Kind of a blow in my confidence today, tried foolproof LG but paralyzed in actual test Forum

Prepare for the LSAT or discuss it with others in this forum.
Post Reply
andrewhl

New
Posts: 13
Joined: Wed Jun 08, 2016 6:32 pm

Kind of a blow in my confidence today, tried foolproof LG but paralyzed in actual test

Post by andrewhl » Sat Mar 10, 2018 3:25 pm

Just got back from test in San Juan, PR
Got brutalized by the LG section.

First attempt was last Sept. I got a 159 because I almost went there without any real preparation. My baby son was born last summer so from May to August I was busy learning how to be a father. I remember the night right before the test I had to wake up during 3 am to help my wife feeding the baby and put him to sleep again.

After that, I finally decide let my father/mother in law take care of my son for some time so I can study.
During winter I bring my son back to their place and help them with the transition. After that, it's almost the end of January. So I didn't really have too much time on Feb test either. Nevertheless, I decided to give it a try. I did 5 timed PT before Feb test to refresh my memory and adjust my mindset.
Turns out I got a 164 from Feb test with two games almost untouched ( I choose C for all of them before time is up)

After the Feb test, I feel I am doing ok with other sections except for LG. So I Spent 2.5-3 weeks mainly in foolproofing games from 45-64. I assume I would get a significant improvement in the March test (PR only) so I can simply cancel June test and get my baby boy back.

During this time I also did timed PTs ( mainly from 58-65, which is getting harder in LG part)
During PT I could at least finish first three games, and if it was a rather easy section then 4 games.

Today I finish off first two games really smooth then suddenly get paralyzed in game 3 and messed up the rest of the section. The other sections seem ok for me, kind of like the Feb test.
It's kind of huge blow for me because I assumed at least I can get 3 games right so I might reach 167-168 range. (I was PTing around this range as soon as I did some foolproofing LG practice)
I'm not even sure it's because I did not drill enough or it's just I am not good at LG. Other parts seem much more natural to me compared to this one and English is not even my native language.

Now I simply pray I can get a 165 of this test so at least my trip to PR isn't all wasted.

Any suggestions?

LSAT_Ninja_Tutor

New
Posts: 19
Joined: Fri Mar 02, 2018 4:06 pm

Re: Kind of a blow in my confidence today, tried foolproof LG but paralyzed in actual test

Post by LSAT_Ninja_Tutor » Sat Mar 10, 2018 3:52 pm

Try focusing on the different game types and drill types one at a time. Use the foolproof method using individual games and not LG sections. You should see improvement this way.

Lifestylemystyle

New
Posts: 1
Joined: Sun Mar 11, 2018 2:56 pm

Re: Kind of a blow in my confidence today, tried foolproof LG but paralyzed in actual test

Post by Lifestylemystyle » Sun Mar 11, 2018 3:00 pm

Hey man , do you know which ones were the experimental ? Can you pm me , also took it in PR yesterday

andrewhl

New
Posts: 13
Joined: Wed Jun 08, 2016 6:32 pm

Re: Kind of a blow in my confidence today, tried foolproof LG but paralyzed in actual test

Post by andrewhl » Sat Mar 17, 2018 6:51 pm

LSAT_Ninja_Tutor wrote:Try focusing on the different game types and drill types one at a time. Use the foolproof method using individual games and not LG sections. You should see improvement this way.
I'll try this method for my previous drilled game to see if anything changes
I felt I could cover more game with sections by sections drilling

LSATace

New
Posts: 7
Joined: Sun Jan 03, 2010 11:21 pm

Re: Kind of a blow in my confidence today, tried foolproof LG but paralyzed in actual test

Post by LSATace » Sat Mar 17, 2018 8:33 pm

In practice you can finish off 3-, maybe 4 games. Today you froze at game 3.

I agree with Ninja, more practice is a great idea, but that doesn't by itself solve the problem of "becoming"paralyzed." Every test you take they're going to throw an interesting little kink into the Games section that no one's seen before, and you need to get better at expecting that, looking for it, and being able to adapt quickly. That deals partly with good time management- you need to realize QUICKLY after you've frozen up/slowed the hell down, and that comes in part with keeping one eye on the clock to note the passage of time. It comes partly with knowing that everyone is susceptible to this tendency and not to brood over what has happened today, and last of all it comes with TAKING AGENCY over your reactions to the test. The test didn't "paralyze" you, instead, tacitly or actively, YOU made a decision to stare fruitlessly at a game for way too long. You never have to do that again.

Again, like Ninja said, practice is great. The more anyone becomes a past master at the games, the less anyone has the tendency to freeze on a rule/question/game that has you them stumped/bogged down. But you need to start putting a clear eye on that "freezing" thing now. As long as you keep in mind the possibility of it, then you'll always choose to make a better use of your time.

Want to continue reading?

Register now to search topics and post comments!

Absolutely FREE!


andrewhl

New
Posts: 13
Joined: Wed Jun 08, 2016 6:32 pm

Re: Kind of a blow in my confidence today, tried foolproof LG but paralyzed in actual test

Post by andrewhl » Mon Mar 26, 2018 3:52 pm

LSATace wrote:In practice you can finish off 3-, maybe 4 games. Today you froze at game 3.

I agree with Ninja, more practice is a great idea, but that doesn't by itself solve the problem of "becoming"paralyzed." Every test you take they're going to throw an interesting little kink into the Games section that no one's seen before, and you need to get better at expecting that, looking for it, and being able to adapt quickly. That deals partly with good time management- you need to realize QUICKLY after you've frozen up/slowed the hell down, and that comes in part with keeping one eye on the clock to note the passage of time. It comes partly with knowing that everyone is susceptible to this tendency and not to brood over what has happened today, and last of all it comes with TAKING AGENCY over your reactions to the test. The test didn't "paralyze" you, instead, tacitly or actively, YOU made a decision to stare fruitlessly at a game for way too long. You never have to do that again.

Again, like Ninja said, practice is great. The more anyone becomes a past master at the games, the less anyone has the tendency to freeze on a rule/question/game that has you them stumped/bogged down. But you need to start putting a clear eye on that "freezing" thing now. As long as you keep in mind the possibility of it, then you'll always choose to make a better use of your time.

after another week of drilling, I just realized how easily I tend to misread rules of some of the easy games during the timed drilling.
For the games which I can immediately recognize the pattern(especially easy simple sequencing games), I seem to constantly make small but fatal mistakes. For harder games such as the dinosaur one I get a higher accurate rate( usually can get them all correct during drilling if I have drilled similar games)
Not sure if it has anything to do with fatigue or is there any hobby makes me tend to misread them.
For example, I will misread "A immediately after B" as "A immediately before/after B" because there are other games associated with the later rule. And while I was writing down the rules, I was actually thinking about another game. And sometimes I simply missing one rule when I write them down. Now think of my March test I highly doubt if I have misread the rules as well.
I am trying to find a way to correct this bad hobby otherwise it might still cost me a lot in the July test

King of the North

Bronze
Posts: 179
Joined: Mon May 15, 2017 11:44 am

Re: Kind of a blow in my confidence today, tried foolproof LG but paralyzed in actual test

Post by King of the North » Mon Mar 26, 2018 4:27 pm

Didn’t want to quote your long post Andrew, but I’ve made that mistake in the past several times in my practices. I’ll easily look over a rule or misread it because I’ve let myself get too comfortable. I think we need to be diligent in not overlooking rules and paying all rules and games and questions and answer choices equal attention no matter how simple they may be. I tend to rush, personally, through easy games to quickly finish them. And on numerous occasions I misread something and get confused halfway through the game and I waste a lot of time that way. We have to make it a point to give those 30 seconds or that one minute extra to the rules to make sure we read them right the first time.

User avatar
Jeffort

Gold
Posts: 1888
Joined: Wed Jun 18, 2008 4:43 pm

Re: Kind of a blow in my confidence today, tried foolproof LG but paralyzed in actual test

Post by Jeffort » Wed Mar 28, 2018 12:02 am

andrewhl wrote: after another week of drilling, I just realized how easily I tend to misread rules of some of the easy games during the timed drilling.
For the games which I can immediately recognize the pattern(especially easy simple sequencing games), I seem to constantly make small but fatal mistakes. For harder games such as the dinosaur one I get a higher accurate rate( usually can get them all correct during drilling if I have drilled similar games)
Not sure if it has anything to do with fatigue or is there any hobby makes me tend to misread them.
For example, I will misread "A immediately after B" as "A immediately before/after B" because there are other games associated with the later rule. And while I was writing down the rules, I was actually thinking about another game. And sometimes I simply missing one rule when I write them down. Now think of my March test I highly doubt if I have misread the rules as well.
I am trying to find a way to correct this bad hobby otherwise it might still cost me a lot in the July test
A really good habit to get into with LG's:
After you've initially diagrammed out each of the individual rules (before you start making deductions, linking rules, etc.), re-read the rules from the stimulus and compare the meaning to what you wrote ONE BY ONE! Making simple yet potentially fatal diagramming errors when first setting up LG's is extremely common under the time pressure, especially on test day, so you want to have a verification system built into your set of methods and habits.

It only takes several seconds and can potentially save you from disaster. Since you are re-reading and re-thinking through the actual meaning of each rule a second time, it also helps you notice connecting rules and rules with relationships that generate deductions more easily, plus it also helps you get the rules implanted a bit into your short term memory/internalized so you may not have to be as dependent on repeatedly looking back at your set-up diagram to work some of the questions faster.

A person I tutored several years ago decided for some reason to skip doing the rule verification step on her last game and ended up mis-diagramming one rule. It cost her the entire game. She ended up with a 169 because of that instead of a 172. She normally did the rule verification step but just decided not to for that game only and it cost her! (She still ended up at a great top LS - U Chicago, so things still ended up working out well, but she could have had some other better options with more scholly$ with a 172 instead of her 169)

Try incorporating this simple rule verification step into your game set-up processes, you should find it to be helpful not only for eliminating those careless mistakes, but also for helping you spot deductions and rule connections more quickly and easily.

Want to continue reading?

Register for access!

Did I mention it was FREE ?


Post Reply

Return to “LSAT Prep and Discussion Forum”