What can Pi Day teach you about logical reasoning and reading comprehension?
For those of you who might be a little rusty on your high school geometry, pi is a mathematical constant that rounds to about 3.14159. Tomorrow, 3/14/15, is a very special Pi Day, considering the date corresponds to the first five digits of pi—a phenomenon that occurs only once a century.
Math nerds the world over will be celebrating with such exciting traditions as eating pie and reciting the digits of pi as far out as possible. At the end of this post, you’ll find a video of Kaplan’s own Robert Reiss reciting pi’s digits from memory far beyond anything I am capable of (which, now, is reliably about 3.1415).
LSAT tips to celebrate a very nerdy Pi Day
As you know, the LSAT has a minimal math component (it requires some basic arithmetic deductions in logic games and general understanding in logical reasoning of numbers vs. percentages). So, what (besides hours of enjoyment) can pi do for law school applicants? I’m going to share a basic lesson that I’ve taught to both GRE and GMAT students who actually have to use pi occasionally on the math sections of those exams: don’t waste your time doing things that are nice but unnecessary.
Learning all the digits of pi is a great accomplishment, but for the vast majority of the math problems for which pi is used, it’s unnecessary to know anything beyond the first few digits. Memorization is something that may be nice to have, but is not at all necessary for success on a test like the GRE or the GMAT. The LSAT is full of similar traps: things that many students are in the habit of doing but which end up using way too much time or effort without yielding much improvement in score. These LSAT tips show you how to avoid the most redundant and unnecessary test-taking habits:
LSAT Tip 1: Don’t try to memorize passages for reading comprehension
The way to read the LSAT reading comprehension section is manifestly different from your usual reading for work, school, or pleasure. You should read for structure, main ideas, and the author’s overall purpose—not to commit a bunch of nitty-gritty details to memory or take a mental inventory of every single thing that occurs in the passage.
Instead, focus on why details are mentioned—not what is said. Ask what the details do to help the author’s general cause. Trying to get deep into the particulars means you’re wasting too much time and mental energy on things that you may not need to answer in the six to eight questions at the end. It can even prevent you from seeing the big picture or realizing what the author’s overall intention is.
The LSAT’s reading comprehension section is all about reading critically and strategically. Take brief notes breaking down a passage paragraph-by-paragraph so you can quickly recall a specific detail if the passage is addressed in the questions. Think of those notes as a table of contents; then, at the end, ask yourself what the author’s purpose and main idea are.
LSAT Tip 2: Logic games always have a pattern
There’s no such thing as a brand new logic game. All of the logic games that appear on the actual LSAT are built from the same pieces. The four basic building blocks of these problems correspond to different action game types: sequencing, matching, distribution, and selection. Tougher games are hybrids of two or more of these types. Therefore, similar rules appear over and over again, and as a prepared test-taker, you can start to notice patterns in the kind of deductions we are able to make from those rules.
Dealing with logic games as if you’ve never seen them before wastes time and makes the test harder. Pattern recognition is important throughout the test, especially in the games section—that’s why your score can be greatly improved through preparation despite the fact that, for many law school applicants, it may seem like the toughest section at first glance.
LSAT Tip 3: Don’t waste time on every single answer choice in the logical reasoning section
Frankly, you don’t have time on the logical reasoning section to look at every single answer choice of every single question with the same measured eye. There are patterns in the wrong answer choices just as often as there are in types of logic games. You should recognize choices that are more likely to be incorrect on different question types, in addition to recognizing the right answer. You can also deploy such methods of elimination as parallel reasoning, which enables you to eliminate multiple answer choices in longer question types with minimal effort.
If you’re just starting to prep, it can be difficult to recognize these patterns or to deploy strategies like prediction that let you zoom to a correct answer without reading every single answer choice in full. Get more structured, strategic practice and you will gain the confidence you need to move through the section like a pro.
And now, the digits of pi:
How much do we love pi? Find out, and get in on our Pi Day sale by March 16!