First, that kind of variation is normal. Scores are never consistent! For some reason, people seem to think they should be, but they aren't.appind wrote:Hey Graeme,
I have a few questions in light of your post about speed reading.
http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... d#p7670928
My scored lsats are 165, 162. I have 12 months to prep for my next retake when I become eligible. How should someone with these scores go about prepping?
There is a large variation in my scores on some specific section types on the actual administrations. The first scored administration my LR best section was -3, worst was -10. The second administration my LR best section was -2, worst was -7. My LG best section in these admins has been -1, worst -5. The only consistently bad section was RC: -8 and -9. These individual sections scores make me think that I have the capacity to do well in LR of upto -2/section and LG upto -1/section even on real admins, even though on the test as a whole I screw up. What may I be doing wrong?
I've also exhausted all prep material, some PTs even multiple times. I have time to prep and I'd be willing to do heavier exercises than lsat so lsat feels easy. Any material which pushes my intellectual boundaries enough so lsat becomes easy?
I have heard conflicting opinions about speedreading, some even saying that fundamentally it's skimming and that subvocalization is almost necessary for good retention. I have tried spreeder but it's different than reading a rc passage on paper. Can speedreading really help?
Second, work on perfecting LG. Definitely attainable. Aim for -0 with extra time. No reason to give up those points.
Third, repeating prep material is actually great for learning. The main thing you're missing by not having fresh tests is the ability to track your score. You'll need to develop other metrics to assess whether you're actually improving.
Fourth, hard to say with reading speed. I don't believe in speed reading claims that everyone can read 400+ with full comprehension. However, a lot of people read quite slow, like 200 WPM, whereas others read at 300 WPM.
I don't think those at 200 WPM are at their theoretical maximum. From my anecdotal experience, tools like spreeder can help you increase your speed without hurting comprehension, if you're reading below your potential.
Further, skimming is actually extremely useful for information retrieval on RC. If you take nothing else out of it, aim to be able to find any fact in a passage in 2-5 seconds. This is definitely possible. Most students are capable of this with a bit of practice mentally organizing the passage + improving skimming and information retrieval.
But reading speed is not a magic bullet. For about 40-60% of people, it seems to produce some results, and it's worth trying. But it's just a 10-20% boost. Very useful, but not a total game changer.
p.s. One reading tip: read more. I read 500-600 WPM, full comprehension. Why? I was a bookworm all my life, and look up words in the dictionary for fun. I read fast because I have good reading skills. And that comes from reading, a lot.
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About Me + Free Explnations
Hi, I'm Graeme. I scored a 177 and have been teaching since 2008. I release free explanations for LSAT PTs.
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