LG and Timing
- TIKITEMBO
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- EarlCat
- Posts: 606
- Joined: Mon Mar 12, 2007 4:04 pm
Re: LG and Timing
TIKITEMBO wrote:It used to take me 50 minutes to do one problem, but now I am down to 50 minutes for 4 problems (granted, these are games I've been re-shuffling from tests 29-38). I'm still excited about it, but I've been at this time for a little while and was wondering: BESIDES repetition, did you do anything else that seemed helpful for increasing speed on LG? Grouping games are still the hardest for me if you have some strategies for those, but all info is welcome.
Thanks!
There's not really a magic formula. Like any skill it just takes practice. I'm really glad you're working through repetition. It's one of the best ways to approach learning this test IMHO. Make sure as you're doing them you can articulate what you're doing and why (e.g. How did you know that M can only be 3 or 5? What type of clue tends to lead to that type of deduction?). I'd also throw in a few of the newer games (like from PTs 50+) from time to time just to work on applying what you've learned from the games you're already familiar with.
You've made tremendous gains in your speed so far. Keep up the good work!
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- TIKITEMBO
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- zozin
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Re: LG and Timing
Are you taking 50 minutes to get 100% accuracy? How fast can you diagram the games? Do you create additional set-ups for each individual question?
- TIKITEMBO
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- zozin
- Posts: 3733
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Re: LG and Timing
There's your problem, diagramming should not take 4-6 minutes. At most you should be looking at 1-2 minutes, unless you can create 2/3 templates that can break the game wide open. What diagramming method are you using? PowerScore? If so, you need to drill their method until you can diagram the entire game in 1-2 minutes.
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Re: LG and Timing
Yeah I agree with the above poster...
I just finished Powerscore's Logic Bible. They have some good drills in there that allow you to diagram faster. Soon, you'll get to the point where you don't have to think about each condition before making a diagram. It'll just come to you like second nature.
I'm still having trouble though. I finish the games 6-10 minutes each. But this is a big improvement from my 10-13 minutes before i used Powerscore.
Another thing... for some games, if you have all the diagrams and all the inferences, the questions can be answered with barely any thinking (few seconds each). This means you'll have to sacrifice more time on the diagrams but spend much less time on the questions.
Just find what fits your style best
I just finished Powerscore's Logic Bible. They have some good drills in there that allow you to diagram faster. Soon, you'll get to the point where you don't have to think about each condition before making a diagram. It'll just come to you like second nature.
I'm still having trouble though. I finish the games 6-10 minutes each. But this is a big improvement from my 10-13 minutes before i used Powerscore.
Another thing... for some games, if you have all the diagrams and all the inferences, the questions can be answered with barely any thinking (few seconds each). This means you'll have to sacrifice more time on the diagrams but spend much less time on the questions.
Just find what fits your style best
- avamango
- Posts: 74
- Joined: Tue Jun 07, 2011 8:36 am
Re: LG and Timing
TIKITEMBO wrote:Not 100% accuracy, more like 85%.
LG is the one section type where you can definitively prove each answer. For this reason alone, you should be satisfied with nothing less than 100% accuracy. When I first started doing the games, I had like a 50% accuracy rate. However, with a strategic approach to practicing the games, I found within a few weeks that my accuracy rested around 95-100%.
With 4 games and 35 minutes, you have 8.75 minutes per game. Timing yourself on 4 games at a time is significantly more useful if you're at the point where you're getting all the questions right on the games individually. If I were you, I'd specifically target your weakest game types, set a timer for 9 minutes, and aim to have each game finished within 8 (the extra minute should be used sparingly). Once you find that you're being able to complete any game with close to perfect answers within 9 minutes, then I'd suggest doing 4 at a time.
Also remember, while diagrams are irrefutably useful, the most important aspect to lighting speed timing is the concept of "key deductions". Make sure you don't waste too much time focusing on drawings (one of my most fundamental mistakes in the beginning of my practice was the time I spent on immaculately drawing out the game environment). Kaplan, Test Masters, etc. all have their ways of essentially pointing to the same notion: every game usually has one or more "key deductions" that once understood, dramatically reduce the difficulty of the game.
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