Ask Mod Nightblade LSAT Questions

Question

Hello all,

In an effort to boost the visibility of the LSAT forum, I will attempt to answer questions posted under this topic (no timetable for how long I will keep this up). So if you have any questions about the LSAT, feel free to ask! For those who are unaware, I am currently in the middle of studying for the March and June LSATs, so I feel I can help those who are looking for some guidance.

Mod Nightblade

Arro44 · Answer

In an effort to bump this topic and get the discussion started;

What materials helped you the most during your LSAT quest?

Is there anything you wish you would have known when starting to prepare for the test?

nightblade354 · Answer

Good questions, mate. And thanks for trying to bump this. Honestly, most people just PM me at this point, so this post is likely to remain dormant.

Anyways, I used 7sage which was tremendously helpful. I would recommend it to everyone taking the LSAT and to those who wish to improve in CR on the GMAT.

And a piece of advice: your goal is to think like an expert, not to reinvent the wheel. This took me a long time to understand. If you try to do it on your own in a new way, you make your life far more difficult than it needs to be. Mimic those who are the best and you will go far!

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Shishou · Answer

Hi, I would like to use the LSAT logical reasoning Bible and RC to boost my GMAT CR and RC score. Is it worth it.I have ony touched Manhattan's CR bookand want to do very well on the Verbal

nightblade354 · Answer

Shishou , the answer is yes and no. The biggest difference between the LSAT and the GMAT for CR and RC is logical reasoning. By this, I mean the use of sufficient and necessary conditions to answer questions. I cannot remember if the Powerscore book touches upon these (I assume they have to). I used a website that specialized in teaching it, but you can probably these resources elsewhere.

Shishou · Answer

nightblade354  Ok thanks . i am hearing the LSAT CR and RC are much tougher and will prepare me mentally in handling GMAT's relatively much easier CR and RC questions.I just want to know if it is worth it

nightblade354 · Answer

Shishou , they are harder and they are worth it!

Arro44 · Answer

nightblade354  ,

do you see the value for an LSAT test taker to solve OG GMAC CR question, in addition, to the LSAT questions?
If not, what would you consider to be the main differences between the CR sections on the two tests?

Cheers,
Chris

nightblade354 · Answer

Arro44 ,

There are some benefits because they are high quality questions, but there are thousands of LSAT questions, so it's not necessarily needed. The difference between the two, simply, is that LSAT uses conditional reasoning. The GMAT doesn't utilize this often, so practice is not 100% analogous.

freedom128 · Answer

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nightblade354 · Answer

chondro48 , I took the gmat prior to taking the lsat, so I did not use 7-sage until much later in my studies (when I transitioned to the lsat). I strongly believe in the 7-sage curriculum, but would add that it is lsat based and teaches things that may not be relevant on the gmat.

I learned CR through books and practice when I was preparing for the gmat. Has 7-sage helped me improve my skills? Yes. But some of those skills learned are beyond the scope of the gmat. Is that a bad thing? Probably not for the gmat. BUT, the biggest thing it teaches you is sufficient vs necessary conditioning. This doesn’t really come into play on the gmat. Being able to identify a premise vs conclusion, which 7-sage helps with to a certain extent, is the biggest thing.

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chrtpmdr · Answer

Hello nightblade,

do you have any tips on developing a very structured CR-framework/mindset? CR has always been one of my strongest sections, on my last mock I scored a V41 with only one CR mistake but there are questions that catch me completely offguard. Overall my approach is very intuitive.

So it feels like I am dependent on which questions I receive and how lucky I am with that allocation. Do you have particular steps in mind that you ALWAYS follow? I struggle the most with assumption questions with answer choices such as "At least one of the members ..., Not one of the politicians ..., Some members ...."

Thank you very much!

nightblade354 · Answer

Hi chrtpmdr , My steps on how I break down CR are described in my CR guide. I read the argument, break down the premises and conclusions, I look for conditional language, and then see if I can identify an assumption they left out or a hole in the argument. Having a structured way of going about solving a problem can help a great deal, but the GMAT, luckily, doesn't require more than intuition and a knowledgeable approach. As per your last issue, read my guide and the summary of the Powerscore CR book. This will go over the negation technique. For example at least one = some; the negation of which is none. Not one = none, so the negation is some. Here is the link to my guide: https://gmatclub.com/forum/mod-nightbla ... l#p2272709

DanTe02 · Answer

Hi nightblade, My CR timming is around 2min-2.30min. Any way to evaluate my CR performance given that I've solved the entire OG and Verbal guides

LSAT questions are bit different. Also I've seen people finishing verbal section with 15min or 5min. left(Any suggestions to increase pace on CR since my SC is already under a minute and 30sec. and RC under 6/8 min. standards)

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