The Official June 2016 Study Group Forum

[StopLawying]

Finished PT 39
LG: -6 (totally bombed the second game, had to guess on every question. This happens every freakin'' test, I just struggle with the hardest game in the set).
RC: -3 (happy about this, but I think it was a really easy section)
LR: -10 (damn, thought both sections were pretty tough)

Total: 166, which is around my PT average. This test also had a super-generous curve so it's not a good indication of where I'm currently at. I'm so sick of games. To the person/people that decided to make LG a part of the LSAT: SCREW YOU. You're ruining my life. Every damn test I perform pretty well on LR/RC but then manage to screw up games which drags my score to the mid 160's.

Seriously speaking now, do you guys think I should focus the next two weeks ONLY on games and then resume with full studying? I bought the LG Bible hoping that it will help me a bit. Until now, I just used the 7sage LG lessons + videos.

[kkilambi]

How do you guys complete reading comprehension sections on time? I always take around 10 mins per passage. Any suggestions on how to limit the time I take without missing questions ...

I observe that I reread questions most of the times and I don't know how to fix it since the first time I read I almost always read them passively

[StopLawying]

How do you guys complete reading comprehension sections on time? I always take around 10 mins per passage. Any suggestions on how to limit the time I take without missing questions ...

I observe that I reread questions most of the times and I don't know how to fix it since the first time I read I almost always read them passively

IMO the best way to improve RC is by spending more time upfront with the passage. Get a good grasp of the passage and the questions should go by pretty quickly. This not only will help you with timing but it'll also help with accuracy.

[zeglo]

.

[Blueprint Mithun]

How do you guys complete reading comprehension sections on time? I always take around 10 mins per passage. Any suggestions on how to limit the time I take without missing questions ...

I observe that I reread questions most of the times and I don't know how to fix it since the first time I read I almost always read them passively

Doing well on RC isn't just about reading quickly, but about reading carefully and knowing what to look for. The foundation for being a fast RC taker is having a reliable, effective Reading Method that you've practiced to the point where it's become second-nature.

At Blueprint, we emphasize focusing on the big picture. There are elements of every passage that have a high chance of being relevant to the questions. These are:
- the number of perspectives/sides on the issue
- the main point of the passage
- the author's opinion,
- the structure/flow of the passage

It's important to be on alert for these key elements as you are reading the passage for the FIRST time. By the time you finish the passage, you should do a quick mental review and see if you can describe all four of them (especially the first three). Think of them as the basic building blocks to understanding any RC passage.


Don't rush through the passages. This is the most common mistake students make when doing RC. They attempt to rush through the passage quickly to have more time for the questions, but ultimately squander that time re-reading and going back and forth because they didn't understand the content well enough. Given how much important info tends to reside in the first paragraph, I would recommend that you start reading at a conservative pace, and speed up if you feel comfortable.

[Hennessy]

Finally entering the modern era. Picked up PTs 52-71 and 73 today. How's everyone else doing? How are you distributing the more recent PTs?

Drilling earlier PTs, and then doing tests from 45 onward chronologically up until my test date so that I'm doing the most recent tests in the week before.

[Mikey]

After weeks of not doing LG's, I got -1 on a LG section today. That makes me feel very happy, now to work on that -0

[ayylmao]

After weeks of not doing LG's, I got -1 on a LG section today. That makes me feel very happy, now to work on that -0

Live that dream, my friend. I hope to join you in paradise some day; I'm sure it exists out there—somewhere.
somewhere

[Hennessy]

After weeks of not doing LG's, I got -1 on a LG section today. That makes me feel very happy, now to work on that -0

Congrats! I hit my record on LG today too! -2!

Somehow dropped a -11 LR tho...PT came out to a 166.

[hj999]

Let's get this thread up and going guys! Last year's June thread had 170+ pages by this time

[Pozzo]

After weeks of not doing LG's, I got -1 on a LG section today. That makes me feel very happy, now to work on that -0

Congrats! I hit my record on LG today too! -2!

Somehow dropped a -11 LR tho...PT came out to a 166.

Bravo, y'all. I hit my best LR at -3 a couple weeks ago. Able to go -0 with BR on that one too. Been slacking ever since, though. Time to kick it in gear!

[StopLawying]

Yeah, I'm shocked at how slow this thread has been. We are only around 11 weeks out. Hopefully this means less people are taking the LSAT

[kgm1990]

Yeah, I'm shocked at how slow this thread has been. We are only around 11 weeks out. Hopefully this means less people are taking the LSAT

11 weeks. Oh jeez.

[Hennessy]

Yeah, I'm shocked at how slow this thread has been. We are only around 11 weeks out. Hopefully this means less people are taking the LSAT

11 weeks. Oh jeez.

which means we are 14 wks. away from finding out if our life is debt-fucked

[appind]

i have been drilling the cambridge lr workbook vol 3 and lg sections after dismal lg in dec.

flaw -2/72
parallel flaw -0/20

61 lg:
-0 (8:54 = time taken)
-1 (6:30)
-0 (9:00)
-0 (10:45)

62 lg:
-1 (7:40)
-0 (10)
-0 (10:30)
-0 (5:40)

63 lg
-0, 4:15
-0, 7:30
-1, 11:30
-1, 12

29 lg, -0
6:00
11:00
8:00
9:30

30 lg, -1
6:53
9:40
11:10
6:40

64 lg, -2
5:35
9
12:30
9:30

65 lg, -1
4:38
6:10
8:30
15

[Mikey]

Yeah, I'm shocked at how slow this thread has been. We are only around 11 weeks out. Hopefully this means less people are taking the LSAT

11 weeks. Oh jeez.

which means we are 14 wks. away from finding out if our life is debt-fucked

I will sell a kidney for a 180. True story.

[kkilambi]

How do you guys complete reading comprehension sections on time? I always take around 10 mins per passage. Any suggestions on how to limit the time I take without missing questions ...

I observe that I reread questions most of the times and I don't know how to fix it since the first time I read I almost always read them passively

IMO the best way to improve RC is by spending more time upfront with the passage. Get a good grasp of the passage and the questions should go by pretty quickly. This not only will help you with timing but it'll also help with accuracy.

It should be 3-4 minutes. Keep practicing and reading faster.

Re-reading should be a minimum. Keep track of lists, important comparisons, or key opinions of the author. You'll eventually pick up on important pieces of the passages.

As stoplawying too mentioned, I am trying to understand the passage before moving onto questions but I am taking close to 4 minutes to finish reading the passage with complete comprehension. Should I try to reduce it to 3 minutes?

[kkilambi]

How do you guys complete reading comprehension sections on time? I always take around 10 mins per passage. Any suggestions on how to limit the time I take without missing questions ...

I observe that I reread questions most of the times and I don't know how to fix it since the first time I read I almost always read them passively

Doing well on RC isn't just about reading quickly, but about reading carefully and knowing what to look for. The foundation for being a fast RC taker is having a reliable, effective Reading Method that you've practiced to the point where it's become second-nature.

At Blueprint, we emphasize focusing on the big picture. There are elements of every passage that have a high chance of being relevant to the questions. These are:
- the number of perspectives/sides on the issue
- the main point of the passage
- the author's opinion,
- the structure/flow of the passage

It's important to be on alert for these key elements as you are reading the passage for the FIRST time. By the time you finish the passage, you should do a quick mental review and see if you can describe all four of them (especially the first three). Think of them as the basic building blocks to understanding any RC passage.


Don't rush through the passages. This is the most common mistake students make when doing RC. They attempt to rush through the passage quickly to have more time for the questions, but ultimately squander that time re-reading and going back and forth because they didn't understand the content well enough. Given how much important info tends to reside in the first paragraph, I would recommend that you start reading at a conservative pace, and speed up if you feel comfortable.

Thanks, as I mentioned I am reading the passage for 4 minutes and now I am having no time to get back to passage after I read the question
local to the passage. I am missing questions because I am not able to go back to the passage.

[beenoparte125]

177 today on PT 26! FINALLY broke into the mid 170s... really needed that to motivate me.

[Pozzo]

177 today on PT 26! FINALLY broke into the mid 170s... really needed that to motivate me.

'grats!

[Pozzo]

Question to hopefully get this thread moving a bit: On how many PTs so far have scored in your target range?

I broke mid-170s last week on PT14. (Old test, I know...) But it feels more like a fluke than a reliable trend. Anyone totally hit their stride yet?

ETA: It was PT16.

[Hennessy]

Yeah, I'm shocked at how slow this thread has been. We are only around 11 weeks out. Hopefully this means less people are taking the LSAT

11 weeks. Oh jeez.

which means we are 14 wks. away from finding out if our life is debt-fucked

I will sell a kidney for a 180. True story.

177 today on PT 26! FINALLY broke into the mid 170s... really needed that to motivate me.

Shit, I'd sell a kidney to be PTing like this.

[Hennessy]

Question to hopefully get this thread moving a bit: On how many PTs so far have scored in your target range?

I broke mid-170s last week on PT14. (Old test, I know...) But it feels more like a fluke than a reliable trend. Anyone totally hit their stride yet?

I'm shooting for a 170 - so far I've hit 169, 165, 159 (idk bruh), 166, and 167.

So no.

[beenoparte125]

I was stuck around 170, give or take a couple, for a couple weeks (6 or 7 tests). I got a 175 once 4 or 5 weeks ago, which may have been luck. I just busted into 177... so I'd say I reliably have gotten 1 PT score I'm comfortable with. I won't know if the work has been paying off till I take a couple more.

I should note I normally take tests in the evening after working all day. I took this one today right around noon, felt good, scored well.

[beenoparte125]

We've still got time. My plan is to start turning up the heat here in the next couple of weeks, then really hammering 5 and 6 section PTs and BR in April, then tapering in May.