are competing against. The better you do relative to them, the higher your LSAT score. Make their RC weakness your strength and you’ll put yourself in a position to gain upwards of 4 raw points on the field. Before you decide to make RC your LSAT version of a powerful forehand, you need to be in the right mindset.
1. Focus on the long-term, not the short-term. RC improvement does not come easily, and it certainly doesn’t come immediately. Be prepared for a long, tough slog. It may take 3 weeks, or 5 weeks, or 7 weeks, but if you’re diligent and focused, you CAN make significant improvements over the long-term.
2. Reading comprehension tests your ability to read. Go figure! This may seem obvious, but it’s something that most people don’t want to acknowledge. A lot of test-takers look for shortcuts, skimming techniques, or tricks in order to get better at RC (if they try at all). The problem with these approaches is that they intentionally avoid the part of reading comprehension that really matters: reading! It’s not about whether you read the questions first or the passage first, it’s not about the order in which you take the questions, and it’s not about coming up with some scheme to read only topic sentences and skip the rest to save time. It’s about reading well. You must confront this task head-on. If you are going to improve your RC score, you need to improve (and in many cases change) the way you read.
So, how do you become a better reader? As you evaluate your current reading skills, consider the following statements. Do any of these sound familiar?
1. I have difficulty absorbing all the information in the passage.
2. I have difficulty understanding all the details (especially all the science related details).
3. I have a difficult time deciding what to underline. Or, I end up with 80% of the passage underlined when I’m finished.
4. Reading the passage takes me way too long.
If any one (or more) of these defines your reading, you are most likely having trouble distinguishing the “important” information from the “unimportant” information. You are attempting to absorb everything instead of focusing on what really matters. If you can learn to make this distinction effectively and efficiently, that 4-point advantage will be yours for the taking.
I know what you’re thinking: “Tell me how!” If you’re looking for an easy answer here, you’re falling into the quick-fix trap. It’s going to take more than that. It’s going to take a sustained effort and focus. That said, here are a few ideas to get you started:
1. To figure out what’s “important” information and what’s not, consider the purpose of the LSAT. Why do law schools require you to take the LSAT? One reason: the LSAT is designed to predict how good of a law student you will be. It should not be surprising, then, that most LSAT reading passages are mini representations of the types of reading you will do in law school. Imagine for a second that you are a first-year law student and you’ve been assigned a case to read. Tomorrow, you’ll have to stand in front of your peers and your professor and distill the 100 plus pages of text you’ve read down to a succinct analysis of the case. Clearly, you won’t be able to regurgitate, or even remember for that matter, all 100 plus pages. How will you separate the important information form the unimportant? If you can figure this out, it should help you think about RC passages in a new way.
2. Become an active reader. You can’t read like you watch TV. The LSAT will not present information in commercial form, with a clear, ready-to-digest message. Rather, you’ll achieve success only if you read actively. Research shows that expert readers are active readers. They approach the text with a clear focus and purpose, they constantly evaluate their state of comprehension, and they constantly anticipate what might come next in the text.
So, learn to distinguish between the important and the unimportant information, and then read actively to pursue this information in the text. These are the first few steps on the path to RC success.
Are you ready to commit? Not many LSAT test-takers are, which is what makes RC the lowest hanging fruit on the exam.
LSAT Answers and Explanations
Posted by noah@manhattanlsat.com in LSAT Prep, LSAT Tips on July 24th, 2009
As an LSAT teacher you end up explaining a lot of LSAT questions. We’ve actually designed our forums to focus on providing an easily searched bank of explanations to any LSAT problem – http://www.manhattanlsat.com/forums . (We figured we’d save a few trees by not printing an entire book of them, plus then all those studying on their own have a place to go.) I will say, however, that I’m always a bit cautious when I find a student asking for the explanations for an entire test. I always wonder – and sometimes ask – whether the student has reviewed the work on his own first. The best students first review the test themselves. A couple of tips on reviewing your work:
1. Mark which answers you can easily eliminate and which ones are tempting.
2. Note any problem that you find difficult, find yourself guessing on, or that you find takes too long.
3. When you review your work, review all the questions you answered incorrectly, and all those you noted above (see #2).
4. For the questions you review, ask yourself the following:
- Do I understand the question (this includes the stem and the stimulus, passage, scenario, etc.)?
- Why is the correct answer right?
- Why is each wrong answer wrong?
- How could I have approached this question differently? Is there a more efficient manner? Is there a more intuitive approach?
5. Now look at the explanations that we provide. Do you agree with us? If you disagree, write to us on the forum and let’s discuss.
6. Keep a log of the questions you need to work on, and re-solve them later on, striving to solve the in the way you wished you had solved it the first time.
7. If the problem is still stumping you, try to write a similar problem about a different topic. You can also try to teach someone else.
Good luck with your prep! And don’t hesitate to post a question on our forums – www.manhattanlsat.com/forums, we have tons of explanations already written, saved in a folder, just waiting to be posted. But don’t be lazy, do the work yourself first . . .
Speeding Up On the LSAT
Posted by noah@manhattanlsat.com in LSAT Tips on July 13th, 2009
A lot of folks struggle with timing on the LSAT. Clearly, if the test were un-timed, we’d all find it a lot easier. Since we have only 35 minutes per section, if you’re having trouble finishing on time, it’s important to address your pacing.
There are several reasons folks struggle with pacing:
1. Not enough full practice under time conditions. If you’re just starting out, your mind is probably not used to the pace at which it needs to work. I know that I generally equate a good read with a slow read — but that simply doesn’t work for the LSAT. You probably can speed up considerably by just telling yourself to speed up! From now on, every problem you try should be done with a stopwatch. Also make sure you’re throwing in full practice tests along the way. Don’t wait until you’re done learning all your strategies to work on your speed.
2. Ineffective strategies. Some ways of tackling problems would work just fine if the LSAT were untimed but breakdown under time pressure. For example, in logic games, writing out all the possible scenarios doesn’t work for the vast majority of games. In reading comprehension, you simply do not have enough time to do a full re-read. In logical reasoning, you can’t wait until you’ve read the question to start thinking critically about an argument you’ve already read — you need to be reading critically from the outset.
This problem turns up more frequently with folks who are not using a book to study with, though even those who are in a course can fall prey to this problem if they don’t do timed practice, which often forces them to realize that they must indeed use the strategies they’re learning about.
3. Lack of automaticity. There are some tough questions on the LSAT that are going to require more than the typical amount of time. To “buy” this time, a significant number of questions must be relatively easy to do quickly. To achive that, the plan of attack needs to be practiced until it doesn’t require a conscious initiation. Some people think they should only focus on the questions that are difficult for them, but it’s also worth practicing solving the “easy” ones very quickly. This will also help a great deal with the questions that would otherwise send you for a tailspin; knowing how to start and what to look for is crucial.
4. Test anxiety and poor time management. Unfortunately, some of those who would otherwise do very well on the LSAT score well below their potential because of test anxiety. There are a lot of techniques for batttling this, ranging from desensitization (high-pressure practice tests) to meditation (deep calm breath while bubbling in . . .). If you suffer from this type of anxiety, don’t wait until the last few weeks to work on this. Incorporate it into your prep from day one.
As for basic time management, know your timing benchmarks and practice using them. You can’t just say “I’ll be careful on the test, but this is just a practice test.” You must practice your timing plan. You also need to have a personal strategy. When I face a tough LR problem, I answer it, circle the problem on my test and move on with the plan to return to it when I finish the rest of the test. I rarely find time to do that, but it’s comforting knowing that I’ve planned to do so! Most importantly, my plan allows me to keep moving.
Here’s a basic guideline (and be reasonable, if you’re shooting for a 168, use the top guidelines):
For 165+
LG: 7, 8, 9, 10 (one game in 7 minutes, one game in 8 . . . and the first game isn’t always the easiest, so don’t rely on that)
RC: 7, 8, 9, 10 (one passage in 7 minutes, one game in 8 . . .)
LR: First fifteen in 18 minutes, last 10 or so in 17 minutes
For 175+
LG: 6, 7, 8, 9
RC: 6, 7, 8, 9
LR: First fifteen in 15 minutes, last 10 or so in 20 minutes
Good luck!
Final LSAT Tips
Posted by noah@manhattanlsat.com in LSAT Tips on June 3rd, 2009
June 8th is just a few days away, and people are often asking for final tips about test day. Here are a few to add to the mix:
1. Easy does it. Don’t take any preptests within the last two days. The brain is a muscle, let it rest. Take a few timed sections on Saturday, a few untimed on Sunday, and watch a stupid movie on Sunday night. On Monday morning, re-do one easy logic game on your way to the test center to get your brain moving.
2. Pack-up the night before. Get all your pencils sharpened, print out the ticket (and make sure your printer doesn’t cut off any part of the ticket), and find that analog watch your dad gave you years ago. Make sure you know how to get to your testing center – there’s nothing worse than freaking out on your way to the test. Plan to arrive early and to enjoy a coffee outside while you do a crossword puzzle or something that is fun and slightly intellectual.
3. Eliminate, eliminate, eliminate, eliminate. On all but the easiest problems in LR and RC, you should generally eliminate 4 answers. If you’re going down the answer choice list, and (B) seems to be the answer, act suspicious – assume you’ve been duped – and go and look at the rest of the answer choices, seeing if you can eliminate them. It’s too easy to “shut down” your brain once you think you’ve found the answer.
4. Move along. If you are stuck on a question, take comfort in the fact that most everyone around you is probably struggling with that question too! Some of your neighbors will spend 4 minutes on that one question, and others will move on and devote time to questions they can tackle. Those who move on probably will do better and keep their cool. So, make an educated guess, bubble it in, circle the question number, and move on. If you have time, come back to it.
5. Focus! If you find yourself meta-thinking (i.e. “wow, I’m taking the LSAT and it’s really tough, I hope I’m doing well . . . shoot, I really need to focus! I think I bombed that last logic game. Dang, what if I can’t focus . .”) you need to get back to work! One easy way is to read the passage or question to yourself aloud (very quietly obviously). Some people understand better when they hear information.
6. Try something. For logic games, if you are into the 2nd or 3rd question and have been struggling the whole way there, you may have not made some important inferences that could “un-lock” the game (and by the way, not every game has important inferences built into the scenario, sometimes there all in the conditional questions). Lay out 2 possible scenarios with the elements, and question yourself along the way: “could E go anywhere? Why not?.” This might help focus your thinking. This isn’t usually the most ideal route to unlocking a logic game, but if you’re stuck, you’ve got to do something!
7. Throw out the rules. You’ve probably spent a lot of time learning diagrams, logic rules, etc. During test day, feel free to abandon ship if something is not working. The best test-takers are flexible with their methods.
