Hitting a plateau? Try THIS! Forum

[JPhillips11]

With the Feb exam 2 weeks away, I thought I would post something encouraging. I had hit a plateau and was not progressing with my PTs. I was getting the same amount of questions wrong time and time again. Finally, I wrote out every single question I got wrong - the stimulus, the question and each answer choice. Below each answer choice, I wrote out the reason it was right or wrong IN MY OWN WORDS. I also made flashcards breaking down the different types of LR questions that I was having the most difficulty with. After intensive (2 days +) review, I finally retested and saw my score rise by 50% - which, for me, was a big deal since I had not been able to progress at all. Now, I am going to take the same approach with the remaining questions. I thought this might help someone in a similar position.

Good luck, all!

[spearnreel]

I will give that a try. Hope it works for me. Thanks!

[lsatrehtard]

definitely a good strategy. I did almost the same thing and saw a significant improvement. I cut down on the amount of questions i was doing and started focusing more on why I was choosing my answers (pretty much like your strategy).

[JPhillips11]

No problem - another thing to note is that during my review, I didn't really know whether it was sticking or not until I actually took another PT and realized that I had absorbed it! So don't give up, even if you think you're not taking it in during your review.

[existenz]

I also made flashcards breaking down the different types of LR questions that I was having the most difficulty with.

What exactly do you mean by this? Did you write down rules or strategies for certain types of questions, or just a summary of how to identify those questions, or what?

[holeinone600]

Tag.

[llawguru]

+1

[borntokill]

I also made flashcards breaking down the different types of LR questions that I was having the most difficulty with.

What exactly do you mean by this? Did you write down rules or strategies for certain types of questions, or just a summary of how to identify those questions, or what?

both?

[ps494]

With the Feb exam 2 weeks away, I thought I would post something encouraging. I had hit a plateau and was not progressing with my PTs. I was getting the same amount of questions wrong time and time again. Finally, I wrote out every single question I got wrong - the stimulus, the question and each answer choice. Below each answer choice, I wrote out the reason it was right or wrong IN MY OWN WORDS. I also made flashcards breaking down the different types of LR questions that I was having the most difficulty with. After intensive (2 days +) review, I finally retested and saw my score rise by 50% - which, for me, was a big deal since I had not been able to progress at all. Now, I am going to take the same approach with the remaining questions. I thought this might help someone in a similar position.

Good luck, all!

Do you write down why you personally got the question wrong, or do you just write down why the answer itself is wrong? Could you give us an example what you actually write down.

Also, would you please elaborate on the flashcards?

Thanks for the help.

[7ED]

Does this work for 175+? im stuck at 178. Everytime i improve an area i messed up on another problem comes up elsewhere. Improving is like hitting moles. You wack one over the head and another pops up behind u.

[JPhillips11]

With the flashcards, I used the tips in the LR Bible to write out how to attack each question type that I was having trouble with. I wrote down anything that I thought would help me to remember.

For example, one of my flashcards says the following:
-----------
PARALLEL ARGUMENTS

1) Match the method of reasoning if obvious (circular, conditional, analogy..)
2) Match the conclusion
3) Match the premises
4) Match the validity or logical force of the argument

Watch out for:
- Mistaken reversals
- Contrapositives
- Mistaken negation

All else fails ----> use abstract terms
----

This is just what helped me to remember. My advice would be to write down whatever you think would be helpful for you, personally.

[JPhillips11]

With the Feb exam 2 weeks away, I thought I would post something encouraging. I had hit a plateau and was not progressing with my PTs. I was getting the same amount of questions wrong time and time again. Finally, I wrote out every single question I got wrong - the stimulus, the question and each answer choice. Below each answer choice, I wrote out the reason it was right or wrong IN MY OWN WORDS. I also made flashcards breaking down the different types of LR questions that I was having the most difficulty with. After intensive (2 days +) review, I finally retested and saw my score rise by 50% - which, for me, was a big deal since I had not been able to progress at all. Now, I am going to take the same approach with the remaining questions. I thought this might help someone in a similar position.

Good luck, all!

Do you write down why you personally got the question wrong, or do you just write down why the answer itself is wrong? Could you give us an example what you actually write down.

Also, would you please elaborate on the flashcards?

Thanks for the help.

I have noted what I personally got wrong, but I think what helped me more was to write down why each wrong answer was wrong, regardless of whether I had chosen it or not. Does that make more sense??

[ps494]

With the Feb exam 2 weeks away, I thought I would post something encouraging. I had hit a plateau and was not progressing with my PTs. I was getting the same amount of questions wrong time and time again. Finally, I wrote out every single question I got wrong - the stimulus, the question and each answer choice. Below each answer choice, I wrote out the reason it was right or wrong IN MY OWN WORDS. I also made flashcards breaking down the different types of LR questions that I was having the most difficulty with. After intensive (2 days +) review, I finally retested and saw my score rise by 50% - which, for me, was a big deal since I had not been able to progress at all. Now, I am going to take the same approach with the remaining questions. I thought this might help someone in a similar position.

Good luck, all!

Do you write down why you personally got the question wrong, or do you just write down why the answer itself is wrong? Could you give us an example what you actually write down.

Also, would you please elaborate on the flashcards?

Thanks for the help.

I have noted what I personally got wrong, but I think what helped me more was to write down why each wrong answer was wrong, regardless of whether I had chosen it or not. Does that make more sense??

Thanks. Yes, that does make sense.

How extensive are your explanations? Do you write a short paragraph, or do you simply write something short like "out of scope."

[Woozy]

Does this work for 175+? im stuck at 178. Everytime i improve an area i messed up on another problem comes up elsewhere. Improving is like hitting moles. You wack one over the head and another pops up behind u.

This is a good problem to have. Try this thread for some ideas.