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sashafierce

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LR strategy

Post by sashafierce » Thu Nov 14, 2013 1:42 am

Background info:

Sat the October exam knowing very well that I was not fully prepared and this was reflected in my score (155). I am retaking in December and would like your help. I went -9 on RC (-3 P1, -1P2, -1P3 and -4P4). I have been using some tips from TLS (read this thread http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 6&t=218535) and have seen major improvement, I am now down to between -2 and -4. I intend to do a full timed RC section with review everyday until the December exam.

My next step now is LR improvement I went -7 and -10 in October. I have read and re-read, The Trainer/MLSAT and Powerscore books so I basically know all the strategies, my problem is I have never finished a RC/LR/LG section in 35 mins. I literally guessed around 6 questions per section in each of the LR section, guessed an entire game for the LR section and an entire passage for the RC section.

So before this turns into a short novel, let me get to the point, This is what I currently do for LR and I need someone/everyone to correct me:

Assumption Questions
Read Question Stem--> Underline/circle key words in question stem like resolve/strengthen/weaken-->Write an abbreviation above the stimulus to remind myself what type of question I am dealing with for e.g. "W" for Weaken, "S" for Strengthen, "F" for Flaw, "NA" for necessary assumption etc-->Read Stimulus-->Find Main Point-->Underline Main Point-->Write "MP" above the Main Point--> Find Support--> Underline Support-->write "S" above Support-->Identify Flaw-->Paraphrase Flaw using Trainer "Fails to consider" "Take for granted" strategy-->Go through the process of eliminating answer choices (even if I have already identified a match to my paraphrased flaw -->Usually two answer choices remain-->Confirm answer with information in stimulus

Inference Questions
Read Question Stem--> Underline/circle key words in question stem like must be true/most strongly supported/follows logically etc-->Write an abbreviation above the stimulus to remind myself what type of question I am dealing with for e.g. "MBT" for Must be True, "MSS" for Most Strongly Supported etc--> Read Stimulus--> Underline facts in the stimulus-->Write "F1", "F2" etc over facts--> Read Answer choices and eliminating obvious wrong answer choices--> Confirm contenders using facts in the stimulus--> select answer.

Principle Support/Principle Example
Use the same/similar strategy except this strategy is even longer because in addition to paraphrasing the principle I also write it out on the Preptest.

Evaluate the Argument/Point at Issue/Main Conclusion
These questions are usually sure points for me for some reason.

These strategies have worked for me for the questions that I attempt. The problem is that at most I get to complete 18 questions and as time starts running out I start skipping the more important steps like confirming the right answer which in turn increases my changes of choosing the wrong answer.

Your help is greatly appreciated. I do believe that I can improve significantly in LR by December. Thank you in advance for your help.

Nicolena.

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Re: LR strategy

Post by Nicolena. » Thu Nov 14, 2013 6:44 am

I would suggest advice but LR is my worst section.

Honestly though, you should be trying to get to every game and every RC passage. Even if you get a few wrong, you will have a better chance at getting less wrong, by getting to more questions. Are you still guessing? You can still improve your lg if you do games over and over again. I usually score between -0 and -2 in games, if you need any advice.

I think you should post this in the lsat trainer column to see if mike has any suggestions for you. He always gives long responses with a lot of feedback.

Hope this helped a little.
sashafierce wrote:Background info:

Sat the October exam knowing very well that I was not fully prepared and this was reflected in my score (155). I am retaking in December and would like your help. I went -9 on RC (-3 P1, -1P2, -1P3 and -4P4). I have been using some tips from TLS (read this thread http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 6&t=218535) and have seen major improvement, I am now down to between -2 and -4. I intend to do a full timed RC section with review everyday until the December exam.

My next step now is LR improvement I went -7 and -10 in October. I have read and re-read, The Trainer/MLSAT and Powerscore books so I basically know all the strategies, my problem is I have never finished a RC/LR/LG section in 35 mins. I literally guessed around 6 questions per section in each of the LR section, guessed an entire game for the LR section and an entire passage for the RC section.

So before this turns into a short novel, let me get to the point, This is what I currently do for LR and I need someone/everyone to correct me:

Assumption Questions
Read Question Stem--> Underline/circle key words in question stem like resolve/strengthen/weaken-->Write an abbreviation above the stimulus to remind myself what type of question I am dealing with for e.g. "W" for Weaken, "S" for Strengthen, "F" for Flaw, "NA" for necessary assumption etc-->Read Stimulus-->Find Main Point-->Underline Main Point-->Write "MP" above the Main Point--> Find Support--> Underline Support-->write "S" above Support-->Identify Flaw-->Paraphrase Flaw using Trainer "Fails to consider" "Take for granted" strategy-->Go through the process of eliminating answer choices (even if I have already identified a match to my paraphrased flaw -->Usually two answer choices remain-->Confirm answer with information in stimulus

Inference Questions
Read Question Stem--> Underline/circle key words in question stem like must be true/most strongly supported/follows logically etc-->Write an abbreviation above the stimulus to remind myself what type of question I am dealing with for e.g. "MBT" for Must be True, "MSS" for Most Strongly Supported etc--> Read Stimulus--> Underline facts in the stimulus-->Write "F1", "F2" etc over facts--> Read Answer choices and eliminating obvious wrong answer choices--> Confirm contenders using facts in the stimulus--> select answer.

Principle Support/Principle Example
Use the same/similar strategy except this strategy is even longer because in addition to paraphrasing the principle I also write it out on the Preptest.

Evaluate the Argument/Point at Issue/Main Conclusion
These questions are usually sure points for me for some reason.

These strategies have worked for me for the questions that I attempt. The problem is that at most I get to complete 18 questions and as time starts running out I start skipping the more important steps like confirming the right answer which in turn increases my changes of choosing the wrong answer.

Your help is greatly appreciated. I do believe that I can improve significantly in LR by December. Thank you in advance for your help.

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neprep

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Re: LR strategy

Post by neprep » Thu Nov 14, 2013 7:45 am

Let me take a shot at one or two of yours strategies. What I noticed as a general theme was that you're spending way too much time annotating, when really you should attempt to keep most of this stuff in your head as you're doing the question. This is perhaps why you're not getting done with the sections on time.
sashafierce wrote:Assumption Questions
Read Glance at Question Stem--> Underline/circle key words in question stem like resolve/strengthen/weaken-->Write an abbreviation above the stimulus to remind myself what type of question I am dealing with for e.g. "W" for Weaken, "S" for Strengthen, "F" for Flaw, "NA" for necessary assumption etc Why do you need to do this? Just be aware of your task.-->Read Stimulus-->Find Main Point-->Underline Main Point-->Write "MP" above the Main Point--> Find Support--> Underline Support-->write "S" above Support-->Identify Flaw-->Paraphrase Flaw using Trainer "Fails to consider" "Take for granted" strategy-->Go through the process of eliminating answer choices (even if I have already identified a match to my paraphrased flaw Depends on the question. I would take the plunge on questions earlier in the section.) -->Usually two answer choices remain-->Confirm answer with information in stimulus.

Inference Questions
Read Question Stem--> Underline/circle key words in question stem like must be true/most strongly supported/follows logically etc-->Write an abbreviation above the stimulus to remind myself what type of question I am dealing with for e.g. "MBT" for Must be True, "MSS" for Most Strongly Supported etc Instead of doing this, try to mentally articulate the degree of support the inference question demands--> Read Stimulus--> Underline facts in the stimulus-->Write "F1", "F2" etc over facts Here's where you're losing time!--> Read Answer choices, eliminating obvious wrong answer choices--> Confirm contenders using facts in the stimulus--> select answer. Hmm, I guess wrong-to-right is a very solid strategy. But on something like "must be true," if you see an AC that indeed must be true, I'd select it and move on.

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toshiroh

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Re: LR strategy

Post by toshiroh » Thu Nov 14, 2013 9:36 am

sashafierce wrote:Background info:

Sat the October exam knowing very well that I was not fully prepared and this was reflected in my score (155). I am retaking in December and would like your help. I went -9 on RC (-3 P1, -1P2, -1P3 and -4P4). I have been using some tips from TLS (read this thread http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 6&t=218535) and have seen major improvement, I am now down to between -2 and -4. I intend to do a full timed RC section with review everyday until the December exam.

My next step now is LR improvement I went -7 and -10 in October. I have read and re-read, The Trainer/MLSAT and Powerscore books so I basically know all the strategies, my problem is I have never finished a RC/LR/LG section in 35 mins. I literally guessed around 6 questions per section in each of the LR section, guessed an entire game for the LR section and an entire passage for the RC section.

So before this turns into a short novel, let me get to the point, This is what I currently do for LR and I need someone/everyone to correct me:

Assumption Questions
Read Question Stem--> Underline/circle key words in question stem like resolve/strengthen/weaken-->Write an abbreviation above the stimulus to remind myself what type of question I am dealing with for e.g. "W" for Weaken, "S" for Strengthen, "F" for Flaw, "NA" for necessary assumption etc-->Read Stimulus-->Find Main Point-->Underline Main Point-->Write "MP" above the Main Point--> Find Support--> Underline Support-->write "S" above Support-->Identify Flaw-->Paraphrase Flaw using Trainer "Fails to consider" "Take for granted" strategy-->Go through the process of eliminating answer choices (even if I have already identified a match to my paraphrased flaw -->Usually two answer choices remain-->Confirm answer with information in stimulus

Inference Questions
Read Question Stem--> Underline/circle key words in question stem like must be true/most strongly supported/follows logically etc-->Write an abbreviation above the stimulus to remind myself what type of question I am dealing with for e.g. "MBT" for Must be True, "MSS" for Most Strongly Supported etc--> Read Stimulus--> Underline facts in the stimulus-->Write "F1", "F2" etc over facts--> Read Answer choices and eliminating obvious wrong answer choices--> Confirm contenders using facts in the stimulus--> select answer.

Principle Support/Principle Example
Use the same/similar strategy except this strategy is even longer because in addition to paraphrasing the principle I also write it out on the Preptest.

Evaluate the Argument/Point at Issue/Main Conclusion
These questions are usually sure points for me for some reason.

These strategies have worked for me for the questions that I attempt. The problem is that at most I get to complete 18 questions and as time starts running out I start skipping the more important steps like confirming the right answer which in turn increases my changes of choosing the wrong answer.

Your help is greatly appreciated. I do believe that I can improve significantly in LR by December. Thank you in advance for your help.

Just by reading this, I would say you're already doing too much notating writing. A lot of the LR is an internal process.

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CitrusFruit

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Re: LR strategy

Post by CitrusFruit » Thu Nov 14, 2013 10:05 am

I went -0, -0 LR in October and the key for me was keeping everything in my head, recognizing the question type and having great familiarity with the types of answer choices I was reading. You should start to pick up on trick answers and even be able to "prephrase" the right answer by the end of the stimulus. Over time it should become much easier.

The only thing I would recommend writing on the paper is C for conclusion and P for premise. Finding which sentence is the conclusion is probably the most important thing in LR. You can botch entire questions by not understanding the relationships between sentences. You need to know what is supporting what and what the author's overall point is. Obviously that is pretty basic, but for some questions it can be very difficult to determine which sentence is the conclusion.

Above all, keep practicing.

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bp shinners

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Re: LR strategy

Post by bp shinners » Thu Nov 14, 2013 3:07 pm

CitrusFruit wrote: Finding which sentence is the conclusion is probably the most important thing in LR.
This. I always underline the conclusion. And I don't underline the premises - that way I don't have to note what is what. If it's underlined, it's the conclusion. If it's not, it's a premise. If I scribbled over it, it's because it wasn't important and is just there to distract me (though I wouldn't recommend doing this until you're really solid in LR).

Other than that and other instances of over-notating, your methods seem decent. I would definitely continue to type the questions with letters - a lot of people lose track of that and answer a + question when it's really a - question, for instance, so having a quick way to remind yourself is helpful.

For inference, focus on logical force keywords, comparisons, conditionality, and causality. Those will generally be what gives you the answer.

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Re: LR strategy

Post by sashafierce » Thu Nov 14, 2013 4:45 pm

neprep wrote:Let me take a shot at one or two of yours strategies. What I noticed as a general theme was that you're spending way too much time annotating, when really you should attempt to keep most of this stuff in your head as you're doing the question. This is perhaps why you're not getting done with the sections on time.
sashafierce wrote:Assumption Questions
Read Glance at Question Stem--> Underline/circle key words in question stem like resolve/strengthen/weaken-->Write an abbreviation above the stimulus to remind myself what type of question I am dealing with for e.g. "W" for Weaken, "S" for Strengthen, "F" for Flaw, "NA" for necessary assumption etc Why do you need to do this? Just be aware of your task.-->Read Stimulus-->Find Main Point-->Underline Main Point-->Write "MP" above the Main Point--> Find Support--> Underline Support-->write "S" above Support-->Identify Flaw-->Paraphrase Flaw using Trainer "Fails to consider" "Take for granted" strategy-->Go through the process of eliminating answer choices (even if I have already identified a match to my paraphrased flaw Depends on the question. I would take the plunge on questions earlier in the section.) -->Usually two answer choices remain-->Confirm answer with information in stimulus.

Inference Questions
Read Question Stem--> Underline/circle key words in question stem like must be true/most strongly supported/follows logically etc-->Write an abbreviation above the stimulus to remind myself what type of question I am dealing with for e.g. "MBT" for Must be True, "MSS" for Most Strongly Supported etc Instead of doing this, try to mentally articulate the degree of support the inference question demands--> Read Stimulus--> Underline facts in the stimulus-->Write "F1", "F2" etc over facts Here's where you're losing time!--> Read Answer choices, eliminating obvious wrong answer choices--> Confirm contenders using facts in the stimulus--> select answer. Hmm, I guess wrong-to-right is a very solid strategy. But on something like "must be true," if you see an AC that indeed must be true, I'd select it and move on.

I tried taking the plunge earlier on in my prep for the easier questions but my ability to recognize patterns and para phrase was poor at that time however I am alot better now. Do you think I should do some timed sections and try using that strategy for the easier questions in an attempt to maybe boost my confidence??

I did a timed section form PT 58 and went +15 on the first 15 I used all the steps outlined above and was totally out of time so I went -4 on the other questions that I was able to attempt (I was down to the trap answer and the correct answer and ended up choosing the trap answer for all four questions, not sure why maybe I should be drilling only level 3 and 4 questions at this point as I rarely ever get the first 12 questions wrong during PTs but the harder ones fool me especially when I start skipping steps, what do you think?) and did not complete 6 questions. I really need help speeding up, I will try using your strategy while drilling tonight. Thanks :)

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sashafierce

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Re: LR strategy

Post by sashafierce » Thu Nov 14, 2013 4:49 pm

toshiroh wrote: Just by reading this, I would say you're already doing too much notating writing. A lot of the LR is an internal process.
Its strange because I started notating alot less for RC and have seen a really big improvement except for RC in the 30s for some strange reason those are really hard.

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Re: LR strategy

Post by sashafierce » Thu Nov 14, 2013 4:56 pm

CitrusFruit wrote:The only thing I would recommend writing on the paper is C for conclusion and P for premise.
I will try this. Thanks :)

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sashafierce

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Re: LR strategy

Post by sashafierce » Thu Nov 14, 2013 5:02 pm

bp shinners wrote:Other than that and other instances of over-notating, your methods seem decent. I would definitely continue to type the questions with letters - a lot of people lose track of that and answer a + question when it's really a - question, for instance, so having a quick way to remind yourself is helpful.

Yeah I intend to do continue doing it, I have never weakened a strengthen question or anything like that but I know it is possible especially if I am rushing.
bp shinners wrote:For inference, focus on logical force keywords, comparisons, conditionality, and causality. Those will generally be what gives you the answer


Going to try this while drilling tonight. Thank you :D

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Re: LR strategy

Post by Motivator9 » Thu Nov 14, 2013 6:23 pm

The advice in his thread has truly been beneficial. Thank you OP and everyone else who responded.

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sashafierce

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Re: LR strategy

Post by sashafierce » Thu Nov 14, 2013 6:41 pm

Motivator9 wrote:The advice in his thread has truly been beneficial. Thank you OP and everyone else who responded.
Your welcome, you should also read the RC thread there is alot of useful tips in that one :D

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 6&t=218535

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Re: LR strategy

Post by RobertGolddust » Fri Nov 15, 2013 9:12 pm

In LR, you should be able to keep track of the question stem in your head. Maybe drill a bit so the question types become second nature.

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Re: LR strategy

Post by SecondWind » Fri Nov 15, 2013 9:40 pm

toshiroh wrote:

Just by reading this, I would say you're already doing too much notating writing. A lot of the LR is an internal process.
+1

To get faster start writing less, and do more in your head.

For me, once I learned to do most LG questions in my head (instead of diagramming each question), I noticed myself getting so much faster and completing the section in ~30min. I know this is LG and not LR, but the bottom line is that it takes longer to write than it does to think, so train your elephant to do a lot of the thinking for you.

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Re: LR strategy

Post by vicpin5190 » Fri Nov 15, 2013 10:24 pm

I really liked the LSAT Trainers strategy for LR. Using questions to prime exactly what i'm looking for in the stimulus has been huge for me.

I agree with the general sentiment here though, avoid writing when you can. Sometimes it helps (when a stimulus is very conditional statement heavy), but most times it makes no sense and you can answer the question with out doing it. That's kind of been the general theme of RC and LR I've seen, less notating is better in most cases.

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sashafierce

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Re: LR strategy

Post by sashafierce » Sat Nov 16, 2013 11:53 am

RobertGolddust wrote:In LR, you should be able to keep track of the question stem in your head.
SecondWind wrote:To get faster start writing less, and do more in your head.
vicpin5190 wrote:I agree with the general sentiment here though, avoid writing when you can. Sometimes it helps (when a stimulus is very conditional statement heavy), but most times it makes no sense and you can answer the question with out doing it.
Its so strange that it never occurred to me before that I was writing too much until now. Thank you all for pointing that out. Mike from the Trainer suggested that I try doing a section with little to no writing so I am going to try that. Thank you all for the advice. :)

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sashafierce

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Re: LR strategy

Post by sashafierce » Sat Nov 16, 2013 5:31 pm

So I just did 3 timed LR sections using the advice that you all gave to me i.e. keep question stem in my head/ write as little as possible (at most C for conclusion, P for Premise) my breakdown is:

LR1 -3 wrong -4 did not attempt (-7 total)
LR2 -2 wrong -3 did not attempt (-5 total)
LR3 -6 wrong -4 did not attempt (-10 total)

This is an improvement as I was able to get to attempt more questions but some of my issues were:
1) I over analyzed easy questions
2) I stayed too long on some questions "chasing ghost" see definition here http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 6&t=218535
3) I got exhausted after doing three consecutive LR sections

So I am wondering what to do next, here is what I think I should do:

1. Review in detail all questions
2. Try to trace my thought process for each of the questions, what I understood/why I eliminated answer choices etc
3. For all the questions I got wrong or did not attempt refer back to guides MLSAT+Trainer and review the respective chapters
4. Take a break
5. Do some more timed section tomorrow
6. Start over from Step 1

Please bear in mind that I am re taking in December with another retake in February my goal in December is to get to at least 165+ and hopefully 170+ by February.

Another strategy that I also considering using is drilling by question #, what I mean is- sections of the first 15 questions + sections of last 10 questions timed separately so as to work on my timing for each.
bobtheblob916 wrote:
2) For LR, I would recommend going through the last 10 questions in three sections in a row, once you feel fairly comfortable. These are always the hardest questions, and if you get used to them, you can handle anything on LR. Do those 30 questions in 40 minutes, take a break, and do another 30. Then review.
A few TLSers have recommended this strategy. My ultimate goal is to be able to complete the first 15 questions in 10-12 minutes and the last 10 in 20-23 minutes. I have concluded that I do in fact write way to much and intend to continue doing less writing and more internalizing like you all suggested.

What do you think about my strategy until the December exam? Your help is going to turn me into the next TLS success story so thank you in advance.

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