Study Skills & Test Prep Articles

Article / Updated 11-10-2022

Uncle Sam wants you! But first, you have to take the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB). This battery of tests covers ten subjects, and you have to earn a passing score before you can join any branch of the military. The catch is that you can only take the ASVAB if your high school offers it or a military recruiter arranges an appointment at a Military Entrance Processing Station (MEPS) or another testing location. Usually, high schools arrange for large groups of juniors and seniors to take the test all at one time — but if yours didn’t, you missed school that day, or high school is a distant memory for you, your only other option is to sit down with an Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, Space Force, or Army recruiter and schedule the test. Your ASVAB scores are only valid for up to two years. If you took the test in high school more than two years ago, you have to retake it at your nearest MEPS before you can enlist. How you take the ASVAB test The ASVAB isn’t a one-size-fits-all test; it comes in a few varieties. High-schoolers typically take the paper-and-pencil (P&P) version, which requires you to open a test booklet and fill in answer bubbles on a separate sheet of paper; people who take the test at a Military Entrance Test (MET) site do this, too. (MET sites are located in remote areas that aren’t within a reasonable drive of a MEPS.) But most people take the computer adaptive test (CAT-ASVAB), which all takes place on a computer. You select an answer choice and move on to the next question, moving through the subtests until you’re finished or run out of time. It’s nearly impossible to cheat on the ASVAB (and you wouldn’t want to, anyway — when you get busted, you won’t be allowed to enlist). Your test-taking neighbors are all answering different questions than you are. When test proctors hand out P&P test booklets, they hand out several different versions, and the CAT-ASVAB adapts itself to your skill level. What does the ASVAB cover? The ASVAB tests your knowledge in ten topic areas through the following subtests: General Science tests your high school science knowledge, touching on biology, chemistry, and physical sciences. Arithmetic Reasoning takes a snapshot of your ability to solve mathematical word problems at a high-school level. Word Knowledge asks you to find the correct meanings of words to gauge your English vocabulary. Paragraph Comprehension presents you with reading passages, and it’s your job to answer questions and draw conclusions about them. Mathematics Knowledge tests your ability to solve algebra and geometry problems. Electronics Information features questions about circuitry, electrical principles, and electronic terminology. Auto Information asks questions about (you guessed it) automobiles and how they work. Shop Information checks your knowledge of tools, shop terminology, and best practices when it comes to building and making repairs with a wide range of materials. Mechanical Comprehension opens the door to your knowledge of mechanical (as in levers and pulleys) and physics principles. Assembling Objects requires you to connect the dots (literally) to show off your spatial reasoning skills and demonstrate how well you can fit together puzzle-like pieces. The Auto Information and Shop Information subtests are combined and called Auto and Shop (AS) on the paper-and-pencil version of the test; on the CAT-ASVAB, it’s presented on its own. How long is the ASVAB test? The P&P version of the tests presents questions of easy, medium, and hard difficulty in random order, but the CAT-ASVAB tailors itself to your ability. It starts by asking you a question of medium difficulty; if you get it right, it asks you a harder question. If you get it wrong, it asks you an easier question. The following tables break down how many questions you need to answer (and how quickly you have to tackle them) in each subtest. CAT-ASVAB Subtest Number of Questions Time to Complete General Science 15 10 minutes Arithmetic Reasoning 15 55 minutes Word Knowledge 15 9 minutes Paragraph Comprehension 10 27 minutes Mathematics Knowledge 15 23 minutes Electronics Information 15 10 minutes Auto Information 10 7 minutes Shop Information 10 6 minutes Mechanical Comprehension 15 22 minutes Assembling Objects 15 17 minutes Total 135 questions 173 minutes P&P Subtest Number of Questions Time to Complete General Science 25 11 minutes Arithmetic Reasoning 30 36 minutes Word Knowledge 35 11 minutes Paragraph Comprehension 15 13 minutes Mathematics Knowledge 25 24 minutes Electronics Information 20 9 minutes Auto and Shop Information 25 11 minutes Mechanical Comprehension 25 19 minutes Assembling Objects 25 15 minutes Total 225 questions 149 minutes If you took the ASVAB through an Army recruiter and later discover that the Air Force (or any other branch) is a better choice, it’s no problem — your scores are portable. Every branch takes the same test, and the military-at-large breaks down your scores for each branch when it grades your performance. You can join any branch you want, as long as you qualify, after taking the ASVAB once. What is the AFQT score? Your scores on Arithmetic Reasoning, Word Knowledge, Paragraph Comprehension, and Mathematics Knowledge blend together to make up your Armed Forces Qualification Test (AFQT) score. Every branch has a minimum AFQT score it’s willing to accept — and if you don’t make the grade, you don’t qualify for enlistment. Each branch also uses individual subtest scores and combinations of those scores to determine which military jobs you qualify for. If you take the CAT-ASVAB, the computer automatically (and immediately) tallies your score. If you take the P&P version, your test proctor will arrange for scoring and you’ll find out how well you did within several days. Your recruiter will tell you which jobs are open to you based on your scores.

Article / Updated 10-07-2022

On the Mechanical Comprehension subtest of the ASVAB test, you need to know the definition of work and understand the basics of potential and kinetic energy and resistance. Mechanically speaking, work happens when a force (usually measured in pounds) moving over a measurable distance (usually measured in feet) overcomes a resistance. In the United States, the unit of measure for work is often called a foot-pound. (Note: The rest of the world uses the newton-meter, or joule.) One foot-pound of work occurs when a 1-pound weight is lifted to a height of 1 foot. You can represent this concept in equation form: Work = Force × Distance Work is different from effort; work is the result of effort. You can think of effort as being force and of work as being what you produce with that force. Working out the difference between potential and kinetic energy Energy is the capacity to do work. Every object in the universe has energy, and it’s either potential or kinetic. Potential energy is stored energy — energy that’s not doing anything at the moment but that’s in the object by virtue of its position in a field. If a book is resting in your hands, the book itself is holding potential energy. If you raise the book over your head, you’re increasing its potential energy (thanks to the Earth’s gravitational pull). When you accidentally drop it, all its potential energy becomes kinetic energy, or energy in motion. When the book hits the ground, its energy becomes potential again. Potential energy can’t be transferred between objects. The more massive an object is, the more potential and kinetic energy it has (so a bowling ball contains more energy than a basketball does). Both these forms of energy are measured in joules. Overcoming resistance The resistance that the work overcomes isn’t the same thing as the weight of the object. (If you’ve ever tried to put your freaked-out cat in a cat carrier to go to the vet, you know what I mean.) In other words, if you try to move a 1,200-pound piano, you’ll probably notice a measurable difference between the amount of work it takes to shove it along the floor and the amount of work it takes to carry it up the stairs. But don’t take my word for it — you can demonstrate this concept at home. First, find a 1,200-pound piano and push it across the floor. Next, put it on your back and carry it up the stairs. See the difference? (Really, don’t put the piano on your back. I’m just trying to make a point here.) When you move the piano across the floor, you’re really working (pushing) against the frictional resistance (the force that’s produced when two surfaces rub together) of the piano rather than its full weight. Under these circumstances, the frictional resistance of the piano offers less resistance than its full weight. There are times when an object’s full weight is less than its frictional resistance. Consider trying to push a textbook across a deep-pile carpet. Picking the book up and carrying it is easier. Gaining power by working more quickly Power is the rate of work. If Mary Lou is able to lift more 50-pound sacks of potatoes onto the truck bed in 10 minutes than Joe is, Mary Lou is more powerful than Joe. Mathematically speaking, Power = Work / Time. In this formula, work is usually measured in foot-pounds, time is measured in minutes, and power is measured in foot-pounds per minute. However, the unit of measure for power is commonly put in terms of horsepower (hp). Horsepower is derived from the estimate that an average horse can do 33,000 foot-pounds of work in 1 minute (according to James Watt). Therefore, 1 horsepower = 33,000 foot-pounds per minute. One horsepower is also the same as 550 foot-pounds per second.

Article / Updated 10-06-2022

On the CISSP exam, you need to be able to recognize the techniques used to identify and fix vulnerabilities in systems and the techniques for security assessments and testing for the various types of systems. Client-based systems The types of design vulnerabilities often found on endpoints involve defects in client-side code that is present in browsers and applications. The defects most often found include these: Sensitive data left behind in the file system. Generally, this consists of temporary files and cache files, which may be accessible by other users and processes on the system. Unprotected local data. Local data stores may have loose permissions and lack encryption. Vulnerable applets. Many browsers and other client applications often employ applets for viewing documents and video files. Often, the applets themselves may have exploitable weaknesses. Unprotected or weakly protected communications. Data transmitted between the client and other systems may use weak encryption or use no encryption at all. Weak or nonexistent authentication. Authentication methods on the client, or between the client and server systems, may be unnecessarily weak. This permits an adversary to access the application, local data, or server data without first authenticating. Other weaknesses may be present in client systems. For a more complete understanding of application weaknesses, consult OWASP. Identifying weaknesses like the preceding examples will require one or more of the following techniques: Operating system examination Network sniffing Code review Manual testing and observation Server-based systems Design vulnerabilities found on servers fall into the following categories: Sensitive data left behind in the file system. Generally, this consists of temporary files and cache files, which may be accessible by other users and processes on the system. Unprotected local data. Local data stores may have loose permissions and also lack encryption. Unprotected or weakly protected communications. Data transmitted between the server and other systems (including clients) may use weak encryption or use no encryption at all. Weak or nonexistent authentication. Authentication methods on the server may be unnecessarily weak. This permits an adversary to access the application, local data, or server data without first authenticating. These defects are similar to those in the client-based systems. This is because the terms client and server have only to do with perspective: in both cases, software is running on a system. Database systems Database management systems are nearly as complex as the operating systems on which they reside. Vulnerabilities in database management systems include these: Loose access permissions. Like applications and operating systems, database management systems have schemes of access controls that are often designed far too loosely, which permits more access to critical and sensitive information than is appropriate. Another aspect of loose access permissions is an excessive number of persons with privileged access. Finally, there can be failures to implement cryptography as an access control when appropriate. Excessive retention of sensitive data. Keeping sensitive data longer than necessary increases the impact of a security breach. Aggregation of personally identifiable information. The practice known as aggregation of data about citizens is a potentially risky undertaking that can result in an organization possessing sensitive personal information. Sometimes, this happens when an organization deposits historic data from various sources into a data warehouse, where this disparate sensitive data is brought together for the first time. The result is a gold mine or a time bomb, depending on how you look at it. Database security defects can be identified through manual examination or automated tools. Mitigation may be as easy as changing access permissions or as complex as redesigning the database schema and related application software programs. Large-scale parallel data systems Large-scale parallel data systems are systems with large numbers of processors. The processors may either reside in one physical location or be geographically distributed. Vulnerabilities in these systems include Loose access permissions. Management interfaces or the processing systems themselves may have either default, easily guessed, or shared logon credentials that would permit an intruder to easily attack the system. Unprotected or weakly protected communications. Data transmitted between systems may be using either weak encryption or no encryption at all. This could enable an attacker to obtain sensitive data in transit or enough knowledge to compromise the system. Security defects in parallel systems can be identified through manual examination and mitigated through either configuration changes or system design changes. Distributed systems Distributed systems are simply systems with components scattered throughout physical and logical space. Oftentimes, these components are owned and/or managed by different groups or organizations, sometimes in different countries. Some components may be privately used while others represent services available to the public (for example, Google Maps). Vulnerabilities in distributed systems include these: Loose access permissions. Individual components in a distributed system may have individual, separate access control systems, or there may be one overarching access control system for all of the distributed system’s components. Either way, there are too many opportunities for access permissions to be too loose, thereby enabling some subjects access to more data and functions than they need. Unprotected or weakly protected communications. Data transmitted between the server and other systems (including clients) may be using either weak encryption or no encryption at all. Weak security inheritance. What we mean here is that in a distributed system, one component having weak security may compromise the security of the entire system. For example, a publicly accessible component may have direct open access to other components, bypassing local controls in those other components. Lack of centralized security and control. A distributed system that is controlled by more than one organization often lacks overall oversight for security management and security operations. This is especially true of peer-to-peer systems that are often run by end users on lightly managed or unmanaged endpoints. Critical paths. A critical path weakness is one where a system’s continued operation depends on the availability of a single component. All of these weaknesses can also be present in simpler environments. These weaknesses and other defects can be detected through either the use of security scanning tools or manual techniques, and corrective actions taken to mitigate those defects. High quality standards for cloud computing — for cloud service providers as well as organizations using cloud services — can be found at the Cloud Security Alliance and the European Network and Information Security Agency. Cryptographic systems Cryptographic systems are especially apt to contain vulnerabilities, for the simple reason that people focus on the cryptographic algorithm but fail to implement it properly. Like any powerful tool, if the operator doesn’t know how to use it, it can be useless at best and dangerous at its worst. The ways in which a cryptographic system may be vulnerable include these: Use of outdated algorithm. Developers and engineers must be careful to select encryption algorithms that are robust. Furthermore, algorithms in use should be reviewed at least once per year to ensure they continue to be sufficient. Use of untested algorithm. Engineers sometimes make the mistake of either home-brewing their own cryptographic system or using one that is clearly insufficient. It’s best to use one of many publicly available cryptosystems that have stood the test of repeated scrutiny. Failure to encrypt encryption keys. A proper cryptosystem sometimes requires that encryption keys themselves be encrypted. Weak cryptographic keys. Choosing a great algorithm is all but undone if the initialization vector is too small, or too-short keys or too-simple keys are used. Insufficient protection of cryptographic keys. A cryptographic system is only as strong as the protection of its encryption keys. If too many people have access to keys, or if the keys are not sufficiently protected, an intruder may be able to compromise the system simply by stealing and using the keys. Separate encryption keys should be used for the data encryption key (DEK) used to encrypt/decrypt data and the key encryption key (KEK) used to encrypt/decrypt the DEK. These and other vulnerabilities in cryptographic systems can be detected and mitigated through peer reviews of cryptosystems, assessments by qualified external parties, and the application of corrective actions to fix defects. Industrial control systems Industrial control systems (ICS) represent a wide variety of means for monitoring and controlling machinery of various kinds, including power generation, distribution, and consumption; natural gas and petroleum pipelines; municipal water, irrigation, and waste systems; traffic signals; manufacturing; and package distribution. Weaknesses in industrial control systems include the following: Loose access permissions. Access to monitoring or controls of ICS’s are often set too loosely, thereby enabling some users or systems access to more data and control than they need. Failure to change default access credentials. All too often, organizations implement ICS components and fail to change the default administrative credentials on those components. This makes it far too easy for intruders to take over the ICS. Access from personally owned devices. In the name of convenience, some organizations permit personnel to control machinery from personally owned smartphones and tablets. This vastly increases the ICS’s attack surface and provides opportunities for intruders to access and control critical machinery. Lack of malware control. Many ICS’s lack security components that detect and block malware and other malicious activity, resulting in intruders having too easy a time getting into the ICS. Failure to air gap the ICS. Many organizations fail to air gap (isolate) the ICS from the rest of its corporate network, thereby enabling excessive opportunities for malware and intruders to access the ICS via a corporate network where users invite malware through phishing and other means. Failure to update ICS components. While the manufacturers of ICS components are notorious for failing to issue security patches, organizations are equally culpable in their failure to install these patches when they do arrive. These vulnerabilities can be mitigated through a systematic process of establishing good controls, testing control effectiveness, and applying corrective action when controls are found to be ineffective. Cloud-based systems The U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) defines three cloud computing service models as follows: Software as a Service (SaaS): Customers are provided access to an application running on a cloud infrastructure. The application is accessible from various client devices and interfaces, but the customer has no knowledge of, and does not manage or control, the underlying cloud infrastructure. The customer may have access to limited user-specific application settings. Platform as a Service (PaaS): Customers can deploy supported applications onto the provider’s cloud infrastructure, but the customer has no knowledge of, and does not manage or control, the underlying cloud infrastructure. The customer has control over the deployed applications and limited configuration settings for the application-hosting environment. Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS): Customers can provision processing, storage, networks, and other computing resources and deploy and run operating systems and applications, but the customer has no knowledge of, and does not manage or control, the underlying cloud infrastructure. The customer has control over operating systems, storage, and deployed applications, as well as some networking components (for example, host firewalls). NIST further defines four cloud computing deployment models as follows: Public: A cloud infrastructure that is open to use by the general public. It’s owned, managed, and operated by a third party (or parties) and exists on the cloud provider’s premises. Community: A cloud infrastructure that is used exclusively by a specific group of organizations. Private: A cloud infrastructure that is used exclusively by a single organization. It may be owned, managed, and operated by the organization or a third party (or a combination of both), and may exist on or off premises. Hybrid: A cloud infrastructure that is composed of two or more of the aforementioned deployment models, bound together by standardized or proprietary technology that enables data and application portability (for example, failover to a secondary data center for disaster recovery or content delivery networks across multiple clouds). Major public cloud service providers such as Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform, and Oracle Cloud Platform provide customers not only with virtually unlimited compute and storage at scale, but also a depth and breadth of security capabilities that often exceeds the capabilities of the customers themselves. However, this does not mean that cloud-based systems are inherently secure. The shared responsibility model is used by public cloud service providers to clearly define which aspects of security the provider is responsible for, and which aspects the customer is responsible for. SaaS models place the most responsibility on the cloud service provider, typically including securing the following: Applications and data Runtime and middleware Servers, virtualization, and operating systems Storage and networking Physical data center However, the customer is always ultimately responsible for the security and privacy of its data. Additionally, identity and access management (IAM) is typically the customer’s responsibility. In a PaaS model, the customer is typically responsible for the security of its applications and data, as well as IAM, among others. In an IaaS model, the customer is typically responsible for the security of its applications and data, runtime and middleware, and operating systems. The cloud service provider is typically responsible for the security of networking and the data center (although cloud service providers generally do not provide firewalls). Virtualization, server, and storage security may be managed by either the cloud service provider or customer. The Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) publishes the Cloud Controls Matrix, which provides a framework for information security that is specifically designed for the cloud industry. Internet of Things The security of Internet of Things (IoT) devices and systems is a rapidly evolving area of information security. IoT sensors and devices collect large amounts of both potentially sensitive data and seemingly innocuous data. However, under certain circumstances practically any data that is collected can be used for nefarious purposes, security must be a critical design consideration for IoT devices and systems. This includes not only securing the data stored on the systems, but also how the data is collected, transmitted, processed, and used. There are many networking and communications protocols commonly used in IoT devices, including the following: IPv6 over Low power Wireless Personal Area Networks (6LoWPAN) 5G Wi-Fi Bluetooth Mesh and Bluetooth Low-Energy (BLE) Thread Zigbee, and many others The security of these various protocols and their implementations must also be carefully considered in the design of secure IoT devices and systems.

Article / Updated 10-05-2022

Physical and biological sciences play a big role in a host of legal issues and is important for the LSAT. Some attorneys specialize in negotiating water and mineral rights. Patent attorneys often begin as engineers. Even product liability and personal injury cases require a general understanding of the way the physical world works. Although you may concede the importance of the natural sciences, you may not be eager to find that 25 percent of your reading score is based on a chemistry passage. The good news is that the reading comprehension questions don't assume that you have any previous knowledge of the subject. If you do come across a reading passage on chemistry and it's been 20 years since you've studied the periodic table, relax. The answer to every question is located somewhere in the passage. You really don't need to know a lot about a passage topic to answer the questions correctly. Although it's true that chemistry majors may read a passage about polymers more quickly than someone who never took a college chemistry course, that doesn't necessarily mean chemistry experts will answer more questions correctly. In fact, they may actually be at a disadvantage because they may try to answer questions based on outside knowledge instead of using the information stated in the passage. Reading comprehension questions test reading skills, not the plethora of details you keep tucked away in your long-term memory. When you come across a passage on a subject that you're pretty familiar with, don't rely exclusively on your outside knowledge to answer the question! Make sure the answers you choose can be justified by information contained in the passage. Natural science passages tend to be more objective and neutral than persuasive in tone. So often, the main theme of a natural science topic is to explain, describe, or inform about a scientific event. Here's a shortened version of a nice, neutral natural science passage that may appear on the LSAT: A logarithmic unit known as the decibel (dB) is used to represent the intensity of sound. The decibel scale is similar to the Richter scale used to measure earthquakes. On the Richter scale, a 7.0 earthquake is ten times stronger than a 6.0 earthquake. On the decibel scale, an increase of 10 dB is equivalent to a tenfold increase in intensity or power. Thus, a sound registering 80 dB is ten times louder than a 70 dB sound. In the range of sounds audible to humans, a whisper has an intensity of 20 dB; 140 dB (a jet aircraft taking off nearby) is the threshold of immediate pain. The perceived intensity of sound is not simply a function of volume; certain frequencies of sound appear louder to the human ear than do other frequencies, even at the same volume. Decibel measurements of noise are therefore often “A-weighted” to take into account the fact that some sound wavelengths are perceived as being particularly loud. A soft whisper is 20 dB, but on the A-weighted scale, the whisper is 30 dBA. This is because human ears are particularly attuned to human speech. Quiet conversation has a sound level of about 60 dBA. Continuous exposure to sounds over 80 dBA can eventually result in mild hearing loss, while exposure to louder sounds can cause much greater damage in a short period of time. Emergency sirens, motorcycles, chainsaws, construction activities, and other mechanical or amplified noises are often in the 80 to 120 dBA range. Sound levels above 120 dBA begin to be felt inside the human ear as discomfort and eventually as pain. Don't let the unfamiliar scientific concepts worry you. You're probably familiar with the term decibel, but you may have never encountered the A-weighted decibel or dBA, as it's abbreviated. Focus on the main point, which in this passage is to describe dBAs and how human ears perceive them.

Article / Updated 10-05-2022

Here's your chance to try writing an LSAT-style writing essay. Open up your word processing program and enable the spellcheck (or use the Get Acquainted With LSAT Writing software to prepare your practice essay). There’s no right or wrong answer for an essay. Just pick a side and defend it well. After the sample topic are two possible responses. The essay positions aren’t right or wrong. Read them to get an idea of how you could organize your essay. Writing prompt example: The sporting goods store This topic deals with whether the state should fund a large sporting retailer to come to the area. Read the prompt and pick your side. A small southern town is trying to decide whether to provide financial incentives to a large national retailer that wants to open an outlet there. Town business leaders are considering offering funds raised by state taxes to pay for the store’s construction. Write an argument either supporting or protesting offering the financial incentives, keeping two guidelines in mind: The town wants to create jobs by bringing tourist dollars to the area. The town wants to avoid putting local merchants out of business. Town business leaders want to use state taxes to pay for the construction of the national retailer’s multimillion-dollar facility right next to an exit from an interstate highway. The facility would include a giant sporting goods store, several restaurants, and a hotel. It would create at least 300 new jobs, and the town hopes that it would also attract tourists who otherwise would not bother leaving the highway. If the town does not provide the tax funds, the retailer will probably take its business elsewhere. Local merchants in the town do not want to use state funds to finance the facility’s construction. They claim that local retailers already provide all the goods that would be available at the new store, and they fear that the new store would deliberately cut its prices to drive them out of business. They believe it would be wrong for the state to fund the construction of a store for an out-of-town retailer when it does not provide the same service to local businesses. They insist that the town should treat the out-of-town retailer the same way it treats local merchants, and if the national retailer takes its business elsewhere, so much the better for local businesses. Sample answer: Use state funds Here’s a sample answer that argues for using the state funds: The benefits of bringing this large national retailer to the town are tremendous, and the town should do whatever is necessary to persuade the company to come. If that means the town’s leaders must offer to pay for the facility’s construction with state tax funds, then they should do it because the benefits of having the retailer move in far outweigh the cost of using state money to build the store. The retailer would build a huge, multimillion-dollar facility just off an interstate exit. That exit would become a major destination; people who would otherwise never consider stopping in the town would now have a reason to get off the highway and spend their money there. After these people have stopped, it will be easier to convince them to stay a while and spend even more money, perhaps on amenities that already exist in town, away from the interstate. Introducing the retailer would create hundreds of new jobs. First, construction workers would have ample employment. Second, all the facilities that would be part of the retailer’s complex — the sporting goods store, the several restaurants, the hotel — would require a large number of employees. These would be good, stable jobs, and the local economy needs that. The town already has several sporting goods stores and of course hotels and restaurants, but all are not located in one convenient place; people must drive around to get to them, and they will never attract anyone from out of town. The local merchants already have a loyal local clientele, and it’s not likely that that will change; regardless, it is unfair to force local customers to pay high prices for goods that the major retailer can sell for less. Bringing the retailer to town would be a win-win situation for nearly everyone. The town should bend over backward to persuade it to come; spending tax money to build the facility would be an investment with huge payoffs in the near future. Sample answer: Don’t use state funds Here’s a sample answer for the other side: Offering to pay for the construction of this retailer’s facility is a terrible idea. Because the potential consequences to the town’s local merchants are horrific and the likely economic benefit to the town of the retailer’s locating there is unproven at best and negligible at worst, the town should definitely not subsidize the store’s construction with state funds. The town should not pay to construct the national retailer’s monstrous facility because to do so would be extremely unfair to local merchants. Local merchants have to pay their own way; no one has ever offered to build facilities for them. To add insult to injury, if the town does decide to use state taxes to build the complex, then local merchants will in effect be forced to finance the construction of a major competitor. Countless towns have proven that introducing large national retailers with big-box stores is devastating for local merchants. The national retailers carry a larger variety of merchandise with prices set specifically to drive local merchants out of business. There is no reason to assume this retailer would be different. If this retailer comes to town, customers will flock there to do their business, abandoning the merchants who already operate in the heart of town. As for tourists, perhaps a few interstate travelers will get off the highway to do a little shopping or have a quick meal, but they are unlikely to stay very long or venture into town. Nothing about a big-box sporting goods store will impress them with “local color.” Although this retailer would provide a certain number of jobs, they would be low-paying jobs in an isolated area around a remote interstate exit. They would come at the cost of the jobs that already exist with the town’s local sporting-goods merchants. All profits would leave the state to go to corporate headquarters, leaving the town with a hefty construction bill and 300 minimum-wage jobs with no security. If the national retailer is serious about coming to this town, it can pay its own way like any other honorable vendor. There’s no sense in the town’s subsidizing its own economic destruction.

Article / Updated 10-05-2022

Some LSAT reading questions ask you about specific statements from the passage. These questions are potentially the easiest type of reading question because the information you need to answer them is stated in the passage, and the correct answer is a paraphrase. You just need to find it. This information may be quantitative, such as years, figures, or numbers, or it may be qualitative, like ideas, emotions, or thoughts. Spot specific information questions by noticing how they're phrased. Those that contain verbs that indicate direct statements, such as states, indicates, or claims, are likely ones whose correct answer is a paraphrase of information in the passage. Usually, questions that ask for answers that are “according to the passage” are also specific information questions. So look for a direct answer to a question that's phrased like these examples: The passage states that Neruda's Communist beliefs were evident in his poetry as early as which one of the following years? According to the passage, which one of the following is true about the primary intensity of sound? In the passage, the author indicates that transitory actions can be filed in which one of the following? Because specific information questions seek an answer that derives directly from information in the passage, look for answers that come straight from the passage and eliminate answer choices that require you to make any inferences. If you have to make a logical deduction to justify an answer choice for this question type, it's probably wrong. And keep in mind that the right answer may paraphrase the passage rather than provide a word-for-word repeat.

Article / Updated 10-05-2022

Humanities passages you may see on the LSAT explore topics related to the arts and literature. So you may read about the message of a Mexican muralist, the techniques applied by a modern composer, or the themes advanced by a particular playwright. This passage excerpt interprets the impact of a popular Latin American poet: The Chilean poet Pablo Neruda joined the Communist Party in 1939 and, according to Jean Franco, began to write social poetry shortly thereafter. But Neruda's social philosophy is apparent in the poems he wrote before his formal Communist affiliation. In 1924, Neruda published Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair, a compilation of 21 poems through which Neruda reveals the compassion for common humanity that formed the foundation of his political choices. Neruda's use of familiar images and common experience in his poetry makes his art accessible to the average person, and because art attempts to make sense of the often ambiguous objective world by presenting it in a more easily grasped form, Neruda's poems carry out the Communist ideal of collective equality by offering everyone the opportunity to better comprehend the world. Therefore, Twenty Love Poems achieves a more powerful purpose than merely exploring the relationship between a man and a woman; Neruda's poems provide a means by which to explore the complexities of the world and perhaps catch a glimpse of something more eternal. The excerpt reveals the author's positive view of Neruda's compilation through a relatively objective account of the work's influence. Like many humanities passages, this paragraph incorporates historical and political references in its discussion of the artist.

Article / Updated 10-05-2022

The reading comprehension section of the LSAT may present you with reading passages of different lengths, but the passages will all require that you be a critical reader and have good comprehension abilities. The questions in this article refer to the following passage. “Power” is a generic term that must be distinguished from the more specific term “authority.” When party A gets party B to do what party B would not otherwise have done, party A has exercised power. Power takes many forms and appears variously in the histories of Alexander the Great and his time. Alexander enjoyed military power and delegated a portion of it to his general, Antipater. Antipater in turn used the coercive power afforded him by his army in Greece to install friendly governments and forestall concerted action against Macedonia. The politicians and public speakers in the Greek states demonstrated powers of persuasion that, at different times, affected the course of events differently. Only those with some degree of power become actors in political histories. More interesting is the particular manifestation of power that we call authority. Authority is a kind of power, but not all power is authoritative. Authority is a “discursive function.” Authority describes the ability to command effectively, for even when we speak of someone “acting” authoritatively, we actually mean “causing others to act by virtue of one’s authoritative speech.” As such, authority implies an asymmetry in the relationship between speaker and listener. Because authority demands obedience, it is associated with coercive power, and because it operates in discourse, it is associated with persuasive power. Yet these associations are uneasy. The command, “Don’t move or I’ll shoot” is discursive and demands obedience, but while it shows that the speaker is in a position of power, it does not suggest a position of authority. Likewise, a well-argued case may effect its desired result, but argument presupposes a certain equality between speaker and listener. Authoritative speech relies for its effect on the identity of the speaker, her or his relationship with the audience, and the audience’s perception of the speaker. Coercion and persuasion may support this relationship, as the listeners assume either that dire consequences will result from disobedience or that there must be good reasons for obedience. But to see authority in action, both coercion and persuasion must remain in the background, occulted. If the listener demands a reason for a command or asks about the consequences of disobedience, the speaker’s authority falters. At this point authority may give way to persuasion (if the speaker argues in favor of the command) or naked force (if the speaker threatens), or it may be reasserted by invoking the privileged, authoritative position of the speaker: “Because I said so!” Alexander himself enjoyed many kinds of authority at different times: as acclaimed leader, first among equals, of the Macedonians, as presider over the Treaty of Common Peace in Greece, as Great King in Persia, and as an earthly divinity at first to the Egyptians (who were used to such things) and later to many Greeks. Other Macedonians also held authority, at various times, either by association with Alexander or according to their own abilities and positions. Which one of the following most accurately states the central idea of this passage? (A)Power and authority are the same thing but are spoken of differently depending on whether the person exercising power is a political leader. (B)Power is a kind of authority that comes from persuasive speech and the threat of coercive force. (C)Authority is a kind of power that does not explicitly depend for its effect on persuasion or coercion. (D)Alexander was unique among ancient kings in exercising power and authority, but his general, Antipater, was also powerful. (E)Alexander exercised power among the Greeks but relied on authority to govern Macedonians, Persians, and Egyptians. The primary function of the second paragraph of the passage is to (A)discuss the use of authority by Alexander the Great (B)explore aspects of the concept of authority and its uneasy association with coercive and discursive power (C)imply that without coercive power, there is no authority (D)criticize scholars who have suggested different definitions of authority (E)suggest that a speaker’s authority falters if listeners question it What does the author mean by the word “occulted” in Line XX? (A)expressed (B)understated (C)hidden (D)magical (E)accosted According to the passage, what is the difference between power and authority? (A)Authority is a generic term for creating an effect through persuasion, while power involves coercive force. (B)Power is a generic term for the ability to make someone do something; authority is a particular form of power, the ability to command without explicit persuasion or coercion. (C)Authority is exercised by virtue of political office, while power requires military command. (D)Power exists in the eyes of the governed, while authority resides in the one employing it. (E)Power is a generic term for the ability to make someone do something; authority is a particular form of power, the ability to command by skillfully applying persuasion and coercion as necessary. Answer Key C. Authority is a kind of power that does not explicitly depend for its effect on persuasion or coercion. B. explore aspects of the concept of authority and its uneasy association with coercive and discursive power C. hidden B. Power is a generic term for the ability to make someone do something; authority is a particular form of power, the ability to command without explicit persuasion or coercion.

Article / Updated 10-05-2022

The reading comprehension section of the LSAT includes a passage about a different kind of science: social science. This passage type includes topics like philosophy, history, political science, archaeology, sociology, and psychology. The good news about social science passages is that their topics tend to crop up more in the news and in daily conversation than does, for example, physics! So you may be more comfortable with social science topics. Although passages about the social sciences are still mostly descriptive and informative, they're more likely to be persuasive than natural science passages, so you may see more variety in the kinds of tones these passages display. For instance, the personality and opinion of the author of this excerpt of a sample philosophy passage are very apparent: For most Americans and Europeans, this should be the best time in all of human history to live. Survival — the very purpose of all life — is nearly guaranteed for large parts of the world, especially in the West. This should allow people a sense of security and contentment. If life is no longer, as Thomas Hobbes famously wrote, “nasty, brutish, and short,” then should it not be pleasant, dignified, and long? To know that tomorrow is nearly guaranteed, along with thousands of additional tomorrows, should be enough to render hundreds of millions of people awe-struck with happiness. And modern humans, especially in the West, have every opportunity to be free, even as they enjoy ever-longer lives. Why is it, then, that so many people feel unhappy and trapped? The answer lies in the constant pressure of trying to meet needs that don't actually exist. The word need has been used with less and less precision in modern life. Today, many things are described as needs, including fashion items, SUVs, vacations, and other luxuries. People say, “I need a new car,” when their current vehicle continues to function. People with many pairs of shoes may still say they “need” a new pair. Clearly, this careless usage is inaccurate; neither the new car nor the additional shoes are truly “needed.” This author conveys a clear opinion regarding Western interpretations of needs. The dubious tone and clear opinion of this social science passage comes through in the placement of copious quotation marks and the introduction of rhetorical questions.

Article / Updated 10-05-2022

The reading comprehension section of the LSAT contains different types of questions. One you should be prepared for is the big picture question. Main idea questions and those that ask you to identify a passage's primary purpose regard the whole passage. Almost every passage has at least one question that asks you to see the big picture, and often it's the first question you answer for a particular reading passage. You can identify main idea questions by the language they contain. Here are some examples of the ways main idea questions may be worded: The author of the passage is primarily concerned with which one of the following? The author's primary goal (or purpose) in the passage is to do which one of the following? An appropriate title that best summarizes this passage is While you read the passage, look for its main idea and primary objective because you know you'll probably be asked about them. If you're asked a question about the passage's main idea, look for an answer that conveys an idea similar to your statement of the author's purpose. The best answer to a main idea question is general rather than specific. If an answer choice concerns information that's discussed in only one part of the passage, it probably isn't the correct answer. Here are some other ways to eliminate answer choices for main idea questions: Eliminate answer choices that contain information that comes only from the passage's middle paragraphs. These paragraphs probably deal with specific points rather than the main idea. Eliminate any answer choices that contain information that you can't find in the passage. These choices are irrelevant. Sometimes you can eliminate answer choices based on just the first words. For example, if you're trying to find the best answer to the author's purpose in an objectively written natural science passage, you can eliminate answers that begin with less objective terms, like to argue that, to criticize, and to refute the opposition's position that.