The Official October 2015 Study Group Forum

pterodactyls · Post by **pterodactyls** » Tue Sep 01, 2015 9:37 am

Dexter97 wrote:Welcome to September!!! Crunch time guys!! Going to tackle PT 62 later today.

It's September

ugg · Post by **ugg** » Tue Sep 01, 2015 9:45 am

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numb3r4 · Post by **numb3r4** » Tue Sep 01, 2015 11:59 am

https://youtu.be/9jK-NcRmVcw?t=20s

pterodactyls · Post by **pterodactyls** » Tue Sep 01, 2015 12:43 pm

Have any of you analyzed your reading speed at all?

RC is my worst section, and if I could get a handle on it I'd be in good shape. Over the last week I read the Manhattan RC guide and have been drilling RC passages. I've gotten to the point where I'm decently accurate answering questions (missing -0 on at least half, some -1 and occasionally -2) but my timing is way over. Most of the time I take 9-12 minutes to read a passage and answer all the questions.

I know that I'm sort of a slow reader. I had a girlfriend once who took a speed reading class in high school and she could always read about twice as fast as me.

I found this article online about how to analyze your reading speed and reduce "subvocalization" - when you pronounce words aloud in your head as you read. Thought it was interesting and figured I'd share:
http://lsatprep180.com/the-lsat-and-reading-speed/

I'm reading about 200 wpm. I'm going to try using the spreeder website to see if I can break my habit of subvocalization (I always do it).

Do most of you subvocalize when you read? What are your reading speeds?

Mint-Berry_Crunch · Post by **Mint-Berry_Crunch** » Tue Sep 01, 2015 1:04 pm

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PoopNpants · Post by **PoopNpants** » Tue Sep 01, 2015 1:29 pm

pterodactyls wrote:Have any of you analyzed your reading speed at all?

RC is my worst section, and if I could get a handle on it I'd be in good shape. Over the last week I read the Manhattan RC guide and have been drilling RC passages. I've gotten to the point where I'm decently accurate answering questions (missing -0 on at least half, some -1 and occasionally -2) but my timing is way over. Most of the time I take 9-12 minutes to read a passage and answer all the questions.

I know that I'm sort of a slow reader. I had a girlfriend once who took a speed reading class in high school and she could always read about twice as fast as me.

I found this article online about how to analyze your reading speed and reduce "subvocalization" - when you pronounce words aloud in your head as you read. Thought it was interesting and figured I'd share:
http://lsatprep180.com/the-lsat-and-reading-speed/

I'm reading about 200 wpm. I'm going to try using the spreeder website to see if I can break my habit of subvocalization (I always do it).

Do most of you subvocalize when you read? What are your reading speeds?

I tend to sub vocalize sometimes when I come across a dense, confusing section of the passage of LR stimulus and I really want to understand what it is. I'm pretty good time-wise with LR and RC so I don't think it bothers me too much, I usually get through the passage within 1:45-2:00

scalawag · Post by **scalawag** » Tue Sep 01, 2015 3:30 pm

appind · Post by **appind** » Tue Sep 01, 2015 4:02 pm

PoopNpants wrote:
pterodactyls wrote:Have any of you analyzed your reading speed at all?

RC is my worst section, and if I could get a handle on it I'd be in good shape. Over the last week I read the Manhattan RC guide and have been drilling RC passages. I've gotten to the point where I'm decently accurate answering questions (missing -0 on at least half, some -1 and occasionally -2) but my timing is way over. Most of the time I take 9-12 minutes to read a passage and answer all the questions.

I know that I'm sort of a slow reader. I had a girlfriend once who took a speed reading class in high school and she could always read about twice as fast as me.

I found this article online about how to analyze your reading speed and reduce "subvocalization" - when you pronounce words aloud in your head as you read. Thought it was interesting and figured I'd share:
http://lsatprep180.com/the-lsat-and-reading-speed/

I'm reading about 200 wpm. I'm going to try using the spreeder website to see if I can break my habit of subvocalization (I always do it).

Do most of you subvocalize when you read? What are your reading speeds?
I tend to sub vocalize sometimes when I come across a dense, confusing section of the passage of LR stimulus and I really want to understand what it is. I'm pretty good time-wise with LR and RC so I don't think it bothers me too much, I usually get through the passage within 1:45-2:00

interested as well. if I could get my rc down to consistent -4 or less on the recent pts, i'd be near my target as that would likely comprise most of my misses. it seems very hard however. I had been drilling according to the approach taken by most perfect rc scorers on this forum where one reads the passage fast in 1-2 min before heading to questions. but these may be people who are naturally good at rc and didn't need to work through it.

now I am trying to drill by reading slow taking upto 4-5 min to understand the psg well. this has made me go faster on questions a bit but not by so much that I finish well within time. i'm not sure how committed one should be to this approach if one is aiming for perfection in rc because there is a good chance one wouldn't finish the section.

i subvocalize when reading under this approach as that helps retain information better. when reading fast under the earlier approach, I was trying not to subvocalize but not subvocalizing I think made the recall worse. idk if even speed readers can fully eliminate subvocalization.

ltowns1 · Post by **ltowns1** » Tue Sep 01, 2015 5:29 pm

Mint-Berry_Crunch wrote:After I read that article I stopped sub vocalizing and my scores improved immensely.

1. We're you able to stop completely or are there times when you feel it necessary/or can't help but do it?

Mint-Berry_Crunch · Post by **Mint-Berry_Crunch** » Tue Sep 01, 2015 8:17 pm

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pterodactyls · Post by **pterodactyls** » Tue Sep 01, 2015 9:40 pm

Mint-Berry_Crunch wrote:
So like, it really depends. I've noticed that when I read my own books for pleasure, I can almost eliminate my subvocalizing.
I rarely feel like it's necessary, if I come accross a really big word I'll just think "word" and move on. Same thing goes for names. I just make a note to come back to it.

If I notice that I am subvocalizing (what a horrible word to try and type on a phone) I take a second and get myself to stop. It's hard to describe, but when I read a passage properly, the key words pop out as concepts and not words.

Do you remember specifically what was most helpful in breaking the habit? Did you use the spreeder website? Or did you just keep practicing moving the pen along the paper as you go?

calmike · Post by **calmike** » Tue Sep 01, 2015 9:49 pm

Took Preptest 58.

Score:171
BR: 171 (1+ correct)

RC: -4
LR: -5
LG: -1

LG: Wow!!! -1 wrong :..( I can't believed I missed that one question

I love you LR. Please keep going lower.

RC. You were a tough cookie.

Hopefully from now on, my PTs keep rising. I want a high LSAT score for my dismal 2.8 GPA

Mint-Berry_Crunch · Post by **Mint-Berry_Crunch** » Tue Sep 01, 2015 10:28 pm

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appind · Post by **appind** » Tue Sep 01, 2015 10:28 pm

Mint-Berry_Crunch wrote: So like, it really depends. I've noticed that when I read my own books for pleasure, I can almost eliminate my subvocalizing.
I rarely feel like it's necessary, if I come accross a really big word I'll just think "word" and move on. Same thing goes for names. I just make a note to come back to it.

If I notice that I am subvocalizing (what a horrible word to try and type on a phone) I take a second and get myself to stop. It's hard to describe, but when I read a passage properly, the key words pop out as concepts and not words.

I think the key to speed reading for these passages is more like reading a map than it is reading. You're getting acquainted with where things are, and then you look up the street when you get there.

ETA: took PT68 today.
Went -0 in RC, which is like seeing a unicorn for me.
LR1 -4
LR2 -2
Games: -3
It's funny because I look at this and think it's a bad test for me.
-6 in LR and -3 in games are both the worst I've done in a while.

To be fair to myself:

[+] Spoiler
theres a weird bubbling thing that happens. I lost two points because I couldn't believe it happened.

nice rc score. you can afford to miss a little more in other sections when you get this score in rc.
how long do you take to read the passage? was this a fresh pt?

Mint-Berry_Crunch · Post by **Mint-Berry_Crunch** » Tue Sep 01, 2015 11:27 pm

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Mint-Berry_Crunch · Post by **Mint-Berry_Crunch** » Tue Sep 01, 2015 11:31 pm

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ugg · Post by **ugg** » Wed Sep 02, 2015 9:34 am

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PatriotP74 · Post by **PatriotP74** » Wed Sep 02, 2015 12:43 pm

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Mint-Berry_Crunch · Post by **Mint-Berry_Crunch** » Wed Sep 02, 2015 12:51 pm

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mist4bison · Post by **mist4bison** » Wed Sep 02, 2015 1:39 pm

Yeah, glad to see I'm not alone in my good-for-the-real-world-but-not-for-law-school GPA

The Abyss · Post by **The Abyss** » Wed Sep 02, 2015 1:44 pm

Took PT 66 this morning.

Score: 171 (3rd time in a row)

RC: -0
LR1: -2
LG: -5

LR2: -2

I haven't drilled LG in awhile, so it looks like I need to get on that. This was my 7th consecutive 170+, and now I'm looking to make the jump into the 174-176 range.

mornincounselor · Post by **mornincounselor** » Wed Sep 02, 2015 1:55 pm

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Mint-Berry_Crunch · Post by **Mint-Berry_Crunch** » Wed Sep 02, 2015 2:32 pm

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Mint-Berry_Crunch · Post by **Mint-Berry_Crunch** » Wed Sep 02, 2015 2:34 pm

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mist4bison · Post by **mist4bison** » Wed Sep 02, 2015 2:42 pm

mornincounselor wrote:It would be interesting to see if the best 8 3.25+ can outscore the 8 3.97+ people in this thread.

I don't know as if it's interesting...I think anyone with a 3.25 GPA is just as qualified to do well as someone with a 3.97. GPA isn't an accurate measure of intelligence at all. I suppose it could be argued that it's more a measure of devotion/study habits/etc, but I disagree there, too. There are so many factors that go into a person's GPA.