Road Block Forum

[wondering08]

I've been studying on my own 3 months now prepping for the June 2013 LSAT. But I've hit a wall and plateaued, especially on my LR sections. I've stuck to a pretty tight schedule of 3 PT's a week, and review every other day,in all 25 hrs a week, but I can't seem to make headway in LR. I'm currently down 8 points and am considering switching to the October exam. I took the exam in 2011, so it's a retake.Other sites have suggested getting a tutor, but I really can't afford that. Am I wasting my time?

Any pointers would be much appreciated.

Thanks,

[mehiguess]

I've been studying on my own 3 months now prepping for the June 2013 LSAT. But I've hit a wall and plateaued, especially on my LR sections. I've stuck to a pretty tight schedule of 3 PT's a week, and review every other day,in all 25 hrs a week, but I can't seem to make headway in LR. I'm currently down 8 points and am considering switching to the October exam. I took the exam in 2011, so it's a retake.Other sites have suggested getting a tutor, but I really can't afford that. Am I wasting my time?

Any pointers would be much appreciated.

Thanks,

Down 8 points from when? You'll incur a fee from now right up until test day if you change the date so there is no harm in waiting. So try studying and PT'ing for a few more weeks and see if things change. You might hit a stride right towards the end.

[Micdiddy]

I've been studying on my own 3 months now prepping for the June 2013 LSAT. But I've hit a wall and plateaued, especially on my LR sections. I've stuck to a pretty tight schedule of 3 PT's a week, and review every other day,in all 25 hrs a week, but I can't seem to make headway in LR. I'm currently down 8 points and am considering switching to the October exam. I took the exam in 2011, so it's a retake.Other sites have suggested getting a tutor, but I really can't afford that. Am I wasting my time?

Any pointers would be much appreciated.

Thanks,

Why have you plateaued in LR? What types of questions are struggling on? Do you have a clear and consistent approach for each question type?
You should by try to identify your weaknesses and drill those question types, or find patterns in the wrong answers you choose so you can avoid them in the future, etc.
And, use TLS early and often to help answer any LR questions you don't understand.

And yes, also, what do you mean by down 8 points? Like you miss 8 LR questions every test? What are your scores on the other sections?

[wondering08]

Hey guys thanks for, I'll keep pting for sure, a few weeks might help. If not I'll look at that swallowing the fee.In LR I average in the high teens and am aiming for low twenties (preferably 25). Questions that snag me the most are strengthen and weaken questions on the LR, I can usually pin it down to the remaining two, but often don't understand what the difference is. Maybe I'll post some difficult ones up on this forum. Thanks for the suggestion. I'm strong on RC and LG's has been my weakest overall. When i review LG it's little things that trip me up, but it makes sense conceptually. In any case, LR isn't so clear. The study groups here look promising. I'll give them a try. Thnx

[wondering08]

*thanks for the suggestions. As for my approach on LR, I look for the conclusion and premises and then try and find a solution that either negates one of the premises or the conclusion. Is this too simplistic?

[questionsandanswers]

Hi. Your scores seem really similar to mine when I started. I got -6 on LR alone and no other sections. I drilled by type using the LRB and did the questions sorted by type 1-38 from Cambridge, and then did the PTs from 39-. I've improved significantly on LR and now the mistakes I make are more a matter of concentration than anything else. But my RC is down now so I'm considering changing to the Oct test anyway. To my knowledge you can change the date until this week for a relatively small fee (compared to the full 170 bucks) and after that it's cancellation without refund.

[bp shinners]

*thanks for the suggestions. As for my approach on LR, I look for the conclusion and premises and then try and find a solution that either negates one of the premises or the conclusion. Is this too simplistic?

Yes. Especially since, on the LSAT, you're not allowed to negate a premise. You can put that premise into context and show why it doesn't prove the conclusion, but you can't negate it.

And answer choices often don't negate the conclusion; rather, they'll just make it possible to be untrue. That's the definition of invalid - not proven to be true based on the premises given.

You should have another step before heading to the ACs. For every Flaw/Parallel Flaw/Strengthen/Weaken/Sufficient/Necessary question, take a few seconds to find the flaw. It's always going to play into the correct answer. For Flaw questions, just find it. For Parallel Flaw, find the AC that has the same Flaw. For Strengthen questions, find the AC that gives some proof the assumption is true. For Weaken questions, find the AC that gives some proof the assumption isn't true (or just point out the flaw). For Sufficient Assumption questions, find the AC that says the assumption is definitely true. For Necessary Assumption questions, find the AC that says it's possible for the assumption to be true.

[xmking07]

*thanks for the suggestions. As for my approach on LR, I look for the conclusion and premises and then try and find a solution that either negates one of the premises or the conclusion. Is this too simplistic?

Don't attack the premise of the conclusion. You have to either strengthen or weaken the logic (the connection between the premises and conclusion.) Simply attacking a premise or a conclusion doesn't actually evaluate the logic in the argument, which is what the LSAT is testing.