Stamina troubles... I just can't keep it up.... Forum

[robotclubmember]

I did some analysis of my tests and found that within each section, 77% of incorrect answers are within the second half of each section. Throughout the test I do fine, and each time a new section starts, I feel recharged, even if there was no break prior to it. Even if I skipped the ten minute break after the third section, and even if it's two of the same section type back-to-back.

Other stats. My average from the last 5 tests (only the last 5 are really relevant at any given time I feel) is 168.6. I'd like it to be better but I'm nowhere near killself mode, it's just fine I guess. The 77% of wrong answers in the second half of each section is consistent, with a range of 66% to 82% incorrects in the second half from my last five. If I were doing as well in the second half as in the first, it'd be a different ballgame for me.

LR is where I have the most problems with this. Though when I do back-to-back LR sections, the fatigue doesn't carry over into the next section. Usually I complete the first half of the LR section in 15 minutes, and the second half within 20 minutes. The pacing should be fine, but I just start falling apart towards the end. I have the same issue in LG and LR, but to a lesser extent, and am not concerned about those sections. So, do the LR problems get harder as you go or something? Does anyone have any good strategies to combat this fatigue? I do get sluggish in the second half, but rarely run out of time.

I would guess this isn't an uncommon issue. But I can't put my finger on just what to do to fix it. Truisms like "work faster" or "read harder" don't seem to be enough for me. Any input on pacing and keeping stamina up during a performance within each section?

[bk1]

Little blue pills.

[FlanAl]

lsat blog guy recommends doing the first 15 LR and then working backward from there. it definitely seemed to help me.

[2011Law]

Little blue pills.

I hear powdered rhino cock is just as effective.

OP, the reason most of your wrong answers come from the second half of a section is b/c the second half is harder than the first. Its so obvious it feels like a flame, but then you wrote so much, so I won't call it that. Also, my average for the last five is about the same as yours', mind if I ask what your section averages are? Mine's -1 LG, -3 LR (each), -6 RC. Have five more to go, hoping to average 169 or 170 by the Dec test, really need to improve RC.

[The Stig]

OP, the reason most of your wrong answers come from the second half of a section is b/c the second half is harder than the first. Its so obvious it feels like a flame, but then you wrote so much, so I won't call it that. Also, my average for the last five is about the same as yours', mind if I ask what your section averages are? Mine's -1 LG, -3 LR (each), -6 RC. Have five more to go, hoping to average 169 or 170 by the Dec test, really need to improve RC.

This is right.... and I can't believe no one has "that's what she said"ed your title yet...

[JazzOne]

Extenz FTW

[robotclubmember]

Little blue pills.

I hear powdered rhino cock is just as effective.

OP, the reason most of your wrong answers come from the second half of a section is b/c the second half is harder than the first. Its so obvious it feels like a flame, but then you wrote so much, so I won't call it that. Also, my average for the last five is about the same as yours', mind if I ask what your section averages are? Mine's -1 LG, -3 LR (each), -6 RC. Have five more to go, hoping to average 169 or 170 by the Dec test, really need to improve RC.

Lol. Without having someone directly tell me that and provide me a frame of reference, I would have no way of knowing. I thought it was just a mental thing. Any advice then?

Rangewise, I'm -0 to -3 in LG, -1 to -6 in LR, and -0 to -4 in RC. The averages are somewhere in that but I can't swear on a stack of bibles exactly what it is cos I haven't calculated. My weaknesses tend to be, not reading the stem correctly, lack of aggression in logic games (basically another attention to detail issue), and in LR, which is my weakest, I have problems with logical flaw and assumption problems. Which I didn't realize until I went through my old problems more thoroughly to find trends. I think those two question types alone made up for like -12 from the last five tests alone.

[SupraVln180]

did you ever think maybe its not a stamina thing, maybe you're just get the harder questions wrong (that are 90 percent of the time questions 15-22). If you feel recharged without a break and start killing the beginning of the next section, I would guess it's just you're missing hard questions. If thats the case, nothing you can do but keep drilling. If you're stuck around 168 on PTs, you're about in the same position as me, I'm just going to keep drilling for the next couple weeks.

[robotclubmember]

did you ever think maybe its not a stamina thing, maybe you're just get the harder questions wrong (that are 90 percent of the time questions 15-22). If you feel recharged without a break and start killing the beginning of the next section, I would guess it's just you're missing hard questions. If thats the case, nothing you can do but keep drilling. If you're stuck around 168 on PTs, you're about in the same position as me, I'm just going to keep drilling for the next couple weeks.

I did think that was a possibility but I wasn't sure. This wasn't confirmed knowledge to me though. I haven't really studied much except for logic games. Well here's hoping we can squeeze out a few points in the next few weeks.

[northwood]

i just skimmed this thread, but it seems as though the op doesnt have stamina issues. Rather OP has difficulty with the difficult LR questions. Numbers 1-13 are considerded the easier of the LR questions. 15-22 are very difficult, and sometimes 23-25/26 are a bit easier, or just as difficult.

I think you need to item analyze the questions you are getting wrong. Are they the same type of question, or groups of questions, or are you running out of time, and doing these questions last ( i.e you are skipping them, then going back?)

FOr LG and RC, do you do the passages/ games in order, or do you rank them? If you rank them, you will find that the easier games go quicker, leaving you more time for the more difficult games/ passages. ALthough, for RC there are some question types, but not as easy to group than LR. SOme people struggle with specific games, and if you get a section with one or more of these games, you will struggle with it.

Keep on practicing, but try to notice what trends you are walking into ( types of questions you consistently get wrong, or games taht take longer to complete). You are doing very well.... keep it up and you will be allright.

[robotclubmember]

lsat blog guy recommends doing the first 15 LR and then working backward from there. it definitely seemed to help me.

Why would this help?

[St.Remy]

lsat blog guy recommends doing the first 15 LR and then working backward from there. it definitely seemed to help me.

Why would this help?

Because the first 15 LR questions are on the easy end, and then often times the last few questions are also a bit easier. Doing 1-15 and then working in reverse increases the chances that you'll get to all of the easy and mid-level questions instead of getting hung up on the hard questions.

To clarify an earlier post LR generally gets harder as the section progresses. In LG the hardest game usually is the third or fourth one, but this is not a hard and fast rule. It's hard to give you a recommendation without knowing whether it's a pure stamina thing for every section or you're just missing the harder questions in each section (which is to be expected).

[robotclubmember]

lsat blog guy recommends doing the first 15 LR and then working backward from there. it definitely seemed to help me.

Why would this help?

Because the first 15 LR questions are on the easy end, and then often times the last few questions are also a bit easier. Doing 1-15 and then working in reverse increases the chances that you'll get to all of the easy and mid-level questions instead of getting hung up on the hard questions.

To clarify an earlier post LR generally gets harder as the section progresses. In LG the hardest game usually is the third or fourth one, but this is not a hard and fast rule. It's hard to give you a recommendation without knowing whether it's a pure stamina thing for every section or you're just missing the harder questions in each section (which is to be expected).

I'll give this a try and report back.

[kkklick]

Coffee.

[northwood]

do more than 5 sections of the test. Try to do 6 sections, or 5 sections without a break

that way your mind is used to working hard for an extended period of time

[robotclubmember]

do more than 5 sections of the test. Try to do 6 sections, or 5 sections without a break

that way your mind is used to working hard for an extended period of time

It's been established stamina isn't the issue. I looked into it, and confirmed I was just being stupid. Here's the statistical basis: http://powerscore.com/lrbible/content/q ... _stats.pdf

What has been stated above re: increasing difficulty is clearly true. The questions just get harder. That said, anybody else have strategy and time management tips to maximize performance on LR sections?

[northwood]

break up 4 pts. Do a section of just questions 15- end. Drill those questions with the help of your study aids, to get an understanding of them. Compare them to the easier ones of the same question type to see the similarities and differences. Write out a sentence or 2 explaining why thats the wrong answer or right answer. Circle strength of language words, tone changes, or directional changes in both stem and answer choices. Review these notes periodically.

it takes a while but this helped me tremendously