Preparation

[ljack4]

Hi,
I've devoted quite a great deal of time to studying and am registered to take the October LSAT test, however, I find myself constantly struggling with method of reasonimg, flaw in reasoning, and parallel reasoning questions. I have the Logic Reasoning Bible and have tries to apply the methods in there but still am struggling with missing about half of the total number of these types of questions. Additionally, I am struggling with reading comprehension. I am averaging missing 7 questions in this one section and I find the majority of them are must be true questions. At this point, I am unsure as to whether or not I should wait and take the December test to work on it more and if so, what is the best plan of attack so I do not find myself in this same position in December.

Thanks

[Robert Carroll]

ljack,

It sounds like all your concerns are in the Prove Family. Remember that in this family, all the information you need to answer the question is already in the stimulus (for Logical Reasoning) or passage (for Reading Comprehension). When an answer choice is partly correct and partly incorrect, it's completely incorrect, because the correct answer must match what you already saw in the information you were given.

For Method of Reasoning, when evaluating answers, ask yourself "Did the author actually do everything this answer says?" If the answer says something the author didn't do in the course of his/her reasoning, that answer is wrong, no matter what else it says. Similarly, if a Flaw in the Reasoning answer talks about something that the author never did, it's wrong. Finally, for Parallel Reasoning, sometimes the large amount of information in each answer choice becomes more distraction than help. If, for instance, the stimulus contains an argument that attempts to prove that something "probably" happens, any answer choice with a conclusion that is expressed with a different degree of certainty (like "always" or "must" or "may") is wrong. Taking the time to check all the other parts of the answer when one thing is wrong is one area where the test-makers hope test-takers will waste time - if you knew one part was wrong, you already had a sufficient basis to reject that answer, so any more time spent on that answer is wasted! Don't fall into that trap, and don't always try to juggle multiple pieces of information at once - sometimes, you can check each answer for a particular element of reasoning, and classify as Losers any answer that fails to match.

In Reading Comprehension, focus on the kind of information relevant. If the question says "The author would likely agree with which of the following about Concept X?" then go only to those parts of the passage that deal with the author's opinion of Concept X - other areas will not be relevant. If the question does not direct you anywhere, then information anywhere in the passage may be relevant. As with any Must Be True question, if an answer contains new information or distorts the facts, it's wrong - don't get distracted by answers with some correct and some incorrect information, as one bit of incorrect information makes the entire answer wrong.

It makes sense to adjust your thinking on these question types so that you're focusing on the relevant information. If you can make any improvement before Saturday's test, it's a good thing. You can keep December as a backup plan and devote a lot of time to studying between October and December (start early!), but any positive improvement should be welcomed.

Robert Carroll

[ljack4]

Thanks Robert for responding! My concern is that ideally I have tried those suggested tips (as the bibles recommend) however I am still missing something which causes me to struggle with selecting the correct answer. I've re-read the bibles multiple times and am still struggling with the answers so I am not sure how to improve. My fear is that unless I get on grasp on this now, I will find myself in the same position for December. Since the start of my studying, I have only used Power course materials and so although, it has been recommended to me to review mutiple prep companies materials, I believe this may make things more confusing due to different approaches recommended. I have also considered taking the Advanced Login Reasoning Course of tutoring hours. However, I am not sure what is the best plan of attack.

[Robert Carroll]

Thanks Robert for responding! My concern is that ideally I have tried those suggested tips (as the bibles recommend) however I am still missing something which causes me to struggle with selecting the correct answer. I've re-read the bibles multiple times and am still struggling with the answers so I am not sure how to improve. My fear is that unless I get on grasp on this now, I will find myself in the same position for December. Since the start of my studying, I have only used Power course materials and so although, it has been recommended to me to review mutiple prep companies materials, I believe this may make things more confusing due to different approaches recommended. I have also considered taking the Advanced Login Reasoning Course of tutoring hours. However, I am not sure what is the best plan of attack.

ljack,

Do you have more difficulty with speed or accuracy when applying those strategies? If speed is a problem, it may be worthwhile to focus on the relatively quicker ways to eliminate wrong answers. Remember, too, that the Logical Reasoning section has a rough order of difficulty, so a Method of Reasoning question after #20 may be really tricky, whereas one before #10 has much less chance of being that tricky. This may mean that you can plan on the earlier questions being pretty straightforward, but you should allocate some extra time for careful attention on the later ones.

Can you articulate more fully what the specific issue is with these question types? How much practice do you do, in general and specifically with these types? Have you noticed progress with these types specifically as you've studied? If you could call out specific questions that gave you trouble, that might help.

Robert Carroll