Best use of last 2 months Forum

[WeeBey]

Hello, I need some advice on the best way to use the last two months before the Sept LSAT.

RC is biggest problem. I cant finish. Even on the older and supposedly easier ones. It takes me 10-11 minutes to finish a passage and then i usually get 0-1 wrong. I finish the first 3 passages in about 30-32 minutes and by the time i finish reading the passage time is up, i feel if i can get over that speed hump (an extra 4-5 minutes to finish asnwering the questions on the last passage id get another 4-5 right bringing me to the 3-4 range on RC which would be amazing.

LG im doing good ive been doing the cambridge 1-40 drilling packets, and im finishing the easier ones in 7 minutes, and the harder ones in 12 minutes and the tls consensus is that it gets easier in the more recent LSATs.

LR im getting about 3 wrong per section and usually due to a time constraint on the last couple questions.

I have two months left,
I know if i focus strictly on LG and LR i could hit 0s on LG and 1-2 on LR, however I would be going 7-8 on RC.

But I feel is i keep doing RC i would be able to get over the time hump and finish answering the last passages questions.

So should i put all my eggs in the LG and LR passages since they can be improved more easily than RC or focus on bringing up RC score

[Yeezus]

I wouldn't ignore RC. Not a good idea. I would probably focus on RC a bit more, while still working on the other sections. Also, LG is not easier in the recent tests. Make sure you're familiar with all the unusual games. Chances are, there will be one on the September exam.

[Blythe17]

I agree with YeezusPiece. Don't sweat LG so much, but make sure you're comfortable with the unusual games (unlike me with the June test!). RC shouldn't be ignored, but if you only have 2 months left then it may be wise to balance your strategy and not overly focus on it. For example, if you feel confident that 2 months is enough time to improve significantly on RC (which is the case for many people, I'm sure), then by all means focus on that--after all, it is your weakest section. However, this may not be the case since RC is the least "game-able" section. Then it may be in your best interest to spend less time on RC and more time on trying to perfect LG and LR in order to maximize your score.

Although crudely estimated, if your options are to go +5 on LR OR +5 on RC (focusing strictly on one over the other, assuming LG isn't a problem), it sounds like maybe you should just split your focus and spread out. Improving on both sections might protect you against getting a particularly hard LR or a particularly hard RC.

How much time are you spending reading each passage? if it's more than 3-4 minutes you might want to try increasing your reading speed. This could save you 4-5 minutes by then time you get to passage 4. Although reading speed is difficult to increase, it's possible within 2 months.

[WeeBey]

Your right it's the reading speed. Usually takes me a good 4-4.5 minutes to read the passage and mark it up. Being a science major and never reading books are really biting me in the ass right now. I subvocalize and when I don't I don't retain info.

[law_dawg18]

not to hijack the thread but if anyone has general tips they'd like to share on how to structure the last 2 months that would be greatly appreciated!

[Blythe17]

Your right it's the reading speed. Usually takes me a good 4-4.5 minutes to read the passage and mark it up. Being a science major and never reading books are really biting me in the ass right now. I subvocalize and when I don't I don't retain info.

I see. Well it certainly wouldn't hurt to try shaving that down to 3 (or even 2) minutes, saving you 6-7 minutes throughout the section. You could try using some kind of speedreading program, like acceleread, to help suppressing the subvocalization.

In case it might help here is the strategy I use:

1. Treat it like LR in a way, and approach the questions knowing that TCR can always be found by referring to the right spots in the passage. I focus less on understanding all of the content and instead more on making reference points, e.g. "end of paragraph 2 talks about x," "beginning of paragraph 3 has a list y," etc. I grasp the general meaning of the passage even while reading this way (which should cover global Qs like main point and attitude Qs), and for the specific Qs I can immediately refer to the right spot in the passage, prephrase, and then confirm an answer with confidence. When I miss a question it's almost always because I can't immediately find the reference point and end up half-guessing because of time pressure. This strategy has made the "complexity" of passages somewhat irrelevant, since I'm not really trying to digest it like I would when reading NYT or Economist, but instead making a reference map.

2. Increase your reading speed and spend less time on the passage and more time on hard questions (e.g. those with 2 really attractive answers that take a little but more time, analogy Qs, etc.). There are lots of ways to do this. I use an app called acceleread.

3. Pause after reading the passage to do a quick summary of things like main point, structure, attitude, etc. before jumping into the questions. This has really helped me avoid panicking/rushing and therefore managing my time better in general. Manhattan and 7sage both recommend this, and I suggest referring to their strategies in full.


Ultimately, the best strategy is going to vary from person to person. For example, while others prefer taking longer to read and answering the Qs more quickly, I prefer reading in 2 minutes and taking longer on the Qs. I've tried both approaches, and found mine to produce better results. This is probably because of my not-so-great memory with detail. For some reason I can remember structure and reference points much better than solid content. And I tend to get caught up in double-checking paranoia after spending a longer time reading , so the time I could save by understanding the passage better just goes to waste since I'm constantly going back to the reference points after the first read. So if you're like me, those extra 1-2 minutes saved for every passage can be really nice! So play around with different approaches before it gets too late to experiment. And regardless of what you're doing, as long as you're reading those passages you always will be getting better, even a little bit, as you get more familiar with their patterns. Hope this helps!

[deebanger]

any general tips on lr? thanks!

[WeeBey]

I just finished the Cambridge Packets for everything except Mapping, Pattern and Rare (Ill get to them soon enough)

So after finishing 120-130ish games and recording score and time, my average has been -0.5 per game in a time of 10:15 (alot of my high time games were from the basic linear when i was just getting a feel for the games.

Is it better that i go back and redo those games like some ppl on TLS and 7Sage suggest, or should i move to the more recent games and do 39-50 by section and 50 plus full PT and put more time towards my LR and RC (-2/3, -4/5 respectively per section)