June 2011 LSAT vs. October 2011 LSAT

(This post is based upon the assumption that you're taking the LSAT less than a year before you intend to apply to law school. If you're planning way ahead, this won't apply to you.)

Benefits of taking the June LSAT

• It's better for your law school admissions chances because it allows you to apply at the beginning of the admissions cycle. Law schools typically begin accepting applications September 1, September 15, October 1, or October 15. Applying at the beginning of the cycle is especially important for top law schools.

• You can be done with the LSAT sooner. If the June LSAT goes well, you can be done with it for good and relax this summer.

• You have more chances to retake. If the June LSAT doesn't go well (or if you're sick, have a family issue, someone vomits on you during the test, etc.) and you have to retake, you can retake in October and still apply relatively early in the cycle.

• The June LSAT is the only LSAT offered in the afternoon. No need to get on an early sleep schedule. If you take it outside a city, you may not have to go to the trouble of sleeping away from home the night before.
  

• The June LSAT is the only LSAT offered on a Monday. Normally, Sabbath observers have to take the LSAT on a different date than everyone else, and LSAC does not release Sabbath tests (scroll to bottom). This means Sabbath test-takers never get to see their exam booklet and answer sheet. However, because the regular June LSAT is on a Monday, all test-takers (except those outside North America) get to see their exam booklet and answer sheet. This is useful for planning a retake.
  

Benefits of taking the October LSAT

• Maybe you like getting up super-early, and the afternoon is too late for you to think.

• You don't have to (seriously) begin your studying now.

• Additionally, if you're a college student, consider:
  

* The June LSAT is offered soon after most schools' final exams typically end. You might not want to divide your attention between finals and LSAT studying in April and May.

* The October LSAT allows you the entire summer to study without being distracted by schoolwork (if you don't take summer classes). You still have to get through the first 1.5 months of the semester or so, but things probably won't be too intense that early in the semester. If you use the summer wisely, you can get through the vast majority of your LSAT studying then.

***

What do you all think? What's impacting your decision re: June vs. October?
Photo by asmythie

Private LSAT Tutoring

I offer in-person tutoring in NYC and distance tutoring via phone/Internet.

Should you be interested in more information about my services, please email me at LSATUnplugged@gmail.com

Best regards,
Steve Schwartz


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Law School Study Partners: Pick Hot Chick, Not Smart Chick?

"Mr. Law School" gives some questionable advice about how to pick a law school study partner in his YouTube video, "Pick the Hot Chick NOT the smart chick" (video also below the quote). Thoughts?

He says:

In law school, there's gonna be a lot of classes where you gotta work with a partner. Some might say, 'hey - pick somebody who's smart,' but that's not the advice I'm gonna give you. Guys out there - what I want you to do is, pick the hottest chick possible...

Is it an enjoyable experience to do law school work? No. It's not enjoyable. But, it'll make it that much better when you have to do the work having a hot chick next to you. Working with her, seeing her every day, maybe you can get her to go booze after. Who the hell knows? But it could lead to something.

***

Do any of the hot and smart ladies reading this have some thoughts on Mr. Law School's advice?

And guys out there - what sort of study partners do you plan to pick? Will you do what Mr. Law School suggests?

***

Read some Law School Diaries for other takes on the law school experience.

Photo of Tina Fey via Wikimedia Commons

LSAT Diary: Prep and Studying During College

This installment of LSAT Diaries comes from Katherine, a college student in Colorado.

In this diary, she balances her LSAT prep with college and a variety of distractions, and she begins to get used to taking sections under timed conditions.

If you want to be in LSAT Diaries, please email me at LSATUnplugged@gmail.com. (You can be in LSAT Diaries whether you've taken the exam already or not.)

Please leave her some encouragement below in the comments!

Katherine's LSAT Diary:

Day 1

Well, Day 1 was technically several months ago when I started my LSAT prep course, but this is Day 1, take two. Which really should’ve been last Thursday. A little background, I go to a “unique” school – we operate on the block plan, meaning that we take a semester worth of class in 3.5 weeks (they’d transfer out at 4 hrs and we take 4 a semester) and then get a glorious 4.5 day weekend before starting our next block.

I was supposed to kick back my LSAT studying that day, but I decided going to New Mexico would be more fun – and it definitely was. I took the equivalent of a practice test over the weekend and scored a 156. Oops (although, I’m reassured that even taking a test with blaring pop music on the radio and in a moving car I don’t score in the 140s). I’ve focused my studying more on sections – why?

Time isn’t an issue for me. I scored a 160 on my first practice and by my third was scoring a 165. I know where I need to improve and I know what sections I’m capable of acing (scored nearly perfectly on my first RC section, haven’t replicated that since). I also know I need to rise at least 5 more points – which seems like such a doable amount that I’m worried I’m going to have trouble motivating myself.

So day one, which was also day one of my second block - I woke up at 5:30 am to make a 6 am yoga class. Showered, went to breakfast at 7:30 and did a logic games section until the cafeteria got too noisy. Haven’t checked out how I did, but feel pretty confident. The section only took me 25 minutes too, which is good because when I assess my mistakes I know I have a lot of extra time. Then I went to class from 9-12, had a meeting for a departmental student committee that I run, worked out some logistics for that, and went to the grocery store (which was an ordeal because I was only purchasing cupcake mix for an event I’m hosting this week).

More background on me – I’m in a sorority and my first months back at school were overwhelmed by Formal Recruitment. That was the reason I didn’t get a solid start to my studying back when I returned to school, I was constantly running errands/essentially living at our chapter lodge – I was also taking a 300 level class for my major with a difficult professor. But that’s over and I’m reasonably confident in my class performance. Now I just have one more informal recruitment event to contend with this week and after that I’m off the hook, meaning allllll LSAT alllll the time (not really).


Day 2

Woke up. Went to class. Went to yoga. Went to my sorority house to bake cupcakes for an event on Wednesday. I intended to knock out both my class reading and my practice sections, but ran into a friend at the house – talked all afternoon while baking the cupcakes instead. Then had a dinner date with a few friends that lasted over an hour. When I arrived back at my apartment I had a few hundred pages of reading and a section of the LSAT to contend with. I did a Logical Reasoning section before doing my reading and going to bed. Not the best day of studying, but a good day nonetheless.


Day 3

Class, then yoga, the usual - After yoga I sat down and finished the test – didn’t do as well as I hoped, 158 – lowest score in a while, but higher than the one from break. Interesting was that I missed questions in clumps – like 5 in a row at once, but would ace the rest of the section. This is clearly an attention problem. Time isn’t an issue – I’m finishing sections too quickly (25 minutes on average). The plan for Thursday is to go over the questions I’ve missed on the past two tests and see where I went wrong – about 4 of them was a case of second guessing my first answer and changing it, clearly won’t be doing that anymore.

Was happy with my logic games section – it wasn’t near perfect, but I aced two of the four games and then did well enough on the others. I was worried I’d be out of practice. I still need to work on RC, its frustrating because I know I’m capable of acing that section (on my first practice ever I only missed one question) but I haven’t been able to tap into the necessary focus when studying. I think Friday I’m going to attempt to take a timed practice test – actually force myself to use 35 minutes per section to go back. For now I need to do some homework before my event tonight.


Day 4

So today was the first day in a few weeks where I haven’t had a meeting or an event to prepare for/attend. So obviously I was productive… except not. I got out of class around 11:30 (half an hour early), which threw off my plan to go to yoga at 2 – so I went at 12:30 instead. When I got back to my apartment, I had a plan in mind – facebook some photos, review my answers on a few PrepTests, but instead I decided to paint my nails and watch a documentary on crosswords (Wordplay, check it out!). I also did some research on the LSAC website and LSAT Blog so the time wasn’t completely wasted.

From 5-9PM I went over my tests and reworked logic games (took an hour break to watch The Office and 30 Rock). As I suspected, my problems were from points where I was either distracted [in a car, not focused because I wanted to do something else] or out of laziness. Six of the questions I missed on one test were due to not sticking with my first answer. While I’m still annoyed with the 158, I see some easy ways to improve. One is to make myself use the full 35 minutes for each section – even if I’m just sitting at my desk until the time is up. I’m finishing sections in 25-27 minutes (I track it while I take the test), which is great, but I’m clearly rushing/not as focused.

Tomorrow I’m planning on taking a timed test – I’ll be doing 5 sections, I’m not going to do the essay, but I am going to throw in an experimental section (probably a second logic games section just to screw with me/get more practice). I think this week has been a good way to test the waters and tomorrow’s practice test will hopefully boost my confidence and help me refocus.

Then, it's homecoming weekend, so while I know I should be going out in moderation to maximize my studying, the LSAT is still 9 weeks away so I’m going to take advantage of the festivities. Planning on taking my test and partying my way through the rugby game and the evening. Now I just have a ton of reading to contend with, but hopefully I’ll finish at a reasonable hour so I can get a goodnight sleep and have an effective practice test!


Day 5

General day, class then yoga – no variation, clearly I like a routine! Headed to the library around 2:45 to take my first timed practice test since July – scored a 162, respectable, comforting, but nowhere near what I feel I’m capable of. I did five sections – threw in the logic games section another test during my 4th section, meaning I did LR, RC, LG, LG, LR. Took the test with the LSAT proctor MP3 - in the background, between that and the noise of the ventilation system of the library, it was a good amount of distraction to contend with. Will definitely use it again.

Did reasonably well on my LG within the test – only missed two, which is unheard of for me, especially as I struggled with the games while taking the test. On my LG section, I had an easier time with 3 of the 4 games, missing only 4 questions from all of those – but one of the games was unlike any I had encountered and I bombed it (which I was expecting when I was trying to work it). Will be reviewing that game a few times! Otherwise my weakest point was during the final section of LR – I missed 6 in a row! So while I missed 15 of those questions overall, 9 were in the 4th section.

I attribute this to test fatigue and falling prey to the LR tricks! On about half of my incorrect answers, I got it down to the correct answer and the one I ultimately decided on – meaning that if I study those and improve on my mistakes I can maybe take my LR down to only missing 7 or 8 questions total, which would bump up my score. RC was decent, not what I’m capable of I missed at least 1 question a passage, two on two of them. That can be improved – I just need to practice more.

This practice is exactly what I needed to restore my confidence, but force me to get my butt back in gear on studying. This week was a good start – 9 weeks out from the LSAT, plenty of time to improve to the score I know I can achieve. Well it's now 6 on a Friday afternoon and I’ve just missed one of the most beautiful days I’ve seen in a while, but that’s alright because now I can enjoy Homecoming weekend and take Saturday (and potentially Sunday) off from studying!


Day 6

Woke up at 5:30, went to yoga sculpt at 6. Mondays are busy - I have a sorority meeting and I lead a meeting of a departmental student committee, so if I don’t hit up the morning class, I generally can’t fit in a yoga class. I decided to take my practice book to the dining hall and do a section because I need to practice working with the distractions. This decision turned out to be a mistake as the first section was Reading Comprehension. I didn’t do well - I know Steve cautions against sleep inertia, but I thought after a cardio yoga class, the walk from campus to the studio, and a cold shower, I’d be awake enough to focus.

Right now I’m feeling a little defeated by RC. I don’t want to fear or hate this section, but its frustrating me to know end right now – I know I’m capable of acing it, but I haven’t been able to replicate that in awhile and my RC score is getting steadily weaker. It’s such an easy section to pick up points, so every time I miss questions I just picture my score dropping.

My weakest points are the science passages – I think one of my goals starting this week will be to read at least 4 dense science articles a week and attempt to understand them. I also think I’m going to make copies of RC sections from different tests before I mark up my book and force myself to practice ont hose sections repeatedly – I know its not always beneficial to rework passages I’ve already read, but I need more sections to practice. I'll be home for a weekend in around 3 weeks, so I’m going to bring my other two books back then.

I think using earlier LSATs as supplemental practice will give me a confidence boost that I can hopefully translate into a mental edge, but I’m still going to use the later PrepTests as my primary study sources. When I make mistakes on the other sections, it’s generally due to a lapse in focus. Since I did that section this morning – my goal for the afternoon/evening will be to review Friday’s practice test – especially that circular logic game.


Day 7

Another mediocre practice section – this time Logical Reasoning. Maybe we're just not meshing? Am going to try and do the last two sections tomorrow, study on Thursday, practice test Friday. Not going to let this discourage me too much.


Day 8

Made another attempt at morning practice – got up at 5:30 for 6am yoga. Did a Logic Games section after breakfast. Not a great showing. Spent another half hour going over yesterday's LR section and the LG game section I just did. Realized I made some fairly careless mistakes. I’ve been feeling pretty tired this week so that’s probably not helping. My normally 3-hour class lasted for 5 hours and then I went to meet with a professor to discuss political science events and programming for the school year. Had another meeting tonight so I couldn’t work then. Am aiming to finish the final section, start a paper, and review my mistakes on past exams.


Day 9

Soundly defeated by another PrepTest, lowest score ever. Its been a weird week and I’ve been distracted by personal issues. Not going to dwell on it. Going to get a good night's sleep tonight and have a great practice test tomorrow.

Logic and Games

* Would you rather go to a traditional law school or a new-agey interdiscplinary one? [WSJ Law Blog]

* UVA Law beer pong party features Confederate flag table. [Above The Law]

* Corrupt police department literally makes ticketing into a game for one town's cops. [Gawker]

* Blue whales should all have cancer, but they don't. Maybe they can help us. [Discover]

* NYC councilman wants to register bikes as if they were cars. I preferred the 2008 congestion pricing plan. [Village Voice]

* Does the world's most persistent/stupid bank robber get away? [YouTube]

* Westboro Baptist Church wins Supreme Court free speech case. [Huffington Post]

Choosing a Law School Using US News Rankings

Malcolm Gladwell recently critiqued the U.S. News law school rankings. Those rankings have been an institution for quite some time.

Whichever ranking system you favor, some thoughts:

How should you use law school rankings when making a decision?

Because the rankings are such a widely-used indicator of a law school's prestige, it's important to be aware of them at the very least.

To ignore them would be paying over $100,000 for something when you don't know its value.

Of course, the rankings are far from perfect, but you can still use them as a starting point when thinking about where to apply.

After all, it's overwhelming to wade through the dozens of pamphlets, folders, and emails you'll soon be receiving from law schools (if you haven't started receiving them already). Having an outside evaluator like U.S. News to cut through the clutter with some hard numbers is incredibly useful.

They can:

-serve as a general guideline to help you get a sense of a law school's prestige.

-give you a sense of how others would view your having attended a given school.

-help you determine the schools to which you have a realistic chance of acceptance given your LSAT score and undergraduate GPA.

If you haven't yet taken the LSAT, but have a sense of what your undergraduate GPA is or will be, you can figure out what kind of LSAT numbers you'll likely need to have a strong chance at a particular law school.

As such, the rankings can help you to formulate a list of law schools to which you should apply, helping you to select safety schools, match schools, and reach schools.




How much should you actually let the rankings influence your decisions?

The importance of the rankings will vary from person to person. In large part, it depends on the type of law you wants to practice after law school.

If you're looking to go to a corporate law firm, the rankings are very important. Many law firms disproportionately recruit from certain law schools and are significantly more likely to consider a resume from a "T14" school than others ("T14" is a term used to refer to the 14 law schools consistently listed in the top 14 of the U.S. News law school rankings).

However, if you're looking to practice in other areas (such as human rights law), become a sole practitioner (opening your own law firm), use your law degree simply to add to your skill set for your already-existing business, or in conjunction with another graduate degree, the law school's ranking and national reputation may not mean as much.



Enough about the rankings - what else matters?

Financial Aid:

Well, if you're the kind of person who's not planning to write one big check for law school tuition without batting an eye, you may want to seriously consider financial aid offers.

Many law schools will give merit aid to woo applicants with LSAT scores higher than the school's typical student. If your LSAT score's significantly higher than their average, schools will likely want to grab you to help you boost their position in the rankings. They might be willing to pay you for the privilege with reduced tuition costs.


Location:

It's also important to recognize that rankings don't take into account the fact that a law school is always better-known in its region of the country than elsewhere.

For example, if you want to practice law in NYC, you might want to consider Fordham over UCLA, even though UCLA has a higher US News ranking. NYC law firms and residents are more familiar with Fordham Law and its graduates than those of UCLA Law. After all, a significantly greater number of Fordham law graduates settle and practice in NYC than do UCLA law graduates.

There's also the fact that public universities offer lower tuition to in-state residents. If you've established in-state residence, you can take advantage of lower tuition if accepted. Public (state) law schools also set aside a certain number of seats for in-state residents, so it can be easier to gain acceptance if you've established residence.


***

For further reading, see this U.S. News law school rankings article in which I'm featured.

***

Which other factors are affecting which law schools you're considering?

Logical Reasoning: Necessary and Sufficient Conditions

LSAT Blog reader Vicky recently wrote with the following:

"I know you have already covered the sufficient and necessary conditions quite extensively, but there are still many (myself included) who are still stymied by it.

If you feel that the explanation I provide below is accurate and acceptable, posting it as an introductory Logical Reasoning topic might help other LSAT students."

I found Vicky's explanation to be useful and have included an edited version of it below.

Please thank Vicky in the comments for sharing her tips with everyone!

Vicky's Tips on Understanding Sufficient / Necessary Conditions:

Dealing with the concepts of Sufficient and Necessary conditions becomes a whole lot easier if I think of them in mutually-exclusive terms.

I consider the introduction of a new entity, the outcome/objective of these conditions, and, in some instances, with the sufficient condition being a specific example/small part of the bigger necessary condition.

For example, the limo example from Steve's blog post titled, LSAT Logic: Sufficient vs. Necessary Conditions: If I take a limo somewhere, I'll go somewhere

My interpretation is this:

- go somewhere = outcome/objective

- take a limo somewhere = sufficient condition

- traveling somehow, by any means possible, (such as: walk, limo, spaceship, teleport, have a friend wrap you up in a bouncy material and roll you across town to your destination...) = necessary condition

- taking a limo somewhere is a form of traveling. However, taking a limo somewhere is not the only form of traveling.

As such, the sufficient condition is a specific example/subset of the necessary condition. Traveling in general doesn't require that you take a limo somewhere. Like Darth Vader and Star Wars. Like Superman and superheroes. Like LSAT and traditional law school admission. (Do I need to seek professional help here?)


From knowing you got somewhere, we know/safely assume the necessary condition is met - you traveled. However, we can't automatically assume that you took a limo somewhere

From knowing that you took a limo somewhere, we can safely assume you got somewhere - the outcome is met. This also automatically satisfies the necessary condition of traveling.

The necessary condition is automatically met when the sufficient condition is met.

If the necessary condition is not met, the sufficient condition is automatically not met.

The necessary condition might be met without the sufficient condition being met.

This is relevant to page 25 of the LSAT SuperPrep / pages 30-31 of the LSAT Handbook. On these pages, LSAC says there are only 2 possible inferences that can be made from a statement that includes a necessary condition and 2 from a statement that includes a sufficient condition.

NC = necessary condition
SC = sufficient condition

NC #1. Infer from knowing that the NC is NOT met, the outcome does NOT occur = Not NC --> not outcome

NC #2. Infer from knowing that if the outcome occurs, the NC is met = outcome --> NC

SC #1. Infer from knowing that if SC is met, the outcome occurs = SC --> outcome

SC #2. Infer from knowing that if the outcome does not occur, the SC is not met = Not outcome --> not SC

***

“If I take a limo somewhere, I'll go somewhere.”

Scenario 1: I did not travel. So I didn’t go somewhere. I obviously didn’t take a limo somewhere

Not NC --> Not outcome --> Not SC

Scenario 2: I took a limo somewhere. So I went somewhere. I've obviously traveled.

SC --> outcome --> NC

Photo by livenature

LSAT Diary: Studying While Working Full-Time

This installment of LSAT Diaries comes from Justin, a 25-year-old who's studying for the LSAT while holding a full-time job and attending college full-time. He's a pretty busy guy.

In this LSAT Diary, he talks about balancing it all as he starts off his prep.

If you want to be in LSAT Diaries, please email me at LSATUnplugged@gmail.com. (You can be in LSAT Diaries whether you've taken the exam already or not.)

Please leave Justin some encouragement below in the comments!

Justin's LSAT Diary:

When you are growing up, everyone tells you to dream big. Dreaming big was always something I was capable of and now at the age of 25, I find myself shooting big again. I am looking to conquer the June 2011 LSAT.

You always hear, “the LSAT is a learnable test” and “the LSAT can be taught.” It certainly gets you excited and makes you eager to hit the books to learn as much as you can. Once you start reading and gaining small insights into the mind of the beast, you get excited and want more! Preparation ends up being a delicate balance of time and time management.

For me, I have gone a non-traditional route to this point. While only being 25, I have nearly 6 years of professional work experience. I enrolled in college right after high school, but at the time it wasn’t a good fit for me. Sadly, my grades reflected that. I opted to gain some work experience in the mean time with an eye on returning to finish my degree when the time was right.

That time came recently. Ironically, the thought of a career in law came along with it.
So here I am, writing a diary, studying for the LSAT, working full-time, and attending school full-time. Having to juggle multiple balls in the air makes it tough, but it's not impossible. I was ecstatic to come across the LSAT Blog and what Steve has put together here. Once I found the site, I decided to purchase the 5-month day-by- day LSAT study plan. This plan gives me a chance to plan my week ahead of time, which is perfect for me.

In week 1 of the plan, I am tackling basic linear games, which I have had some moderate success with. It seems that each time you have a little success; the LSAT finds a way to throw a crazy game at you. I thought these games were supposed to be basic linear games?

One element that I have added to my study plan is to create a binder with the questions that I answered incorrectly in the eyes of the test-makers. (But I must say, I think my answers are great.) In this binder, I place the questions I answer incorrectly and write a description as to what the right answer is and why my answer is incorrect. I plan to review the binder at the conclusion of each week. In my review of the binder, I am hoping to discover any trends in my answers. I hope this will pay off in a few months when I begin to tackle Logical Reasoning.

I am always open to suggestions and comments. I hope that this diary will serve as motivation for those who are looking to strike a life balance when studying for the LSAT. In hoping to provide some motivation, I would like to share a link to a video clip that should serve to motivate and inspire all of us during our LSAT prep.

Until next time, may your prep be effective and may you learn something from your mistakes!

Photo by offshore

Complete Logical Reasoning Explanations Update

I've added explanations for the Logical Reasoning sections of LSAT PrepTests 61 and 62 (the October 2010 LSAT and December 2010 LSAT) to that mega-PDF - the Complete Logical Reasoning Explanations for Recent PrepTests.

If you haven't bought them yet, be sure to check out more about these Logical Reasoning explanations.

Logic and Games

* For all the ladies out there planning to become lawyers before getting married, and the men who love them. [YouTube]

* LSAT studying often requires coffee. Here are 15 things worth knowing about coffee. [The Oatmeal]

* Two great scenes from My Cousin Vinny, a classic law movie featuring Joe Pesci. [YouTube]

* I kinda wish the author had saved this scary story for Halloween, but I can always read it again then. [Hyperbole and a Half]

* Glenn Beck suggests boycotting Google for assisting in democratic revolutions. Will he switch to Mubarakvista? [Ars Technica]

* Obama tells Department of Justice to stop defending the (anti-gay-marriage) Defense of Marriage Act. [NYTimes]

* Canadian police tell female law students "don't dress like a slut" to avoid attacks. [Above The Law]

Linear Logic Game Diagram and Explanation

My Basic Linear LSAT Logic Game has been without an explanation for far too long.

By popular demand, I'll demonstrate below how to create a diagram for it.

We have 7 variables: ABCDEFG. (I wasn't feeling creative that day.)

Here are the rules, numbered for quick reference:

1. Jandra must visit exactly two countries before her visit to China but after her visit to Bahrain.

2. China cannot be the last country she visits.

3. Jandra cannot visit Bahrain until she has visited Australia.

4. She cannot visit England immediately after she visits Djibouti, nor can she visit Djibouti immediately after she visits England.

5. Fiji must be visited either 4th or 5th.

***

The rules are not primarily about 1 variable going before or after another, as in a Pure Sequencing game. Instead, we have rules that refer to specific spaces, like rule 5, and other rules about immediacy/adjacency, like rule 4.

As such, I consider this game as a Basic Linear game and diagram it as such, with 7 spaces, numbered 1-7:





Rule 1 tells us we have 2 spaces between C and B. Those 2 are before C, and B's even before those. As such, we'll have B _ _ C . We can put a box around it to indicate that there are exactly 2 between them.

Rule 2 tells us C can't be last, so we can place C with a slash through it under the 7th space.

Rule 3 tells us B can't go before A goes. Because no 2 countries are visited simultaneously, we can say that A must go before B. We can diagram this as A - B. Since we already know that we have B _ _ C, we can combine the 2 rules to indicate that A is before B _ _ C, giving us:




Rule 4 tells us D and E can't be adjacent (touching). As such, I'll draw them touching in both orders and put a slash through each ordering. I'll also put a box around them to indicate that their adjacency is what isn't permitted.

Rule 5 tells us F must be 4th or 5th, so I'll put F/ on 4 and /F on 5, to indicate that we either have F on 4 and something else on 5, or we have F on 5 and something else on 4.

I know that's a lot to swallow, so here's a diagram to clear things up for you:






You could simply move on to the game's questions at this point. However, I prefer to instead make some major inferences.

The B _ _ C rule is like the 800-pound gorilla taking up too many seats on the subway/bus/airplane/spaceship. By figuring out the limited places it can fit, we can make some major deductions about where everyone else goes.

B can't start off on 1 because A's got to go before it. B can't end up on any of 5, 6, or 7 because we've got to fit "_ _ C" after it.

As such, B is limited to starting off this enormous unit on 2, 3, or 4, and we can create 3 separate stacked possibilities to represent those options. We can have B on 2 and C on 5, we can have B on 3 and C on 6, or we can have B on 4 and C on 7, generally speaking. Here's what it initially looks like:







(I've temporarily removed Rule 5 - the one regarding F - from the image, but I'll discuss it now.)

In the top possibility, because C's on 5, we'll need to have F on 4. We also know that A must be on 1 in order to go before B, due to Rule 3.

In the middle possibility, because neither B nor C is on either 4 or 5, F could be on either 4 or 5. We can now break this possibility in 2, based upon whether F goes on 4 or 5.

In the bottom possibility, F would have to be on 5, but this possibility is invalid because C can't be on 7, due to Rule 2. As such, this option is eliminated.

So far, this might have been drawn as this:







However, I'll now draw it as:







In the top possibility, we'll need to have one of D or E go on 3 so that they're not together on 6 and 7, which would violate Rule 4. The remaining spaces will feature G and whichever one of D or E didn't go on 3. Either we'll have G on 6 and one of the E/D pair on 7, or we'll have G on 7 and one of the E/D pair on 6.

In each of the bottom 2 possibilities, A must be on either 1 or 2 to ensure that it goes before B, due to Rule 3. Because of this, we know that whatever happens, D and E will never be adjacent in either of these diagrams. That's because 1 and 2 are the only remaining empty adjacent spaces in those diagrams.








The top diagram is pretty much fleshed-out now. The bottom 2 diagrams lack only D, E, and G, which can go pretty much anywhere at this point, since we're no longer in danger of having D and E be adjacent, and since G can always go anywhere.

As always, some of you will likely be thinking that this is way too much time invested up-front.

Is it possible to solve this game without a huge fancy diagram, simply using the basic diagram I drew earlier? Of course.

However, I'm all about showing you the deeper inferences so that you have a bird's-eye view of the game whenever possible. This gives you a stronger jumping-off point from which to create hypothetical diagrams over the course of the game.

***


The text below contains the answers to the above Logic Game.

1. A
2. B
3. D
4. D
5. C


***

The "Difficult Version" of this Logic Game is logically-equivalent, just with different variables, so I'm not going to bother creating a diagram for it. Just use the explanation in this post to understand my approach for it.

LSAT Diary: Prep and Score Increase in Canada

This installment of LSAT Diaries comes from Dan, who followed one of my LSAT study schedules and went from a 141 to a 168!

If you want to be in LSAT Diaries, please email me at LSATUnplugged@gmail.com. (You can be in LSAT Diaries whether you've taken the exam already or not.)

Thanks to Dan for sharing his experience and advice, and please leave your questions for him below in the comments!

Dan's LSAT Diary:

Ah, yes, Canada. A country that chose not a bird of prey as its national animal, but instead a rodent, the beaver. A country that prides itself on its cold winters, ice hockey, and ice cold ‘Canadian’ beer (brought to us by American companies of course). From sea to sea we too, must suffer the long hours and mental exertion that is the LSAT. Thank you LSAC!

I am a 23 year-old former international relations student from the University of Toronto. Since attending a high school course on Canadian law the goal of receiving a legal education has been firmly implanted within my psyche. I am the prototypical political science student-wannabe-lawyer who is obsessed with international affairs, legislation, and government. In fact, one of my favorite parts of a recent trip to the beautiful beaches of Florida was the presence of C-SPAN in my hotel room—you get the picture.

So while this description may give you a very rudimentary idea of who I am, what I am not is an LSAT superstar. I am not a Brad, JT, or Jake, and do not shrug off 170s like Kobe shrugs off 30 point games. Furthermore, I did not start off scoring in the high 150s. Heck, scoring in the high 150s was a great achievement!

Two years ago after writing a cold diagnostic I started out with a 141. Not only is 141 a not-so-great score, but also, after having a rather bumpy undergraduate experience in my first two years, my cumulative GPA sits at a 3.5. Hence, as is the case for many of those who have written diaries for the site, a good LSAT score was going to be integral in my law school application being a competitive one. Wanting to begin law school the next fall, I planned to write the exam in October. Before beginning my studies I wrote one more prep test to set a reference point and scored a 145. Finding LSAT Blog in June, I started with the 4 month study schedule and aimed for a 165.

Oh man did I put off studying! By the end of June I had gotten very little done besides some measly attempts at a few logic games while picking through parts of the logic games booklet. But come on, it was summer! While working a full-time job I had very little time to fit in the LSAT, especially when you take into account the social component that is integral to every summer. I know, I know, this is the LSAT. So I settled down come July and started taking it a bit more seriously, downsizing to Steve’s three-month LSAT study schedule in order to make up for lost time.

However, the next three months were rushed and when it came to September I had not spent much time on reading comprehension questions and my logic games ability was still rough. At this point I decided to press on anyway and begin writing the prep tests as scheduled; this was a poor decision. What happened next was that, although my timing improved, after almost six prep tests I was scoring a 155 and one week later was stuck at a 158. This is when I learned a lesson I took to heart when studying for my second attempt at the LSAT: it is essential that before beginning prep tests you have a very solid grasp on all sections and their respective question types. For myself, it became very apparent that I had not spent a sufficient amount of time studying the logic games. On some occasions I would score perfect or very close to, while on others grinding out sixteen right answers was difficult. It was very clear that grouping games were an issue and that I needed to go back and review them, but I had already spent almost three weeks on prep tests—there was no time. As the final two weeks approached I plugged on writing prep tests and after hovering around a 158 for some time, I reached a 161 on two occasions.

Before heading into the exam I knew that logical reasoning, in which I was scoring -5 or -6, was going to be my strongest area. I also knew that if I was going to make it into the 160s I needed to score perfect in the logic games section as I was losing 9 to 7 marks on reading comprehension. Scoring well on the exam was going to be more about wishful thinking than hard work and skill.

The day before the exam my unpreparedness was exposed by my nervous and anxious demeanor. That night I got very little sleep. The next morning, tired and nerve-racked, I entered the testing room, took my seat, and began the exam. By the end I knew that it did not go as I had hoped.

Sulking as I drove home feeling rather defeated I knew I was going to have to re-write the exam. After pondering the decision for a few days I also decided to cancel my score, to have a fresh start. I took the next week off from the LSAT and then condensed Steve’s three month retaking schedule into two months (that was all the time I had left). Taking Brad’s advice, I scheduled every day I had remaining until Test Day.

I found that on my second attempt using a day-by-day LSAT study schedule was the most important thing. For the previous exam I had simply given myself tasks that were to be completed by the end of the week. With procrastination kicking in here and there, this method often left me behind on my work.

I went back to previous exams and questions and thought very carefully about what sections I needed to improve on and where I could make the biggest gains. First, it became very obvious that I needed to spend time practicing reading comprehension questions. Scoring -9 to -7 on this section just simply wasn’t going to cut it, and I also believed that it was a section that, with time, could become a personal best. I began by reading Steve’s tips on the section and then disciplining myself to writing two timed reading comprehension sections a day beginning with prep test 7 and ending with 46.

As I became more comfortable with the reading comprehension section I found two of Steve’s recommendations to be the most helpful: (1) focus on structure, and (2) be able to support every answer with information from the passage. Repeated practice also allowed me to foresee what areas of the passage would be questioned and thus, my markings became less-often and more precise. In a few weeks I was between -3 to -5 per RC section—a great improvement.

While undertaking two passages a day I was also focusing most of my day on LGs, especially grouping games. Almost 3 weeks before the exam I was able to complete all LG sections from prep tests 19-38 including repeating some of the more difficult questions. When I went back and looked at my previous exams I found that I was not spending enough time analyzing the rules and diagramming some important inferences. Instead, I had developed the bad habit of simply diagramming the game rules and moving on. The result was a very vague understanding of the game as a whole, and left me occupied with each individual question for far too long. Once I began to properly diagram and analyze the game before moving onto the questions, I was able to knock off some of them in a matter of seconds. As a whole, some games I could finish in four minutes.

Again, repetition was key. The more games I threw at myself the more confident I felt and the less likely I was to be thrown off by an especially difficult game. When I moved into writing prep tests I was able to score perfect on almost every games section. Most importantly, grouping games became one of my preferred game types.

When it came to studying LR I decided not to leave myself too much time. I knew that it was my best section and that increased focus here would probably follow the law of diminishing returns. Personally, I also felt that no matter how good I got at these question types some can be so tricky that I doubted if I could ever reach beyond -4. I spent just over a week going over my weakest types: most supported, parallel, and weaken. If time allowed I also took on some assumption questions.

What improved my score the most in this section was the habit of writing out each question I got wrong. I would write out an analysis about half a page at the very most that explained to me why my answer choice was wrong and why the correct one was correct. Not only did this allow me to understand where I had gone wrong and to correct my faulty reasoning, but it also provided me with a mental framework, a process that I used with each logical reasoning question as I talked myself through the wrong answer choices. And I dare to say it again, repetition was key!

On a side note, I also want to mention that as I moved on to study one section of the LSAT, I never left behind another. That is, when I finally began studying LR questions, I continued to include a reading passage and a game or two each day. I felt that this was important as I remained familiar with the other sections and kept on top of my game.

When it came to writing practice tests, I was surprised at the difficulty I encountered. On my first PT I scored a 163. Whether it was due to the pressures of writing a full exam and thinking, “This is it!” or to a lack of endurance, my scores over five sections did not represent what I could do with 35 minutes on just one section. I found that I needed to learn to become relaxed - even a little arrogant in my dialogue with the test - and keep my mind as focused as possible. Taking on this attitude as I wrote 7 practice tests in the two weeks before the exam, I eventually made it into the high 160s, scoring 167s and a 168.

Writing the exam at my alma mater gave me a familiar and comfortable setting. Feeling confident the night before the exam I slept like a baby. The next morning I went through my morning routine of a jog and a solid breakfast, prepped myself with an LG section, and headed to the test center. Sitting in my seat, things felt quite different from my previous experience, and with that I knew I was ready.

This is a great exam and to be honest, I enjoyed every minute of it. The long nights, the aggravations, the mood swings and swearing fits, all become worth it with persistence. I have seen many speak of a “20 point ceiling”, about how, when it comes to the LSAT you “either have it or you don’t”, but this just isn’t so—and my experience can attest to that.

When it comes to this exam it is all about perseverance and positivity. The latter being in abundance on LSAT Blog, I found it very helpful and hope that it continues!