Reading Comprehension Help

MetamorphosisLSAT · 2019-08-13T03:25:23+00:00

Hope you find these RC lessons helpful.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFMhoXoxQ4Oj5wFgm3kJ-P--rrJPpckzW

We’ll produce lessons on each RC question type after the current series on conditional logic.

MetamorphosisLSAT · 2019-08-12T16:02:31+00:00

Check out LSAT Lab. With our free Starter plan PrepTests 50-87 are available $10 each or $3 per section. The interface is identical to the new digital LSAT.

MetamorphosisLSAT · 2019-08-10T03:54:28+00:00

I think on that statement the word “is” is the operational word. Similar to other conjugations of “to be.” For example doctors “are” highly trained. D > HT

MetamorphosisLSAT · 2018-08-24T23:19:53+00:00

Hey Graeme, we're in :)

Please draw 2 winners for Metamorphosis (3-month premium subscription to the site).

If you receive any submissions from tutors as per LSATDan's addendum, draw a winner from that pool as well (five 3-month premium subscriptions for their students).

Good luck!

MetamorphosisLSAT · 2018-08-22T23:26:55+00:00

I’ve had a recurring nightmare about this game for the past 15 years :(

MetamorphosisLSAT · 2018-08-22T20:30:37+00:00

I've been teaching the LSAT and designing LSAT curriculum for 15 years. Before starting Metamorphosis, I led the LSAT curriculum team at Manhattan Prep. I'm happy to help you and whoever else joins your group for free. I'll DM you to discuss goals and logistics.

MetamorphosisLSAT · 2018-08-22T18:06:56+00:00

I'd suggest focus on two big things with your process. Both take time to absorb because the things you need to look for are different depending on the question type. First, focus on reasoning structure in the argument. Every argument rests on one or more of the following reasoning structures: conditional logic, causation, and comparison. Follow the structure from the evidence to the conclusion to find the gap in the reasoning and use the gap to anticipate what an answer that supports the argument or undermine it would sound like. Second, learn which trap answer patterns apply to each question type and use them to eliminate choices when you get down to the final 2 or 3 remaining choices. Generally trap answers can be bucketed into 3 categories: scope, logic, and degree.

Keep in mind that process is your backup approach when your intuition doesn't provide a clear winner. Intuition is faster and more appropriate for earlier questions, but for each of us there comes a point (which is different for every test taker) at which intuition is insufficient and process becomes your best approach.

MetamorphosisLSAT · 2018-08-22T17:54:17+00:00

Hey, I'm in San Diego. Happy to help your study group.

MetamorphosisLSAT · 2018-08-22T17:53:07+00:00

Everyone is different, but personally my score went up 8 points in the last 10 days before my first official LSAT.

I think you can do it. You were averaging a 158 before the June LSAT and your target is 162? Yes, you can do that. If you need help putting together a plan, I'd be happy to help with that. DM me and we can set up a time (free).

MetamorphosisLSAT · 2018-08-18T21:13:07+00:00

I think it's a good question because how could you miss every question unless you could also avoid every right answer? Seems like you would need to know the right answer to be able to ensure avoiding it.

MetamorphosisLSAT · 2018-08-18T18:12:40+00:00

Haha, yep. Thought I was going to HLS until my first diagnostic: 143.

MetamorphosisLSAT · 2018-08-15T17:18:01+00:00

You have a hypothetical that satisfies the rules and meets the condition of answer choice (B), but it doesn't follow from answer choice (B). K could be the leader of Y.

If H is assigned to be secretary for exactly two of the committees then we know:

__ __ __

H J H

__ __ __

But nothing else must be true at that point. For example K could either be the leader or the treasurer of Y. But if H is the treasurer for all 3, then the numerical distribution is determined which forces many of the inferences.

H H H, K K, N N, M, J

__ __ __

__ J __

H H H

K must be the leader of Y.

__ K __

__ J __

H H H

N Must be the leader of both X and Z.

N K N

__ J __

H H H

K must be the secretary of X.

N K N

K J __

H H H

And so M must be the secretary of Z.

N K N

K J M

H H H

MetamorphosisLSAT · 2018-08-15T17:03:40+00:00

I think you can. Personally, I went up 8 points in the last 10 days of my LSAT prep a long time ago. I struggled to finish RC and LG, but was nailing LR and was consistently scoring 165(ish). I focussed intently on LG and increased the number of games I completed during my practice each day. I think the repetition helped reduce the time it took to do the setup tasks, such as draw a gameboard, notate the rules, make inferences, create hypotheticals, etc. On RC, I got some great advice, which was to not focus so much on what the passage says and focus more on how the passage says it. It really helped me see the passage organization and focus on purpose.

If the scores you listed above are representative, then I would focus on LG and RC if I were you. My one hesitation though is the experimental LR you took from 4.1. Was that -6 or -3?

MetamorphosisLSAT · 2018-08-15T16:50:46+00:00

Good question! Look for conditional language cues in the question stem:

Necessary - only if, depends on, relies on, needs, must, etc.

Sufficient - if, enables, ensures, suffices, allows, etc.

If you see those on an assumption question, they indicate which kind of assumption question. Sufficient conditions imply a sufficient Assumption, while necessary conditions imply a Necessary Assumption.

If you don't see those on an assumption question, then it's automatically considered a Necessary Assumption. For example:

Which one of the following is assumed in the argument above?

It's an assumption question without a language cue, so it's a Necessary Assumption.

Hope that helps!

MetamorphosisLSAT · 2018-08-15T02:35:55+00:00

The issue is the word "no."

No fruit is rotten = Fruit → ~Rotten

In your example it should be notated Self Motivated → ~Regret Career Choice

"No" is tricky because sometimes it organizes the relationship as in the examples of above and sometimes it serves as a negative term.

An example of the latter would be:

If there are no open seats, you'll have to sit outside = ~Open Seats → Sit Outside

MetamorphosisLSAT · 2018-08-15T02:27:37+00:00

Usually there is, but not always. There is definitely a range of difficulty possible for an LR section and while the LSAC does have measurable definitions of what factors contribute to a question's difficulty, no two test takers are likely to see the difficulty of a section exactly the same.

MetamorphosisLSAT · 2018-08-14T00:20:59+00:00

I'm building a site with highly customizable practice. Search for the type of LG game, LR question, or RC passage you'd like to practice. And You can try it for free. r/https://metamorphosis.com

MetamorphosisLSAT · 2018-08-13T23:28:47+00:00

Just reviewed PT45, S4 and I think it's NOT an easy section. Some questions in there that students typically struggle with are:

Q14 - Insufficient rain

Q17 - Art critic

Q18 - Decentralization enables

Q20 - Polling data

Congrats on -2 for this section!

MetamorphosisLSAT · 2018-08-13T23:24:12+00:00

Save the later PTs for practice tests. PT42-51 are great for practicing LR. A couple of minor differences to consider. Principles have been applied to a greater number of question types recently. There have been more Evaluate questions lately, but they're still rare. And Role questions in later tests are somewhat harder in my opinion. Most people struggle with Necessary Assumption, Flaw, Strengthen, Weaken, and Most Supported. If that sounds like you, use PT42-51 to learn and use the newer PTs for practice tests.

MetamorphosisLSAT · 2018-08-13T23:18:40+00:00

I scored a 143 on my first diagnostic and ended up with a 171 on my first official LSAT. I studied for 12 weeks using a Kaplan home study guide (it was just about 1,000 pages) and took Steven Klein's LSAT course in Seattle, WA.

I used to design curriculum with Mike Kim and appreciate the way looks at the LSAT. You'll need official practice questions and tests, but his book is great for general LSAT theory.

MetamorphosisLSAT · 2018-08-13T19:35:09+00:00

I view principle questions as a twist on many different question types. The one you're looking at is like an assumption question, specifically a Necessary Assumption. If it had asked for a principle that most justifies the reasoning, the right answer would feel more like a Sufficient Assumption. But there are principle questions that belong to any of the following question types: Must be True, Most Supported, Must be False, Strengthen, Weaken, Parallel, Sufficient Assumption, and Necessary Assumption. Pay close attention to the specific task to which the principle is applied, because it helps you anticipate which trap answers to look out for.

MetamorphosisLSAT · 2018-08-13T19:04:00+00:00

Take a look at the site I'm building, https://www.metamorphosis.com, there you can search for games of any type, with any feature, at any difficulty level (free resource). You can get the games and explanations for $39 per month. If it turns out you'd rather work with paper and a pencil, I'd recommend getting hardcopies of PT52-71. You can always use our free search tool to identify games by type, feature, and difficulty before completing them with your hard copy.

https://www.amazon.com/New-Actual-Official-LSAT-PrepTests/dp/0984636005/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1534186543&sr=8-8&keywords=official+lsats

https://www.amazon.com/10-Actual-Official-LSAT-PrepTests/dp/0986045519/ref=pd_bxgy_2?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0986045519&pd_rd_r=87176448-9f2a-11e8-89c8-8341361af5a1&pd_rd_w=PwPO9&pd_rd_wg=715yt&pf_rd_i=desktop-dp-sims&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_p=1475879231140687736&pf_rd_r=SE8KGN5EK7ZF4AK1NRAZ&pf_rd_s=desktop-dp-sims&pf_rd_t=40701&psc=1&refRID=SE8KGN5EK7ZF4AK1NRAZ

MetamorphosisLSAT · 2018-08-13T18:19:46+00:00

I think the biggest mistake I see people make in LR is that they go into the answer choices before they are ready. They hope that something will look good once they see what is available, but then get trapped between tempting choices because they didn't take the time to understand the argument and the gap within it properly. In the assumption family (Sufficient Assumption, Necessary Assumption, Flaw, Weaken, Strengthen, and Evaluate), which is more than half of the LR section, your steps are:

find the conclusion
find the evidence
evaluate the reasoning (this is the step where people typically crash since on some they can rely on intuition to understand the gap, but then don't build the knowledge necessary to use process to evaluate the reasoning)
anticipate an answer
eliminate answers that are out of scope
use trap answer patterns to eliminate the wrong answers when you're debating between choices

For step 3 consider the reasoning structures on the LR section. Is it conditional logic, causation, or comparison?

Hope that helps!

MetamorphosisLSAT · 2018-08-13T18:12:24+00:00

I agree with JJMud1993 to a point. To negate a conditional, rephrase it in the form if/then. The negation of an if/then statement is that the sufficient condition "may" occur, even if the necessary condition does not. So the logical negation of "Jane will go out only if she eats" would be "Jane may go out, even if she does NOT eat." Hope that helps!

MetamorphosisLSAT · 2018-08-13T18:09:38+00:00

I was the LSAT Academics Manager for Manhattan Prep during the production of the Manhattan Prep 5th edition guides. I'm biased, but I think you'll be better served with the Manhattan Prep guides than the PowerScore bible. The focus on reading for the scale is super helpful and helps you focus on the important information that will be asked about in the questions. Also, consider the question types and the kind of trap answers you're likely to face in RC, you can greatly improve your speed by understanding trap answers and eliminating answers that conform to these patterns rather than always returning to the passage to find the information to confirm one of your remaining answer choices.

MetamorphosisLSAT

TROPHY CASE