October 2010 Test Prep Forum

[iamcutdacheck]

Well hopefully, I will get an epiphany sometime soon, too, lol.

It sounds simple, what you're saying, but in practice, it's really not. Good Luck.
It's 8:20pm here and I'm off to study some LR. Wish me luck! I already did 6 LG (as per pithypike) and got -3/33. Not too bad but they were all dumb mistakes! Which sucks because I hate dumb mistake.

And if you're impressed by that, don't be because those games were only linear, balanced games...

Im about to start 4 Logical Games out of the Logic Bible (as per Pithypike), doing 2 set of Balanced Games, 1 Underfunded, and 1 Overfunded, hopefully I get an epiphany during the overfunded and underfunded game sets ...the Balanced Games have become easier

[drake]

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[northwood]

If you just finished grouping games in the LGB, you should worry about getting the problems right( accuracy) and not speed.


Also, is it a good idea to practice old RC passages from old tests? OR should I focus my attention more on LR and LG? I miss about 7 total on RC? ANy suggestions as to ways to increase my score ( I have been finding that i want to rush the reading to get to the passages, whereas before i would only try to get through 3 passages before the 35 minutes was up ( and mark the 4th passage all B)

[jwaters]

I'm just about finished with the Grouping Games section in LGB. Should I be worried about timing now or is it still too premature? I am taking far too long to solve some of the harder games. Like 15+ minutes at least.

Don't worry about timing until you have accuracy down. Once you have your technique down, are consistently making all the right inferences, and getting all the questions right then you can worry about timing.

[jwaters]

If you just finished grouping games in the LGB, you should worry about getting the problems right( accuracy) and not speed.


Also, is it a good idea to practice old RC passages from old tests? OR should I focus my attention more on LR and LG? I miss about 7 total on RC? ANy suggestions as to ways to increase my score ( I have been finding that i want to rush the reading to get to the passages, whereas before i would only try to get through 3 passages before the 35 minutes was up ( and mark the 4th passage all B)

I mean if you are happy with -7 then I guess it isn't necessary, but why not try to improve? Also, the new RC sections have a comparative reading passage that the older sections don't have, so you may want to look into those if you haven't already.

Also, this sounds kind of obvious but its something I didn't think about until I read it in an article. If your strategy is just to do 3 out of 4 sections, don't always just do the first 3 sections and leave the last blank. Do the passages with the most questions. Sometimes this can be a difference of 3 or more questions which can definitely impact your score. Of course you may already do this but if not its something to look in to.

[Hedwig]

Thank you Preptest #14 for my first -0 LG section!

I need to start focusing on LR and RC again, now that games are no longer a huge source of frustration (just a medium source), I think.

[northwood]

I aim to do 3 passages and get 0 or 1 wrong at most per passage. I find that the comparative passages are the most time consuming, since I have to read 2 passages, and keep the facts straight for both ( this passage i always leave for last). I want to improve on this score, but I feel that its in my best interest to put more time in on games and LR. I do worry about having 2 comparative passages on the October exam, in which case my strtegy will get thrown out. IS there a way that I can increase my speed without sacrificing my retention skills without devoting a month+ to RC study exclusively?

[Hannibal]

Am I the only one that didn't know about the experimental thing? I think I remember reading about it but somehow it didn't connect. It scares me that I might have to do 2 LG sections, though I feel confident that I'd be fine doing 3 LRs or 2 RCs.

[Patriot1208]

Am I the only one that didn't know about the experimental thing? I think I remember reading about it but somehow it didn't connect. It scares me that I might have to do 2 LG sections, though I feel confident that I'd be fine doing 3 LRs or 2 RCs.

Experimental isn't scored. And I hope it's a LG section in october because that means I can avoid that mental fatigue that is reading.

[northwood]

does anyone know if there is only one experimental section for all of the versions of the LSAT, or is there one LG experimental, one RC experimental, and one LR experimental ( a different section for each version of the lsat??)

[CurlyKat]

Wooo! 140 games done!! I feel like a LG machine,BUT... even though I feel that I'm getting better at them, I still get confused sometimes, or make a careless mistake, like when the question asks for what CANNOT happen and i first eliminate what cannot happen out of habit or something only to spend the next two minutes thinking that all the other choices ARE possible and then realize what I've done!
Anyways, I have been timing myself, and on average I spend 11-12 minutes on a game!!!! That's way too long and I can't seem to get it down. Generally, I spend about 4-5 minutes setting it up, making inferences and just trying to understand the game.. then the questions are usually straight forward, except there is always one- usually the second to last, where I spend more than 2or 3 minutes. Sometimes it's a stupid mistake, sometimes something doesn't click till 3 minutes pass. And that's where I loose my time. I don't seem to be able to just cut my losses and move on, I HAVE to figure it out.. and i lose precious time! Do you guys have the same problem??

[Hannibal]

Am I the only one that didn't know about the experimental thing? I think I remember reading about it but somehow it didn't connect. It scares me that I might have to do 2 LG sections, though I feel confident that I'd be fine doing 3 LRs or 2 RCs.

Experimental isn't scored. And I hope it's a LG section in october because that means I can avoid that mental fatigue that is reading.

I know it's not scored, but if I finish an LG section and go "whew" then see another one I might just die a little inside.

[Patriot1208]

does anyone know if there is only one experimental section for all of the versions of the LSAT, or is there one LG experimental, one RC experimental, and one LR experimental ( a different section for each version of the lsat??)

people have reported in the past that they have had different experimentals than others on the same date.

[Anaconda]

does anyone know if there is only one experimental section for all of the versions of the LSAT, or is there one LG experimental, one RC experimental, and one LR experimental ( a different section for each version of the lsat??)

Only one experimental per exam, and it's not streamlined, so so people will get LR or LG or RC even though the scored sections are identical.

[Anaconda]

Wooo! 140 games done!! I feel like a LG machine,BUT... even though I feel that I'm getting better at them, I still get confused sometimes, or make a careless mistake, like when the question asks for what CANNOT happen and i first eliminate what cannot happen out of habit or something only to spend the next two minutes thinking that all the other choices ARE possible and then realize what I've done!
Anyways, I have been timing myself, and on average I spend 11-12 minutes on a game!!!! That's way too long and I can't seem to get it down. Generally, I spend about 4-5 minutes setting it up, making inferences and just trying to understand the game.. then the questions are usually straight forward, except there is always one- usually the second to last, where I spend more than 2or 3 minutes. Sometimes it's a stupid mistake, sometimes something doesn't click till 3 minutes pass. And that's where I loose my time. I don't seem to be able to just cut my losses and move on, I HAVE to figure it out.. and i lose precious time! Do you guys have the same problem??

Don't worry, it took me 12-15 minutes at first to finish a game, now it takes me 5-11 depending on the difficulty. Diagramming gets pretty easy once you do a lot of games and won't take you more than 1-2 minutes once you gain experience.

[Hannibal]

I just completed the Grouping part of the LGB and I got a -1 on the practice problems, the -1 being a stupid mistake.



Hope!

[CurlyKat]

Wooo! 140 games done!! I feel like a LG machine,BUT... even though I feel that I'm getting better at them, I still get confused sometimes, or make a careless mistake, like when the question asks for what CANNOT happen and i first eliminate what cannot happen out of habit or something only to spend the next two minutes thinking that all the other choices ARE possible and then realize what I've done!
Anyways, I have been timing myself, and on average I spend 11-12 minutes on a game!!!! That's way too long and I can't seem to get it down. Generally, I spend about 4-5 minutes setting it up, making inferences and just trying to understand the game.. then the questions are usually straight forward, except there is always one- usually the second to last, where I spend more than 2or 3 minutes. Sometimes it's a stupid mistake, sometimes something doesn't click till 3 minutes pass. And that's where I loose my time. I don't seem to be able to just cut my losses and move on, I HAVE to figure it out.. and i lose precious time! Do you guys have the same problem??

Don't worry, it took me 12-15 minutes at first to finish a game, now it takes me 5-11 depending on the difficulty. Diagramming gets pretty easy once you do a lot of games and won't take you more than 1-2 minutes once you gain experience.

Thanks, I hope that will happen to me, too! Well done! I wouldn't even dream about doing a game in 5 minutes. Congrats!

[drake]

Guys, for Pure Sequencing games is Atlas Tree Diagram method > LGB method?

[jaydizzle]

YES. For me their method at least is much better. It requires less deductions on my part and reduces my time on the games. How about the logic chain for in/out, did you try that? If I only used this in December.

[Hedwig]

I make up my own form of diagramming for Sequencing, which is mostly like Powerscore's, just a little different I suppose.

[drake]

.

[jaydizzle]

Hmm are sequence games in & out games? If so, I guess the logic chain is the tree diagram. I remember Atlas had a tree diagram and a logic chain, I could be wrong. I tend to forget the names and just apply methods in the end. I am finishing up the Atlas Self Study right now.

[obsquared]

Wooo! 140 games done!! I feel like a LG machine,BUT... even though I feel that I'm getting better at them, I still get confused sometimes, or make a careless mistake, like when the question asks for what CANNOT happen and i first eliminate what cannot happen out of habit or something only to spend the next two minutes thinking that all the other choices ARE possible and then realize what I've done!
Anyways, I have been timing myself, and on average I spend 11-12 minutes on a game!!!! That's way too long and I can't seem to get it down. Generally, I spend about 4-5 minutes setting it up, making inferences and just trying to understand the game.. then the questions are usually straight forward, except there is always one- usually the second to last, where I spend more than 2or 3 minutes. Sometimes it's a stupid mistake, sometimes something doesn't click till 3 minutes pass. And that's where I loose my time. I don't seem to be able to just cut my losses and move on, I HAVE to figure it out.. and i lose precious time! Do you guys have the same problem??

Don't worry, it took me 12-15 minutes at first to finish a game, now it takes me 5-11 depending on the difficulty. Diagramming gets pretty easy once you do a lot of games and won't take you more than 1-2 minutes once you gain experience.

Thanks, I hope that will happen to me, too! Well done! I wouldn't even dream about doing a game in 5 minutes. Congrats!

I agree. When i started working on LG, it sometimes took me about 20 or more minutes to figure out what they were talking about. But now, I use this method of using 8 minutes for the first 2 sections and 9 minutes for the last 2. sometimes I also distribute time according to the number of questions; like 7-8 minutes for 5 questions and 8-9 minutes for 6 or 7 questions. As you practice more, you become more comfortable and confident.

[JohnBoy]

Hello everyone.

I am bent on retaking this October, with you guys. For those that are first time test takers, perhaps I can offer some advice and/or tips...feel free to ask.

After a 170 in June, I'm really going to narrow my studies and could enlist your help. I'm trying to build my own 5-section practice tests. I want to use the most difficult sections from all previously administered LSAT tests and slap a -10 point curve on them. If anyone knows of extremely difficult sections, or has browsed the internet and found a site detailing difficult sections, please post it.

On a side note, never take a four section test...it is only to your detriment if you do.

[CurlyKat]

Wooo! 140 games done!! I feel like a LG machine,BUT... even though I feel that I'm getting better at them, I still get confused sometimes, or make a careless mistake, like when the question asks for what CANNOT happen and i first eliminate what cannot happen out of habit or something only to spend the next two minutes thinking that all the other choices ARE possible and then realize what I've done!
Anyways, I have been timing myself, and on average I spend 11-12 minutes on a game!!!! That's way too long and I can't seem to get it down. Generally, I spend about 4-5 minutes setting it up, making inferences and just trying to understand the game.. then the questions are usually straight forward, except there is always one- usually the second to last, where I spend more than 2or 3 minutes. Sometimes it's a stupid mistake, sometimes something doesn't click till 3 minutes pass. And that's where I loose my time. I don't seem to be able to just cut my losses and move on, I HAVE to figure it out.. and i lose precious time! Do you guys have the same problem??

Don't worry, it took me 12-15 minutes at first to finish a game, now it takes me 5-11 depending on the difficulty. Diagramming gets pretty easy once you do a lot of games and won't take you more than 1-2 minutes once you gain experience.

Thanks, I hope that will happen to me, too! Well done! I wouldn't even dream about doing a game in 5 minutes. Congrats!

I agree. When i started working on LG, it sometimes took me about 20 or more minutes to figure out what they were talking about. But now, I use this method of using 8 minutes for the first 2 sections and 9 minutes for the last 2. sometimes I also distribute time according to the number of questions; like 7-8 minutes for 5 questions and 8-9 minutes for 6 or 7 questions. As you practice more, you become more comfortable and confident.

Thanks! That's a good idea! I'll try to do that when I start doing them by sections. Assuming I'll get fast enough. So far, I'm only doing games by type, not by PT.