Posts Tagged Strategy
Assumptions and Flaws: Focus on the Argument Engine
Posted by dan@atlaslsat.com in LSAT Prep, LSAT Tips, LSAT content 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.)
Reading Comprehension: Your Opportunity to Lap the Field
Posted by dan@atlaslsat.com in LSAT Prep, LSAT content 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.
The LSAT Essay: What It Is and How to Write It
Posted by dan@atlaslsat.com in LSAT Essay on May 19th, 2009
If you’re like many LSAT test-takers, the thought of writing a timed essay on an unfamiliar topic makes you feel a bit queasy. This is understandable. However, a little familiarity and preparation can go a long way. Let’s discuss the logistics of the essay section, and then we’ll talk about some strategies for organizing and writing your LSAT essay.
What is it?
The essay section is always the sixth and final section of the LSAT exam. You’ll be given 35 minutes to respond to a specific prompt (don’t worry – no prior knowledge of any particular subject matter is required). You’ll write your essay using the same pencil, or pencils, that you brought with you to the exam, and you’ll be required to enter your response onto the lined paper given to you.
What does it test?
The essay section is designed to test how well you can (1) organize a compelling argument using sound reasoning and supporting evidence, and (2) express your thoughts clearly in written form. The essay section is NOT meant to test how many big vocabulary words you know, or how much you know about the law or any other specific topic, or really even how creative you are. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that your task is to blow the reader away with impressive and complex thought processes, words, or sentence structures. Rather, you want to show that you can ably develop a simple argument and support it in a clear and compelling way. That’s it.
How is it scored?
It’s not! Your writing sample will be copied and sent along with your application to the law schools you’ve chosen, but no score will ever be assigned to your essay. It’s simply meant to be a supplemental tool that law schools can use to help them evaluate your candidacy if they choose to use it. Some schools may never look at it. Others might choose to read it so that they can get a sense for your extemporaneous writing skills (something they CAN’T get from your application). It really depends on the school. The fact that your essay will not be scored should take some of the pressure off, but you certainly don’t want to ignore this part of the exam. You never know how a school will use your essay, so it’s in your best interest to do the best job you can.
What will the topic be?
You won’t be asked to write about a specific topic so much as you’ll be asked to respond to a speficic scenario. The scenario will always be presented in the same form. Here’s a watered-down example (keep in mind that the scenario on your exam will be more involved):
John wants to buy a pet. He is choosing between a cat and a dog. He only has time to care for one pet. Write an essay in which you argue for the purchase of one type of pet over the other based on the following considerations:
• John wants a pet that will be relatively maintenance-free.
• John wants a pet that will be a true, loyal companion.
The first option, the cat, is a clean pet that does not typically damage or destroy household property. While the cat does need to be fed twice per day, it does not need to be taken for daily walks. The cat is very aloof and non-responsive to human interaction, but it does grow attached to its human owner over time.
The second option, the dog, requires daily attention. The dog has been known to damage household property, and it requires walks on a daily basis. With training, the dog can learn to be relatively self-sufficient. The dog responds to human interaction and craves the attention of its human owner, but it can’t communicate very well with humans.
As mentioned earlier, the scenario will always be presented in the same way. The first part will present a choice, the second part (the bullet statements) will present two considerations that need to be weighed in making that choice, and the third part will provide more information about the two choices at hand. Notice that there is no right or wrong answer here. In fact, the scenario is presented in such a way as to make it difficult to decide which option is better! They both have their pros and cons. What’s important is NOT which option you choose, but rather how you justify, or support, the choice that you do end up making.
How should I write my essay?
The following will outline a process for planning and writing your essay. It certainly isn’t the only way to do it, but it does provide a consistent, repeatable approach that you’ll be able to rely on.
Step 1: Compile information in grid form (5 minutes total for steps 1-3)
In the test booklet, set up a table that has the two choices along the top and the two considerations along the side. In the intersecting cells of the grid, include the appropriate pros and cons using a “+” before any pro and a “-“ before any con. For our example, it might look like this:
|
|
Cat |
Dog |
|
Relatively maintenance-free |
+ clean + doesn’t destroy property + no walks - needs food twice per day |
- daily attention - damages property - daily walks + can learn to be relatively self-sufficient |
|
True, loyal companion |
- aloof and non-responsive + becomes attached to human owner |
+ responds to humans + craves human attention - can’t communicate well |
You’re familiar with cats and dogs, so it’s probably already obvious to you that a cat would be a good low-maintenance choice and a dog would be good for companionship. Keep in mind, however, that the scenario you will see on your exam will be much less familiar to you. Organizaing the information in grid form will make it much easier for you to see the relative strengths and weaknesses of each choice.
Step 2: Decide on a “more important” consideration (5 minutes total for steps 1-3)
At this point, you want to make a decision. Is it more important for John that the pet be maintenance free or that it be a loyal companion? Again, there’s no right answer. Even so, you need to decide which you will make more important. Choose one that you can easily justify (even if it’s a made-up justification). For example, we’ll decide:
“Having a loyal companion is more important than having a low-maintenance pet because true friendship trumps all else. If John has a true companion and friend, the daily maintenance will become a labor of love instead of a hassle.”
Step 3: Make your choice! (5 minutes total for steps 1-3)
Your decision in step 2 should lead you to a clear choice. In this case, if we deem companionship to be the more important consideration, then we’ll want to choose the dog (since the dog clearly has more compelling plusses in that part of the grid).
“John should pick the dog because it will serve as a more loyal companion than the cat will.”
Step 4: Write the essay (25 minutes)
Plan on structuring your essay the same way every time. Here’s an easy template to follow:
Paragraph 1:
A. Summarize the decision to be made.
“The scenario presented above puts John in a position in which he will choose between purchasing a cat and purchasing a dog.”
B. Acknowledge the complexity of the decision.
“Given the considerations and characteristics of the choices at hand, this is a very difficult decision in that each choice has its merits.”
C. State your opinion.
“Even so, John would be better served by choosing the dog.”
Paragraph 2:
A. State why the primary consideration (the one you chose to be the primary consideration) is more important and how your choice satisfies this consideration.
“First, it is more important to have a pet that serves as a loyal companion than it is to have a pet that is maintenance-free…” (justify this statement, even if it’s a made-up justification)
“The dog will be a loyal companion in that it will …” (use the information from the grid to show how)
B. State why the other choice (cat) falls short in this regard
“The cat, on the other hand, is a poor match for anyone looking for a loyal pet …” (use the information from the grid to show how)
Paragraph 3:
State how your choice still does an okay job with the secondary consideration
“Furthermore, while the dog isn’t an ideal choice for someone wanting a maintenance-free pet, it can learn to be relatively self-sufficient…” (use any other information from the grid to support this)
Paragraph 4:
Summarize your argument
Step 5: Proofread! (5 minutes)
Spelling errors, misprints, grammatical errors, etc. will never go over well. While a few simple mistakes won’t kill you, you want to be sure your final essay is as clean as possible.
Practice this a few times on some real essay prompts and you should be all set. Good luck!
LSAT Study Tips
Posted by noah@atlaslsat.com in LSAT Prep on May 18th, 2009
Top Five Tips for Studying for the LSAT
1. Practice As You Play. Don’t go into test day with only one or two practice tests under your belt. Make sure you do a minimum of five practice tests – and do those under actual timed conditions with only one short break between sections three and four. Since the LSAC (the company that writes and administers the LSAT) adds an extra, experimental section to everyone’s test, make sure to add in your own extra section to simulate the actual length of the exam.
2. Wrong Isn’t Everything. Most students only review the questions they answered incorrectly on their practice tests. Instead, as you take your practice test note the questions that give you trouble or take too long. Give those questions extra review along with the ones you get wrong. In short, if you’re not confident about your answer, consider it a “mistake,” and learn from it.
3. Work from Wrong to Right. For the logical reasoning and reading comprehension sections, note which answers you can easily eliminate, and leave unmarked those which are somewhat attractive to you. When you review your work, go back and figure out why each tempting wrong answer is wrong. There are only so many ways to create an attractive incorrect answer. Learn the different types of wrong answers and you’ll find it much easier to eliminate them going forward. Top test-takers generally focus on eliminating wrong answers since the correct answer may be far from ideal but be the last one standing.
4. Play it Again. One of the most under-utilized study techniques for logic games is to re-solve them a second and third time. When you face a tough game, review it soon afterwards to consider what you wished you had done. Figure out the diagram you wish you had made and what inferences did you overlook. Then let the game sit for a week and then try it again. This can dramatically improve your speed.
5. Give it a Break. The 3-day marathon before test day isn’t the best idea! Don’t take any full-length practice tests within the week preceding test day. Your brain is a muscle, and it needs to rest. The last few days should include only a couple hours of practice work, and the night before, watch Legally Blonde to get your mind off the big day.