- Sat Apr 11, 2015 4:02 pm
#18443
Hi C,
Pre-phrasing is really just a basic tool to get you thinking about where the answers might go, and it's something you probably do every day (have you ever finished a friend's/partner's/family member's sentence? That's pre-phrasing!). In the context of the LSAT, pre-phrasing seems a lot more formal, but really you are just trying to think about where the problem may go inside the structure they give you. So, the first rule is not to pressure yourself over your pre-phrase. Some problems are easy to pre-phrase, whereas others are impossible!
Second, focus on understanding the problem itself before worrying about a pre-phrase. Determining the content of the argument is the single most important thing you can do, and if thinking about a pre-phrase is getting in the way of that, stop pre-phrasing for a while.
Last, timing is always an issue that affects understanding and pre-phrasing. the good news is that the extra time you get should help alleviate this problem. Use this extra time to first lock down what the problem says, then to make a pre-phrase, but keep in ind that if a pre-phrase doesn't come instantly, it's no big deal and that you should immediately move on without further concern. Never stop and agonize over a pre-phrase because it may be the case that one of the answers tips you off to what they want in the problem.
Please let me know if that helps. Thanks!
