The Official June 2016 Study Group Forum

[Mikey]

Can anyone give me some RC tips? I do well on the other sections but on RC I get destroyed. I typically get the "What's the main idea of the passage" question right for all passages, but other than that I usually suck. I write a little notes down on the side while reading and box important names/words but I just can't seem to get this down. Help me please?

[ayylmao]

Can anyone give me some RC tips? I do well on the other sections but on RC I get destroyed. I typically get the "What's the main idea of the passage" question right for all passages, but other than that I usually suck. I write a little notes down on the side while reading and box important names/words but I just can't seem to get this down. Help me please?

https://www.reddit.com/r/LSAT/comments/ ... dvice_etc/

[Pozzo]

177 on PT 26 and 27. Fighting on.

Teach me Senpai

Just smashing through the older PTs for the past month or so... may finally be getting a grasp of patterns. True test will come later this week when I take a more recent PT. These older PTs seem to have a pretty forgiving curve.

Do you know when the (in terms of PT) the curve starts to get tighter?

I haven't really looked that closely.. I just know that I flipped through a couple in the 60s and if I had missed 7 I would have had a 174 or 175 instead of a 177... I could be totally mistaken about this, I was just surprised to miss 7 and still get a 177.

Interesting observation. This chart goes test by test: https://www.cambridgelsat.com/resources ... on-charts/. It looks like your observation may have something to it. Still some interesting variation test-to-test, even among more recent test. Minus 6 would give you a 177 on PT71, but only ("only..." HA!) a 174 on PT 63.

[YupSports]

Just took PT 59:

LG: -7 Ran out of time, AND made a very dumb error on game one
LR: -6 Details. Details. Details.
LR - 6 Details. Details. Details.
RC: -5 Killed by one passage.

163.

Simultaneously frustrating and comforting that I am nothing more than small details and timing issues away from the 170+.

Will be the only PT taken this week - going to enjoy the weekend and try to prevent burnout.

[nerdylsat]

Last 5 PTs averaged out to 165. Usual breakdown is -10 LR, -6 RC, -3/4 LG.

Could really improve pretty much all of these sections but its just not happening fast enough....

So close yet so far

[Hennessy]

Just took PT 59:

LG: -7 Ran out of time, AND made a very dumb error on game one
LR: -6 Details. Details. Details.
LR - 6 Details. Details. Details.
RC: -5 Killed by one passage.

163.

Simultaneously frustrating and comforting that I am nothing more than small details and timing issues away from the 170+.

Will be the only PT taken this week - going to enjoy the weekend and try to prevent burnout.

LG is your easiest sections to improve.
1. Get on 7sage, figure out what every game type looks like when set up
2. Start noticing which game types require which diagram set ups
3. Practice creating full diagrams, findin the "chunk" sections that open the game up
4. Drill until your eyes bleed
5. Eventually, you won't even need to diagram for each question. Eventually, you won't even need to diagram the hinges and chunks because they have become so obvious to you. Eventually your four LG games are just gonna speed by, and you'll have two minutes left over.

[Pozzo]

Went -4 on one LR section tonight. One of the necessary assumption questions totally tripped me up. Forgot that negating "someone" results in "no one." I kept going with "not everyone" instead. Bleh.

We fight on.

[YupSports]

Just took PT 59:

LG: -7 Ran out of time, AND made a very dumb error on game one
LR: -6 Details. Details. Details.
LR - 6 Details. Details. Details.
RC: -5 Killed by one passage.

163.

Simultaneously frustrating and comforting that I am nothing more than small details and timing issues away from the 170+.

Will be the only PT taken this week - going to enjoy the weekend and try to prevent burnout.

LG is your easiest sections to improve.
1. Get on 7sage, figure out what every game type looks like when set up
2. Start noticing which game types require which diagram set ups
3. Practice creating full diagrams, findin the "chunk" sections that open the game up
4. Drill until your eyes bleed
5. Eventually, you won't even need to diagram for each question. Eventually, you won't even need to diagram the hinges and chunks because they have become so obvious to you. Eventually your four LG games are just gonna speed by, and you'll have two minutes left over.

This is essentially what I am doing - drilling the LG from the PT and drilling my "experimental" section which is always an older LG section.

It sucks.

[YupSports]

Last 5 PTs averaged out to 165. Usual breakdown is -10 LR, -6 RC, -3/4 LG.

Could really improve pretty much all of these sections but its just not happening fast enough....

So close yet so far

What does your review process look like, nerdylsat?

[SonicHell]

Got a 177 on PT 62 yesterday! -5RC, -0LG, -1LR

I've definitely improved on RC, but still have a long way to go it looks like. All that drilling of LR has seemed to pay off too.

Diagnostic was 155, and last preptest was 167 two weeks ago, so this could just be an anomaly and we'll see how I do on my next one. I've gone 167, 164, 167, 177 on the tests I've done since January.

[Hennessy]

Got a 177 on PT 62 yesterday! -5RC, -0LG, -1LR

I've definitely improved on RC, but still have a long way to go it looks like. All that drilling of LR has seemed to pay off too.

Diagnostic was 155, and last preptest was 167 two weeks ago, so this could just be an anomaly and we'll see how I do on my next one. I've gone 167, 164, 167, 177 on the tests I've done since January.

LR - teach me your ways. I consistently get 4-5 wrong on each LR section. Brings my entire raw score down by 10 - ugh.

[SonicHell]

LR - teach me your ways. I consistently get 4-5 wrong on each LR section. Brings my entire raw score down by 10 - ugh.

I've been using the Cambridge packets to drill all the question types. Haven't made my way through all of them yet, but have answered probably 3/4 of the LR from PT 20-39 this way. When I'm drilling I have a running timer and press "lap" after each question to record the specific timing of each question. Do this in sets of about 8 questions (depending on how many they've fit on two pages) and then check the answers and do write-ups for the questions I got wrong, and the questions I got right but wasn't sure of.

My write-up will just be a short paragraph I fit on the drilling page discussing why I picked the answer I did, why my reasoning was wrong, and why the right answer is definitely correct.

[nerdylsat]

Last 5 PTs averaged out to 165. Usual breakdown is -10 LR, -6 RC, -3/4 LG.

Could really improve pretty much all of these sections but its just not happening fast enough....

So close yet so far

What does your review process look like, nerdylsat?

I usually take a 4 section PT, then on the next day, prior to grading my PT, I go through all the LR one by one, and try to see which ones I got wrong. Out of the 9 or 10 that I get wrong, I usually correct all but 2 or 3 this way.

RC, same thing, prior to seeing my score, I go through all the passages again, and try to see which ones I got wrong and why. I usually end up like -3/4 as well after BR.

LG, same thing, just do all the games again calmly.

My BR scores usually end up in the mid 170s but its not like that matters much. :\

[YupSports]

Last 5 PTs averaged out to 165. Usual breakdown is -10 LR, -6 RC, -3/4 LG.

Could really improve pretty much all of these sections but its just not happening fast enough....

So close yet so far

What does your review process look like, nerdylsat?

I usually take a 4 section PT, then on the next day, prior to grading my PT, I go through all the LR one by one, and try to see which ones I got wrong. Out of the 9 or 10 that I get wrong, I usually correct all but 2 or 3 this way.

RC, same thing, prior to seeing my score, I go through all the passages again, and try to see which ones I got wrong and why. I usually end up like -3/4 as well after BR.

LG, same thing, just do all the games again calmly.

My BR scores usually end up in the mid 170s but its not like that matters much. :\

Seems like a recipe for success to me.

Like Alabama coach Nick Saban says: Trust In The Process.

[New_Spice180]

I was hoping someone here could help me out with a problem I might have. I'm currently drilling Assumption questions, as I believe that question type to be one of my largest hurdles on the LSAT, and I've found after drilling about 60+ that I seem to get tripped up with long causal/conditional chains.

What approach have you all taken to not have all that information (conditional/causal chains) jumbled in your brain? Currently I'm drilling right now but when I start moving to PTing I would like to know what strategies are best especially with the more difficult Assumption questions.

[beenoparte125]

Scored a 171 on PT 28 last night (starting around 7:30pm, after a full day of work)- I had gotten a 177 on both PT 26 and PT 27- which I took in the early afternoon (around the time of the actual test)... I want to say this isn't a coincidence? Ugh.

[beenoparte125]

So, around 10 weeks of good study time left.

I'm going to start picking away at 5 section PTs in the 50s and 60s. I'm hoping to squeeze another 20 or so PTs into the remaining time.

[Pozzo]

So, around 10 weeks of good study time left.

I'm going to start picking away at 5 section PTs in the 50s and 60s. I'm hoping to squeeze another 20 or so PTs into the remaining time.

Sounds like a good plan. How many per week?

[beenoparte125]

So, around 10 weeks of good study time left.

I'm going to start picking away at 5 section PTs in the 50s and 60s. I'm hoping to squeeze another 20 or so PTs into the remaining time.

Sounds like a good plan. How many per week?

2 a week with review time and a day off per week should do it?

[beenoparte125]

I was hoping someone here could help me out with a problem I might have. I'm currently drilling Assumption questions, as I believe that question type to be one of my largest hurdles on the LSAT, and I've found after drilling about 60+ that I seem to get tripped up with long causal/conditional chains.

What approach have you all taken to not have all that information (conditional/causal chains) jumbled in your brain? Currently I'm drilling right now but when I start moving to PTing I would like to know what strategies are best especially with the more difficult Assumption questions.

I also find these to be among the most difficult types of assumption questions... I'm not an expert by any means but I have found it's helpful sometimes to make sure you understand the question stem first, to avoid spending unnecessary time trying to figure out the chain-- sometimes the question is very specific. Beyond that... I try and diagram quickly as I would a logic game.

[YupSports]

So, around 10 weeks of good study time left.

I'm going to start picking away at 5 section PTs in the 50s and 60s. I'm hoping to squeeze another 20 or so PTs into the remaining time.

Sounds like a good plan. How many per week?

2 a week with review time and a day off per week should do it?

This is exactly what I am doing.

Seems to be the perfect pace, for me that is.

[Pozzo]

So, around 10 weeks of good study time left.

I'm going to start picking away at 5 section PTs in the 50s and 60s. I'm hoping to squeeze another 20 or so PTs into the remaining time.

Sounds like a good plan. How many per week?

2 a week with review time and a day off per week should do it?

This is exactly what I am doing.

Seems to be the perfect pace, for me that is.

I'm waiting to go to two per week starting the second week in April. Here's to hoping it's not too little too late.

[New_Spice180]

I was hoping someone here could help me out with a problem I might have. I'm currently drilling Assumption questions, as I believe that question type to be one of my largest hurdles on the LSAT, and I've found after drilling about 60+ that I seem to get tripped up with long causal/conditional chains.

What approach have you all taken to not have all that information (conditional/causal chains) jumbled in your brain? Currently I'm drilling right now but when I start moving to PTing I would like to know what strategies are best especially with the more difficult Assumption questions.

I also find these to be among the most difficult types of assumption questions... I'm not an expert by any means but I have found it's helpful sometimes to make sure you understand the question stem first, to avoid spending unnecessary time trying to figure out the chain-- sometimes the question is very specific. Beyond that... I try and diagram quickly as I would a logic game.

Okay! I imagine you you meant I should fully understand the stimulus( not stem being that the stem for assumption questions are generally the same ex: which one of the following is an assumption the argument depends on..etc)

I noticed a trend with these types, they tend to have intermediate conclusions or have the conclusion cached away as the 2/3 sentence, and the preceding/subsequent sentences are where the chains are made. It's no surprise that these types where closer to the end of the Kaplan mastery packet.

My biggest fear is that I'm not going to have more practice material for this particular question type, even though I feel like my understanding of these question types are much more advanced than when I started....

[AfrocentricAsian]

possibly checking in, how fuunnnnnnnnn

[YupSports]

So, around 10 weeks of good study time left.

I'm going to start picking away at 5 section PTs in the 50s and 60s. I'm hoping to squeeze another 20 or so PTs into the remaining time.

Sounds like a good plan. How many per week?

2 a week with review time and a day off per week should do it?

This is exactly what I am doing.

Seems to be the perfect pace, for me that is.

I'm waiting to go to two per week starting the second week in April. Here's to hoping it's not too little too late.

How many are you doing per week right now, Pozzo?

My thinking is that as I get better, there will be less review of PTs needed. I will either use this extra time to drill some questions I struggle with or pack in another PT.