ANSWER CHOICES trap

-slight switch – just one word render an otherwise-perfect answer completely wrong, usually at
the latter part of sentence. has the keywords of your prephrase but fundamentally different
idea,
-out of scope, take somethign related and say somethign beyond: ex: MOST/MORE
-prescribe the opposite of the true answer – very effective during panic and long answers and
complex ideas
-if binary things: extrapolate that one is better, or that theyre mutually exclusive
-mishmash different ideas from different paragraphs – make no sense – but if you dont
understand – it’s not an obvious elim
-inserting new ideas/completely foreign, -> if you’re not confident in retention you can’t tell
“halllucination” or it was there.
-buzzwords trap: has all the words u looking for, but say something very wrong, make a big
assumption,
-superficially foreign: veiled answers, avoid buzzwords, and paragraphsed to look vague and
foreign ex: objective vs avoid bias -> avoid the buzzwords.
(when u narrowed to final 2, usually one is the veiled answer, the other is buzzword trap
answer, but dont always rely on this to pick answers lol)
-VEILED: vague, general phrasing: but if taken literally and apply it, its true
-saying things that usually in daily life used as a euphimism, but u must take it literally (ex: not
the best ..... seems to imply bad, but in lsat it just means not the best)

QUESTION STEM tricks

-author vs critics/voices in passage
-primarily concerned vs concerned
-main point takeway vs primary purpose
-intention of that word,that sentence: can only be detected by reading the sentence before or
after it, not jusst the sentence itself – requires structure knowledge, and direct subsitute to see
if this meaning make sense

TEXT
Weakness: visual and superfical keyword processing
-first impression of topic: think this is the main thing
-visual prominence: long details and examples make it look like its main topic. NOT SO. Must be
considered semantically. Ex: 5 sentences to prove a minor premise for a bigger argument. Ex:
80% prove something. Then say, thus, blah blah blah -> main point in last 20% - to advise
something, blah blah
-visual example prominence: use one visual example and elaborated extensively – u register
the example, even tho its just one example, the actual idea is WIDER, and example might not by
prototypical/representative. U get wrong idea of the idea, or you forget idea/its purpose and
only remember example/story
-paragraph idea switch without new pagraph. And often use same superficial keywords to feel
like on same topic. Extra strength: when the ideas are super complicated, u cant delineate
-key ideas that reveal purpose are in the intro and end, very short, so they look like “Extra”
“contexxt” “introductory” “storytelling” “set the mood” stuff
-detail overwhelm trap/lack of detail trap – details tend to be concrete and concrete is easier
to process than abstract – your brain focus on that, try to “hold it together” without making
sense of howw they are interconnected. Or if it’s all vague, u fail to imagine, won’t process
automatically -> aka wont process. Solution: imagien and create some “theory structure”, a
skeleton for meat to be added on later. We learn in terms of theory structure
charlie munger quote: We all know people who've flunked, and they try and memorize and
they try and spout back. It just doesn't work. The brain doesn't work that way. You've got to
array facts on the theory structures answering the question 'Why?' If you don't do that, you just
cannot handle the world."

TRICKY SENTENCE ORGANIZATION

Playing with your naive expecations of when new ideas begin, or where imporrtant stuff is
located
 tail-important sentence: mind register most strongly the beginning stuff of sentence,
but many sentences’s key idea is in the end
 main idea of sentence is hidden in embedded clausse, which usually doesnt contain
important stuff. Mind fail to identify whats important and whats not.
 Long embedded clause breaks the key part of sentnece, so you don’t connect the ideas,
x1, fkfieajfoweaifsd, x2.
 New idea started with embedded clause. You thought its part of the previous, despite
not knowing why, and know trying to udnerstand what the next part is talking about.
Can confuse this as one gobbly mess, it just look like an extra “add on” that’s “non-
essential. Ex: apples is a fruit that contains many nutrients and vitamins and
antioxidants and are able to prevent or delay the onset of multiple diseases such as
heart disease, lung cancer, which is blah blah. Lfkajsf;lkasdj;lfsjda;lkasj. This sentence is
connected to the “blahb Blah” ->must know what everything functions, if not now, then
later
Deliberately avoiding connector words like Even though, but, etc. instead they just use “and”
or start new sentence or semicolon and your mind doesnt figure out, at least not automatically
on autopilot if its something complicated. (but everything is still gramatically correct, deceiving
but not ambiguous or debatable)

FUTURE EXPECTATIONS
-twist sentences: if u think u know exactly what the rest sentence say, you’re gonna get tricked.
->anticipate but dont be certain
-subtle twist paragraph: author grew up with sentimental novels. 4 setences detail blah blah
blah. When she wrote first novel, learned from colorists (never mention colorists, colorist is
gona be talked next paragraph, but u assumed it say learned from those sentimental novels)
-shifting slightly after matching your expecations – kinda like pace and lead, u dont notice it!
NUANCES – brain doesnt register nuance by default. “the weather is very hot” is registered as
“hot”, very is gone.
-reporting/describing vs not explicitly endorsing but no objection
-complete endorsement, zero qualification vs some qualification
-sometimes the attitude is revealed in one word/one phrasing, and its not explicit, but can be
read literally. Again, its inference, and implication, but its not “reading between the lines”
-two different topics, but put two facts together, u get an implication. Sometimes theyre very
simple and safe in hindsight, not a far reaching implication at all, but in real time, u just dont
make that connection
-similar concepts to invite extrpolation/conflation. Ex: “highly processed flour gathered from
acorn”” vs “cultivated”, they kinda seem not-natural, but processed doesnt have to be
cultivated, it could be wild, processed could be like cooking or grilling, but in our minds, we
think superfically
-the stories/ideas imply a point, and that point is never explicitly stated in pargraph – thats why
u cant expect to always find a sentene to higlight – sometimes there isnt any. This is the other
extreme of abstract: a bunch of concrete, but no abstract statement/point that “ties” it
together. We kinda need both to process well
-we overexaggerate contrasts. We think binaries, “opposite” but really theyre just, well,
different.

REFERENTIAL PHRASING – yes, it gets its own category

-this that they which, easy to nod your head it means that, or actually dont even have any idea
what it refers to, but doesnt question, just unaware.
-only which refers to the term right before it, but even then, confirm thru context. The other
can refer to the fact, or an abstrac thing (the difficulty, poverty, etc), not any particular thing
mentioned in the sentence.
-different wording, use new words for old things, “beyonce” ... “the great songstress” “this
cultural icon” “pop mastermind”....
-use negative language to complicate: big vs not small. “no small influence”, usually understood
to be euphemism for “very big influence” in real life, but in LSAT, literally it just means there is a
significant influence.
-avoid parallel structure of similar ideas, because thats too easy. Real life: Beyonce is a popstar.
Rihanna is a popstar. Lsat: beyonce is a popstar. Rihanna didn’t allow her lacking vocals to
prevent her from achieving dominance in the mainstream sphere. This is fun to figure out
sparesly, once in a while, in a magazine article, with easy breaks in between, but excessively, its
a neural catastrophe.
-using the complex version of word/foreignness: tooth decay vs caries, because visualization
aids comprehension, they dont want that
-multiple level: X blah blah. This bleh bleh. This bloom blooom. These are 2 different things!
your mind just figured out one referential phrasing, for some reason, it thinks it’s “Set”.
Sometimes storms come in two.
UNCERTAINTY and CONFIRMATION BIAS/COMMITMENT/CONSISTENCY/first to enter egg
fallacy
-mind doesnt like uncertainty and on autopilot, everything looks neat and coherent and simple.
U DONT KNOW THAT U DONT KNOW. Easy to nod your head yeah i get that until u see a
question stem asking what this sentence function as or what that word means in that context.
U still think u know but u have trouble picking answer, because you dont acutally know. Its like
reading the textbook several times and think u know because everything looks familar, until
you’re asked to RECALL on your own. The habit to develop is to articulate everything, why,
what, in your own words. This is the only way to actually know what you’ve read. Otherwise, its
a fucking illusion
-so u either think u know, but u have 0 diea, or u have the wrong idea. It’s “just an aside”
“storytelling” “tangent” “introductory”. Everything is written for a reason and u must know
why, not immediately, but later!!!!
-teaser and cliffhangers and vague sentences that are only elaborated 7000 years later
many tihngs are general that are only elaborated and clarified later. Sometimes 10 sentences
later. Then u forgot that key sentence was said, ->failed to register it and its importance ->
creates panic plus invites wrong conclusions/misunderstanding – answer can’t be known at this
time – then brain use confirmation bias and ignore contradictory signals to keep that wrong
early conclusion intact, aka “color everything you read”
-> solution: do guess, its important, but only guess, and later, know what every sentence does.
Articulate it in your words, not “nod your head”, thats not understanding

VOICE SWITCHING
ex: X X Y X. U grow accustomed and dont expect switch. U detect xyxy easily, but not THAT,
especially when the ideass aren’t opposing!!! WHO and WHEN really matters on LSAT!!!
Ex: switch from someone else’s words paragraphse to author’s words – sometimes un-
determinable, and wont be questioned on, but cause confusioin

MOST POWERFUL TACTIC – PANIC

Set panic and set it early on. Sometimes u hit a passage and you can tell halfway thru a passage
that this is not going to end well
Stress cause the “simple” “shortcut” brain to take over. All your great logical reasoning skills
now out the window. Solve this problem directly and indirectly: grow competence and
experience because confidence leads to less panic, but also reverse your anxious tendencies:
meditation!

GIST
We like easy stuff, remember easy, visual, concrete stuff, and ignore the other stuff, instead of
digging deeper,and we’re either completely unaware of ourr ignorance or we create false
conclusions and then rationalize things, which exacerbates the misunderstanding.
We must aim to understand what everything means and FUNCTIONS (reasoning structure) and
articulate it in your own words, it gradually becomes faster and almost instateneous, just like
driving. Reversing all your bad habits take time.
Little known fact: rereads are much faster .Certain stuff do need rereading, otherwise
misunderstand. Many Questions also require reread because too nuanced to rely on memory,
and memory is either impossible or timewasting.
Grow competence and speed will grow. Speed is directly related to competence. Practice good
habits and good process.

Note: all this look simple and avoidable, yes, because this is hindsight, and you dont have layers
of tricks built upon each other and packed like salmon in a passage. Also, nothing is at stake
here. But the real experience is entirely different