PASSED SECTION 2 (some tips!)

[Ellen]

About test taking for section 2 (haven't taken the other sections yet..):

• The most important recommendation that I have is to be really careful about interpreting each of the questions. The test designers definitely seem to intentionally try to get you to fall for the "easy" (and also incorrect) answer. Think as clearly and simply as you can.
• Slow down, flag the questions that you find confusing and come back to them. A LOT of times when you read them again, you will find that you interpret them differently and more clearly the second time.
• Eliminate the answers to the questions that you know/suspect are wrong. Focus on the remaining answers greatly increases your chances.
• Take all the practice tests you can.

What helped me pass and I strongly recommend:

• Read chapter 7 in Site Engineering (Strom) about Soils ! SO important
• Download the NY ASLA Study Guide and READ and review the packet:
• Purchase and download both Exams from LAREPrep: https://www.lareprep.com/
• "Shake and Bake" LAREStudyGuide (this is a good basic introduction; while I found a FEW of the answers to be incorrect, generally it was quite useful) http://www.larestudyguide.com/
• Flash cards of every term you don't know from any of the prep tests you take
• Other people's digital flashcard (be careful tho, they CAN be incorrect): https://www.cram.com/flashcards/lare-section-2-9059691 & https://quizlet.com/247839135/lare-section-2-shake-bake-flash-cards/
• Read all of Chapter 1 in Site Analysis... (Lagro)
  
• USE Chapters 2-5 of Lagro for topics/answers you need to know more about (or read them if you have the time!)
• Know a lot about soils, slopes, vegetation, microclimates, wind, solar access and how they affect each other and relate to each other
• Know a lot about program development and how the SCOPE affects the site inventory and assessment process
• Know the difference between "inventory" and "assessment" and KNOW that the test designers may try to trick you just based on your (potential) misunderstanding of the differences between them

PS: I don't recommend studying the "Section B" materials included in the "START HERE!!!!" admin package. It's outdated, confusing, and not relevant to the updated "Section 2" test.

[Indigo Lu]

Thanks Ellen! Where can you find the NY ASLA study guide and packet?

[Tianyi Jiang]

Hi, Ellen, 

Thank you so much for your information. 

You mentioned "Read chapter 7 in Site Engineering (Strom) about Soils ! SO important", do you actually mean Chapter 6 (Soils in Construction)? Chapter 7 is earthwork, cut/fill calculations, does the section 2 will test how to use those methods to calculate cut/fill??

Thanks!

[marian...@gmail.com]

I'd love to see that chapter as well! Looking through the materials in "START HERE!!!" I also felt like they weren't very strongly correlated to the topics outlined for Section 2 in the CLARB orientation guide. All alternative resource recommendations for Section 2 would be great!!

[Dana Hernalsteen]

where do we find the ny study guide? i tried searching the chapter website!

[Tom Reifenberg]

Thanks for all of the helpful pointers! 

Dealing with the last few bullet points about knowing soils, slopes, program development, inventory v.s. assessment, do you have recommendations for reading materials that cover these effectively? I'm currently working through reading LaGro and the Site Planning and Design Handbook by Russ from the recommended readings, but have also heard LaGro is a little too much of an overview to be much help in depth. 

[Lindsey Langenburg]

I also want to make sure I've got Inventory vs. Assessment right--it's one of those things that I feel like I understand but maybe not to the degree of the test, or maybe there are specifics I'm missing. Any thoughts?

Inventory: List of significant features; survey of qualities and resources; record and describe

Assessment: Determine the importance/value of inventory items; prioritization

[B]

While that is the dictionary answer, the LARE will test you more on your understanding of what that means. So the question won't flat out ask you "is listing the significant features of a site part of Inventory or Analysis" (note that what you called Assessment the LARE will call it Analysis). But would instead ask something along the lines of (I'm making this up but it gives you an idea of what I mean):

In the following scenarios which would be part of the inventory phase (choose all that apply):

1. there is a cluster of large specimen trees in the middle of the site

2. the eastern property line is parallel to the road and has a curb cut that would make a good entry point

3. the southern edge has a low dip that is 2 units lower than the rest of the site (side note: yes it will say 'units' instead of 'feet' or 'meters')

4. the north and east sides have adjacent roads and the south and east sides have housing adjacent

So in answering that made up question (this is not from any test that I know of) 1, 3, and 4 would be the correct answer because they state specific items that are noted about the site but not anything about what makes them important or useful to a design. While 2 would be a part of the Analysis phase because though it does state a fact you would learn from the Inventory phase (that the eastern property line is parallel to the road) it goes on to make an analysis that it would be a good spot for an entry drive, which is an Analysis of that condition.

So be able to discern between what makes a statement an Inventory statement and what makes another an Analysis of a condition is going to be the key for the LARE. I hope that all makes sense.

[Patrick Luhn]

I took the L.A.R.E. section 2 prep webinar Series

One of the topics that was covered was the way questions are formatted.

Something that I found interesting they covered was on questions that have "Select all that apply"  

They mentioned the correct response will always be 2 or 3 answers and never 1 or 4 answers. (Ex. A,B or A,C,D)  and never (Ex. A or A,B,C,D)

Can anyone verify that this is correct, I am getting concerned that I am going to go into this test with this mind set and it ends up not being correct. If this is true then this allows for a large advantage when dealing with these questions. 

Thanks in advance.

Patrick

[Dennis Himberger]

THIS WAS FROM ANOTHER TOPIC/POST. BUT I ALSO HAD THE SAME QUESTION, AND PAID FOR THAT (NOT SO HELPFUL??) WEBINAR TOO. 

ANSWER:https://groups.google.com/d/msg/lare-exam/05jlwkzTETg/R94J20lVCwAJ

[Katie Toschlin]

I think copy writing laws prohibit this.

[Joel G]

The strom book is a key reference for our profession. If you don't already know the material, you should really consider buying a copy. Or check it out from a library.

The 5th edition works fine for LARE studying, used copies range from $25 to $40

https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0470138149/ref=dp_olp_all_mbc_mma?ie=UTF8&condition=all 

Source: own the 5th edition, now licensed in CA

[JJ J]

Hi all,

about the soil, Ellen mentioned chapter 7 is correct because in 6th edition, it is chapter 7. 

[Jess H]

in the shake and bake, you've mentioned few incorrected answers, do you remember which ones?

[Maya Baraona]

Hi you mention reading Chapter 7 in Strom Site Engineering, I have the 3rd Edition and Chapter 7 is some case studies, can you tell me the exact name of the chapter. Is it Earthwork? Basically I'm not seeing much on soils specifically in this book. It's mostly grading and drainage.

On Tuesday, January 22, 2019 at 8:04:57 PM UTC-8 ellen draw wrote:

About test taking for section 2 (haven't taken the other sections yet..):

• The most important recommendation that I have is to be really careful about interpreting each of the questions. The test designers definitely seem to intentionally try to get you to fall for the "easy" (and also incorrect) answer. Think as clearly and simply as you can.
• Slow down, flag the questions that you find confusing and come back to them. A LOT of times when you read them again, you will find that you interpret them differently and more clearly the second time.
• Eliminate the answers to the questions that you know/suspect are wrong. Focus on the remaining answers greatly increases your chances.
• Take all the practice tests you can.

What helped me pass and I strongly recommend:

• Read chapter 7 in Site Engineering (Strom) about Soils ! SO important
• Download the NY ASLA Study Guide and READ and review the packet:
• Purchase and download both Exams from LAREPrep: https://www.lareprep.com/
• "Shake and Bake" LAREStudyGuide (this is a good basic introduction; while I found a FEW of the answers to be incorrect, generally it was quite useful) http://www.larestudyguide.com/
• Flash cards of every term you don't know from any of the prep tests you take
• Other people's digital flashcard (be careful tho, they CAN be incorrect): https://www.cram.com/flashcards/lare-section-2-9059691 & https://quizlet.com/247839135/lare-section-2-shake-bake-flash-cards/
• Read all of Chapter 1 in Site Analysis... (Lagro)
  
• USE Chapters 2-5 of Lagro for topics/answers you need to know more about (or read them if you have the time!)
• Know a lot about soils, slopes, vegetation, microclimates, wind, solar access and how they affect each other and relate to each other
• Know a lot about program development and how the SCOPE affects the site inventory and assessment process
• Know the difference between "inventory" and "assessment" and KNOW that the test designers may try to trick you just based on your (potential) misunderstanding of the differences between them

PS: I don't recommend studying the "Section B" materials included in the "START HERE!!!!" admin package. It's outdated, confusing, and not relevant to the updated "Section 2" test.