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Thoughts on LSAT Preparation – Let’s call it the “READ” test

Renaming The LSAT – Let’s call it the “READ” Test


Principle: The best acronyms should be descriptive acronyms!

What does the acronym “LSAT” stand for?

LSAT is an acronym that stands for “Law School Admission Test”.

The LSAT is:

– a four letter word;
– a barrier between you and the law school of your choice (or perhaps any law  school)
– a standardized test (every test taker gets the same questions);
– a multiple choice test (rewarding answer identification first and understanding second);
– a long test;
– a test administered under strict time constraints;
–  an important test Continue reading →

The Secret Language of The LSAT (Not) – LSAT Quantifiers

The Secret Language of The LSAT (Not) – LSAT Quantifiers


It’s important that LSAT courses, LSAT tutors and third party LSAT books justify their existence. Therefore, LSAT courses and books focus on every conceivable aspect of the LSAT.

The bottom line is that the LSAT is a test of reading and reasoning in context.  High LSAT test scores require effective reading and  a heightened awareness of language.  Given that the LSAT is a reading test, difficulty is to be presumed. There are certain instances where language distracts test takers, creates huge anxiety, and provokes endless discussion. One such area is the use of “quantifiers” on the LSAT. Here is an email that I received from a student:

“Hi John:

I have a question regarding the words few and some. In LSAT world are they of equivalent meaning.

I know some indicates, in numerical terms, 1-100.

But what would few be in numerical terms.

Cheers,”

(Those interested in my response are invited to see:

http://lsattoronto.wordpress.com/2010/02/02/lsat-poll-meaning-of-the-word-few/)

Who could have imagined that a Law School Bound student, would be interested in this question?

What is a quantifier?

Even if you have not heard the word (it sounds boring), you can probably figure it out. It seems to be based on the word “quantity” which means “how many”.  A “quantifier” is a word that that describes “how many” or “what proportion”. Quantifiers are common in everyday language. Here are some examples: “all”, “none”, “most”, ”many”, ”few”, “several”, “some”. These words are so common on the LSAT that at least one (that means a minimum of one, but does not preclude all) scholar has written an essay about the use of quantifiers on the LSAT. For your reading pleasure I refer you to:

http://nlp.stanford.edu/projects/nlkr/scoper.pdf Continue reading →