Friday, May 22, 2009

Modern Quill

Modern Quill

30-Day LSAT Blog - Day 13

Posted: 22 May 2009 12:12 AM PDT

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Wow, I can’t believe I’m up to date on all my LSAT blog posts.

In any event, today I did a little but of everything to some heartening, and disheartening, results. I seem to be experiencing something of a regression-to-the-mean, which of course makes no sense. I took a full diagnostic test today, and here’s the breakdown:

LR: (Combined) 80%

AR: 81% (Woo!)

RC: 70% (Boo!)

So, it looks like I’ve been making some bold claims on my RC skills which didn’t pan out, at least not for this test. Regrettable. Suppose I managed to raise RC to 85%: the scaled score difference would take me from sub-target school 50% to the 50% of the T-14 schools (again, scaled for this particular test only.)

In essence, this means I’m living on borrowed time. Dead man prepping. 

But again, I’m feeling good. I just have to prove that I’m not at a glass ceiling, that I still have some surprises to learn that will let me slip past the Testmaker. I’m really, really cross about RC, don’t get me wrong. However, it’s three a.m. and I wanna go to be-eh-ehd. The agenda for tomorrow: review errors on this exam, esp. reading comprehension. Take another diagnostic and, mental faculties permitting, return to a focus on Games.

⁂ ⁂ ⁂

Here’s what kills me about Games. I’m getting the diagramming, I’m getting secondary inferences, but I can still go 4/6 for a game. That is what really drives me up the wall. Usually, the reason this happens is just sloppy work on my part. I ignore a rule for a question, or I mis-state a rule in the beginning setup. This is the section where “you can know you’re right,” which never helped me in 8th-grade algebra either. Just because I can “check my work” doesn’t mean I know why I’m making an error.

The worst though? Counting. For example:

Given this set of rules, what is the maximum number of Boxes of Orden* that can separate Suzie from Venezuela?

I’ll correctly diagram this:

_ S _ _ _ V

‘S              V

And then I’ll select “four.”

* Really, Jamie? Do you have to be this geeky?

30-Day LSAT Blog - Day 12

Posted: 21 May 2009 11:49 PM PDT

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Today I had work, but it didn’t stop me from preparing for El SAT-bo. I just brought my test with me, and worked slowly and methodically through them (on my own time, of course, for I am a model employee who adds value to the company with every passing moment). The results went well: for the first time, I scored above 90% on two-consecutive Argument sections. This was, of course, working slowly and methodically through them (however, as I expressed earlier, I don’t expect time will be a limiting factor due to the rate at which I can read). Just to reaffirm what you’ve already heard:

  • Use process of elimination. It is much easier to pick the best out of 2 instead of the best out of 5, and with just a little bit of practice those three incorrect choices should really pop out on all but the most difficult questions.
  • Do not voyage beyond the argument, even if you know it’s true. The Testmaker knows you know its true, but that is almost a sure sign it should be eliminated by POE.
  • You don’t need to read the question stem first. While this might be helpful to someone who is just starting out, each argument is identical. You should be subconsciously sorting out “premise” “evidence” and “conclusion” as you read. I have found that reading the question stem immediately before attacking the choices reduces my risk of confusing “conclusion” with “argument” or “reasoning” when I hit the choices.
  • Repeat.

This is the point where, despite my earlier sensations of burnout and an uncontrollable desire to start playing World of Warcraft* again, I feel like I’m making improvements. Nothing spectacular: a 170 is (and probably ought to be) out of my reach . . . for June. However, I am empowered by my present success, and I think I ought to take the September LSAT, on my birthday though it might be, because I feel the opportunity to improve immensely between now and then. However, I will reevaluate my position when the June score comes in.

The challenge now is to return to Games.

* Unless you have played WoW, you don’t quite now how dull and tedious it is. The entire game is focused around getting to the “next” ___, be it level, or profession point, or Pioneer Trousers of the Owl (I’m not making that up). WoW is the kind of game that only an accountant can love, but I admit I indulge sometimes. Point being, the LSAT makes WoW feel like you’re playing Strip Twister-Scrabble in the Playboy Mansion.

30-Day LSAT Blog - Day 11

Posted: 21 May 2009 11:26 PM PDT

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Tuesday afternoon . . . 

Sadly, this being a day off and all, I didn’t do much studying either. Here is the second reason you shouldn’t leave all your LSAT study until 30 days out: you will burn out remarkably fast. If you do anything foreign and mentally draining for an intensive amount of time for 10 consecutive days, you’ll burn out. The first reason is you shouldn’t wait is, of course, you won’t have enough time. *

Instead, I used my time well: I met with Bojan from Die in a Hole and his lovely girlfriend to explore Manchester’s only brewpub (or brewery, for that matter): Milly’s Tavern. We enjoyed a . . . challenging beer called Bold Horizons. It’s a Berliner Weissbier, a style I had never had before, flavored with apricot. I get nervous around beers with apricot. Why? Well, Magic Hat #9.

Although it is widely acclaimed by everyone I know (especially those who don’t like beer), Magic Hat #9 amazed me the first time I had it, but now it bores me to the point of nausea. It’s supposedly a “Not Quite Pale Ale” and by “not quite” it means, “not remotely.” Their formulation of the apricot overpowers the hops, which is the very picture of a missed opportunity: the citrus aspect of the hops should be augmented by such an addition. #9 is usually highly overcarbonated and must be consumed cold. The warmer it gets, the more it unlayers, betraying a heartbreaking lack of complexity. It reminds me of being the spiritual successor to dropping a slice of lemon into a pitcher of Country Time: a rather tolerable drink that was then flavored, but not at all preferable to the real thing.

By comparison, there’s also Dogfish Head ApriHop, which is what #9 ought to want to be when it grows up. Aprihop is quite clearly a pale ale, an American IPA brewed with apricots. The brew begins with the bitter grapefruit notes of the hop, but quickly subsides to the apricot, which again gently transitions into the more subtle citrus characteristics of the hoppy IPA. But ultimately Aprihop suffers from the same problem: the base IPA needs TLC, and the apricots were later dunked in. The drinker clearly senses that this bevy is an experimental brew. However, it is still preferable to its Vermont cousin.

So, that brings us to Bold Horizons. To be honest, I didn’t take careful notes. The main difference is that the apricot notes, which emerged from the nose and first impact on the palate, sharply yielded to the tart flavor that comes with the lactobacillus culture used in the brewing. Hops? Not in the least, but I didn’t want them: it would have overloaded the beer—made the palate top-heavy, if you will—and would have undermined the tradition of the Weissbier. And the tart flavor was characteristic: just take a spoonful of unflavored yogurt to see what I mean.

At the middle of the glass, I was thinking about buying a growler, but at the end I didn’t think I’d have the constitution for it. Like her two spiritual sisters, Bold Horizons is missing something, but thankfully it’s a matter of balance, not an issue where the base beer is sub-par.

More later! Stay tuned, or not, it’s up to you.

*Of course, I mentioned when I began that my LSAT prep began long before day 01, and that this is more of a mad dash to the prize than an actual LSAT neophyte staring with wide-eyes at something his little mind had never encountered before. So even though I’m burnt out, I’m a burn-out who had encountered all of this material before.

30-Day LSAT Blog - Day 10

Posted: 21 May 2009 10:34 PM PDT

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Indeed, Day 10 has brought me to the point where I didn’t want to go: back to work. While I had the first week off (7 intensive days certainly helped), I had to sink a lot of money into my car, which was literally money I didn’t have. So, while I have requested that my boss “take it easy” on me until June 8, I still have to cope with the demands of what is a rather wearisome job. I logged in eight hours today at the grocery store, so I took today off from preparation.

30-Day LSAT Blog - Day 09

Posted: 21 May 2009 10:29 PM PDT

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Day 09 was an abysmal failure of my effort to keep the LSAT out of my head. I worked on a section of arguments, and the test managed to psych me out on many different levels. Here are some of my annotations (From December 2003):

Problem 7: Read every answer choice. DUH

Problem 10: DUH! Read!

Problem 13: Don’t go outside the premise

Problem 16: Wait, what?

These are the kind of hiccups that can’t occur on the test, and this is why I really regret not taking more time during second semester to practice. Looking back, I don’t see where I would have had much of an opportunity. The whole idea of structuring the 2nd semester the way I did was to help me prepare. And in many senses, it did. However, the LSAT was not one of them.
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