The Official December 2014 Study Group Forum

[sfoglia]

So, Hand, I'm pretty interested in your opinion only on this one: Absent-mindedly "studying" using PT 2 this morning, from which some questions look familiar. I don't think I've already completed the test itself, but just through drilling all those Cambridge packets, I can recall subject matter. How productive is this going to be for me? I'm performing at the same level as I was prior to the September test, but I don't trust the scores.

Tl;dr How did you prepare teach my your ways kthx.

[Shakawkaw]

So, Hand, I'm pretty interested in your opinion only on this one: Absent-mindedly "studying" using PT 2 this morning, from which some questions look familiar. I don't think I've already completed the test itself, but just through drilling all those Cambridge packets, I can recall subject matter. How productive is this going to be for me? I'm performing at the same level as I was prior to the September test, but I don't trust the scores.

Tl;dr How did you prepare teach my your ways kthx.

Even though the content might be familiar, make sure that you are forcing your brain to still make the connections in the argument and that you know the reasoning behind why the answer is correct (and the other 4 are wrong). For my September prep, whenever I came across a question I'd seen before, I got extremely lazy and just circled the correct answer without even thinking about it. But now, it's fairly obvious that even though the content of a question might be different, the LSAT does not stray away from the mechanical structure of the argument.

[santoki]

anyone have a problem with making some dumb mistakes on the test? mistakes that when you see them you absolutely got them wrong by rushing or being careless.

i took pt 64:

LR1: -4
LG: -3
LR2: -1
RC: -8

LR i can feel myself getting better at it so im satisfied.

LG i got 2 BLATANTLY easy questions wrong on accident. the third was one of those weird rule substitution questions that can throw me off.

freaking RC....i felt as if i did so well on the section and heres what happens. at least i can try to pinpoint where my thinking is off?

eh that RC killed me a bit more than you last weekend so dont be too mad lol but yeah I did the same thing on LG, got -2 from stupid overlooks

haha i just hate how sporadic it can be...-8 or -2

down with RC

[secadc11]

LSATNeurotic, congrats on that 179! I'm feeling a little deflated now but...

PT 54
Raw Score: 95
Scaled Score: 175

RC: -2
LR1: -3
LG: -0
LR2: -1
Added fifth section, RC from PT 67: -4

So definite a little fatigue creeping up in that 5th section. However, if I took that -4 as my 'real' RC score, I'd still be at 173 which I'm happy with.

It also makes two 175's in a row for me which is a new high.

You're probably much more consistent than I am yet. I'm actually jealous of you. I've only broken 173 twice, and it was in the last three tests I took: 177, 169, 179...

I've got plenty of work to do before I am in your stratum.

Pretty sure you're just being modest. You obviously have a good grasp on the fundamentals so it's likely you're just working on keeping mental discipline/consistency during the test - or at least I know I am.

[nlee10]

22 days.

Thanks. I forgot to post the countdown the past few days.

[sfoglia]

So, Hand, I'm pretty interested in your opinion only on this one: Absent-mindedly "studying" using PT 2 this morning, from which some questions look familiar. I don't think I've already completed the test itself, but just through drilling all those Cambridge packets, I can recall subject matter. How productive is this going to be for me? I'm performing at the same level as I was prior to the September test, but I don't trust the scores.

Tl;dr How did you prepare teach my your ways kthx.

Even though the content might be familiar, make sure that you are forcing your brain to still make the connections in the argument and that you know the reasoning behind why the answer is correct (and the other 4 are wrong). For my September prep, whenever I came across a question I'd seen before, I got extremely lazy and just circled the correct answer without even thinking about it. But now, it's fairly obvious that even though the content of a question might be different, the LSAT does not stray away from the mechanical structure of the argument.

You took in September?

[Shakawkaw]

So, Hand, I'm pretty interested in your opinion only on this one: Absent-mindedly "studying" using PT 2 this morning, from which some questions look familiar. I don't think I've already completed the test itself, but just through drilling all those Cambridge packets, I can recall subject matter. How productive is this going to be for me? I'm performing at the same level as I was prior to the September test, but I don't trust the scores.

Tl;dr How did you prepare teach my your ways kthx.

Even though the content might be familiar, make sure that you are forcing your brain to still make the connections in the argument and that you know the reasoning behind why the answer is correct (and the other 4 are wrong). For my September prep, whenever I came across a question I'd seen before, I got extremely lazy and just circled the correct answer without even thinking about it. But now, it's fairly obvious that even though the content of a question might be different, the LSAT does not stray away from the mechanical structure of the argument.

You took in September?

Yes. We were in the same room, sfogs! Not that I expect you to know that. But you described your outfit in the waiters and I put two and two together.

ETA: It was a bomb outfit, btw.

[Rigo]

[Smallville]

So, Hand, I'm pretty interested in your opinion only on this one: Absent-mindedly "studying" using PT 2 this morning, from which some questions look familiar. I don't think I've already completed the test itself, but just through drilling all those Cambridge packets, I can recall subject matter. How productive is this going to be for me? I'm performing at the same level as I was prior to the September test, but I don't trust the scores.

Tl;dr How did you prepare teach my your ways kthx.

Even though the content might be familiar, make sure that you are forcing your brain to still make the connections in the argument and that you know the reasoning behind why the answer is correct (and the other 4 are wrong). For my September prep, whenever I came across a question I'd seen before, I got extremely lazy and just circled the correct answer without even thinking about it. But now, it's fairly obvious that even though the content of a question might be different, the LSAT does not stray away from the mechanical structure of the argument.

You took in September?

Yes. We were in the same room, slogs! Not that I expect you to know that. But you described your outfit in the waiters and I put two and two together.

ETA: It was a bomb outfit, btw.

[sfoglia]

Yes. We were in the same room, sfogs! Not that I expect you to know that. But you described your outfit in the waiters and I put two and two together.

ETA: It was a bomb outfit, btw.

OMG that is hilarious! I have no idea what you look like! I'll have to catch you on the next PW so I can see if I remember you.

And, thank you.

[Hand]

So, Hand, I'm pretty interested in your opinion only on this one: Absent-mindedly "studying" using PT 2 this morning, from which some questions look familiar. I don't think I've already completed the test itself, but just through drilling all those Cambridge packets, I can recall subject matter. How productive is this going to be for me? I'm performing at the same level as I was prior to the September test, but I don't trust the scores.

Tl;dr How did you prepare teach my your ways kthx.

girl, my prep worked for me, but I don't know if it'll do for anybody else. before june, I worked through the PS logic games bible, did 10 logic games sections, and took ~15 or so timed PTs. second time, I did a section of logic games every day for about two months, and 10 timed PTs. I never really had trouble with LR or RC so I didn't do this really except as part of PTs, and I did maybe 10-15 sections of LR by the end before the sept test, on the bus home from work, just to "stay in the zone" or whatever. what helped me do better the second time than the first was (1) being serious about timing your PTs (I used to skip ahead when I finished, and just did 4 sections back to back; for the second try I forced myself to at least sit out the 35 mins), and (2) doing wayyy more logic games.

[hillz]

So, Hand, I'm pretty interested in your opinion only on this one: Absent-mindedly "studying" using PT 2 this morning, from which some questions look familiar. I don't think I've already completed the test itself, but just through drilling all those Cambridge packets, I can recall subject matter. How productive is this going to be for me? I'm performing at the same level as I was prior to the September test, but I don't trust the scores.

Tl;dr How did you prepare teach my your ways kthx.

girl, my prep worked for me, but I don't know if it'll do for anybody else. before june, I worked through the PS logic games bible, did 10 logic games sections, and took ~15 or so timed PTs. second time, I did a section of logic games every day for about two months, and 10 timed PTs. I never really had trouble with LR or RC so I didn't do this really except as part of PTs, and I did maybe 10-15 sections of LR by the end before the sept test, on the bus home from work, just to "stay in the zone" or whatever. what helped me do better the second time than the first was (1) being serious about timing your PTs (I used to skip ahead when I finished, and just did 4 sections back to back; for the second try I forced myself to at least sit out the 35 mins), and (2) doing wayyy more logic games.

It's nice to hear that someone else didn't do crazy amounts of PTs. I drilled everything (def not like Hand in that I had to work on both my RC and LR) but I did get pretty confident with LG and I think that's what helped me a lot on test day.

[GreenTee]

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[GreenTee]

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[sfoglia]

So, Hand, I'm pretty interested in your opinion only on this one: Absent-mindedly "studying" using PT 2 this morning, from which some questions look familiar. I don't think I've already completed the test itself, but just through drilling all those Cambridge packets, I can recall subject matter. How productive is this going to be for me? I'm performing at the same level as I was prior to the September test, but I don't trust the scores.

Tl;dr How did you prepare teach my your ways kthx.

girl, my prep worked for me, but I don't know if it'll do for anybody else. before june, I worked through the PS logic games bible, did 10 logic games sections, and took ~15 or so timed PTs. second time, I did a section of logic games every day for about two months, and 10 timed PTs. I never really had trouble with LR or RC so I didn't do this really except as part of PTs, and I did maybe 10-15 sections of LR by the end before the sept test, on the bus home from work, just to "stay in the zone" or whatever. what helped me do better the second time than the first was (1) being serious about timing your PTs (I used to skip ahead when I finished, and just did 4 sections back to back; for the second try I forced myself to at least sit out the 35 mins), and (2) doing wayyy more logic games.

I can do the LG stuff; one section a day is doable. But, I was so strict about timing on PTs and including an experimental and stuff. Dammit. We're just going to go with practice makes perfect, because I took close to 20 timed PTs and did god knows how many full sections of other PTs, so there isn't much material left for me.

[sfoglia]

It's nice to hear that someone else didn't do crazy amounts of PTs. I drilled everything (def not like Hand in that I had to work on both my RC and LR) but I did get pretty confident with LG and I think that's what helped me a lot on test day.

I'm in such a weird spot, because I was PTing consistently at 173, upward to 178 for the entire month before. I think I did like 7 PTs or something that were at target score. IDK WTF happened on test day, but I'm concerned it has nothing to do with competence, which leaves me pretty helpless.

[sfoglia]

Can someone tell me what the hell that other website that was like LSATQA was? I put all my September PTs in there and I want to go look, but cannot remember its name...

[Smallville]

Can someone tell me what the hell that other website that was like LSATQA was? I put all my September PTs in there and I want to go look, but cannot remember its name...

7sage? that and LSATQA are the only 2 I see aroumd

[sfoglia]

Can someone tell me what the hell that other website that was like LSATQA was? I put all my September PTs in there and I want to go look, but cannot remember its name...

7sage? that and LSATQA are the only 2 I see aroumd

Zenof180.com! Went through all my emails to find it.

[nlee10]

Alright! Plan for today:

- 8RC (because who actually works at work?)
- Lunch
- Print PTs 60-63 for this weekend
- 50 Flaw
- 8 LG
- Fap
- Sleep soundly

Nice plan.

My plan is to do PT 34 and review the crap out of it. Taking PT 60 through BP on Sunday so I want to do better than last time.

[Smallville]

Alright! Plan for today:

- 8RC (because who actually works at work?)
- Lunch
- Print PTs 60-63 for this weekend
- 50 Flaw
- 8 LG
- Fap
- Sleep soundly

Nice plan.

My plan is to do PT 34 and review the crap out of it. Taking PT 60 through BP on Sunday so I want to do better than last time.

RC all day, PT 65 tm + review and prob some more RC... so exciting

[mist4bison]

.

[nlee10]

RC all day, PT 65 tm + review and prob some more RC... so exciting

Tomorrow marks 3 weeks....Time to get serious. lol

[GreenTee]

I've actually been thinking of stopping notation completely and seeing how it goes. I think I have a good system, but I want to see how much I can comprehend and focus without underlining/circling/etc. focus is totally my biggest issue. I have to really, really concentrate and then it takes too much time and I end up rushing through 2-3 questions at least.

ETA: Does anyone not notate at all? How does it work for you?

Personally, I notate like a raving lunatic. You can barely read the passage after I'm through with it. And honestly, I've found that the more notating I do, the better I retain the information. Mostly because it forces me to spend more time on the passage, thereby memorizing the location/significance of the relatively minor details that often count for so much.

But some people have a different strategy, which involves a cursory read and a bit more back-and-forth between the questions and the passage. I don't like to do that because it's risky. Sometimes you lose a ton of time chasing ghosts if you don't really remember whether a detail was mentioned in the passage. Too much of that can completely kill your timing for the section overall.

Best thing to do is experiment with a lot of different approaches, and find what works for you.

[secadc11]

I'm going to start doing suicide drills for RC. My biggest issue is timing with RC, I've realized. I can do well on most passages, but I need 12 minutes. Obviously can't work on the test. MY TM instructor suggested I start doing sections with higher time limits and then slowly decrease. So, I'd do a couple sections in 45 mins. Then in 43. Then in 40. Then in 38, etc etc.

RC is totally bumming me out. I'm starting to think maybe I should just go for only finishing three passages and getting them all right rather than rushing through and screwing it all up. Ugh. I'll see how the drills go and if they help me come Dec.

I have the exact same problem. I've heard some advice saying that you should do the 3 passages slowly and answer all the questions right and then blindly guess the last passage, but I refuse to do that, it would kill my score! So suicide drilling it is. I've started "diagramming" the passages where I would just very quickly label what each paragraph is. For example: P1- Prob Civ Rights, P2- Crit (critics view), P3-AA (authors attitude, usually conclusion here), P4- Ex (example supporting conclusion)

I just use quick notation and in parenthesis is what my notation means. I've found that doing this lets me look back in the passage quickly and helps me understand the purpose, main point, etc. I've tried all the methods -speed reading, reading slowly, memorizing, they didn't really work for me. Probably because I just can't focus on the actual reading haha.

I've actually been thinking of stopping notation completely and seeing how it goes. I think I have a good system, but I want to see how much I can comprehend and focus without underlining/circling/etc. focus is totally my biggest issue. I have to really, really concentrate and then it takes too much time and I end up rushing through 2-3 questions at least.

ETA: Does anyone not notate at all? How does it work for you?

I never notate. At most I will underline. RC has always been my best section though and even in my diagnostic I think I was -4.

Actually now that I think about it I have never read a single page of information about how to approach RC. I am thinking I should check out the related chapters in the Trainer to maybe get an extra point or two in Dec.