February 2013 LSAT Study Group Forum

[AT9]

Hey all,

I've taken 5 practice tests in the past 10/11 days and my raw score has been 77 three of the five times - the other two were 76. With the test 3 weeks from today, what's the best way to break out of this consistency and improve my score by a few points?

I'm weakest in LG and RC, so my plan is to study those the most and continue taking practice tests every couple of days. Beyond that, does anyone have any special tips (either on those sections specifically or overall) to improve in such a short time? My PT'S are around 160/161, and I'd really like to score mid 160's. Thanks!

I would take a break from PTs for a few day and do some major LG And RC drilling. The last time I took the LSAT I just took PT after PT and that didn't really help me improve - this time I'm focusing on drilling and I'm really improving. Just my two cents.

Thanks for the advice - I was feeling pretty good last night after nailing some games and RC passages, so that may be my best bet. The thing is, I've been able to improve on each section at some point, I just can't pull it all together on one test. I've gotten down to -5 on LR combined, -3 on RC, and -7 on LG.

On the games, I've only been attempting 3 games per section and guessing the rest because I have a lot of trouble finishing most games in less than 8:45. Has anyone of you not expecting to score in the 170's found this to be a good strategy?

[chickpea]

I think doing just 3 of the games but doing them really well can be a good strategy if you're not aiming for a 170+. However, I have no doubt that if you just continue to drill you will be able to answer all four of the questions in 35 min. LG used to be my weakest section by far but I just drilled hundreds and hundreds of games and now it's one of my best. I would recommend getting the Cambridge LSAT bundle of LGs or something similar.

[overperformer]

I think doing just 3 of the games but doing them really well can be a good strategy if you're not aiming for a 170+. However, I have no doubt that if you just continue to drill you will be able to answer all four of the questions in 35 min. LG used to be my weakest section by far but I just drilled hundreds and hundreds of games and now it's one of my best. I would recommend getting the Cambridge LSAT bundle of LGs or something similar.

agreed. do not give up on games. it is the only section that is not subjective. u can prove ur answer

drill baby drill.

i just has my 1st -0 ever in any section on my first attempt in games. i was -7 on games in december.

pt 55. got to the last game with 15 minutes to spare.

[Jcastro1]

Just did PT55 and yeah, the first 3 games seemed ridiculously easily. I did worse on RC then I expected (thought I killed it).

LR1 -2
LR2 -2
LRX -4
RC -5
LG -1

90/100

169

Definitely thought this would be the break over the mid-170s hump, but guess that'll happen another day. -1 on LG and -5 on RC make me feel awful.

[Instinctive]

Well my "Take a week off to get through the LR and LG Bibles" plan kind of worked. I'm 90% through LG Bible, 60% through LR Bible...and I took a PT today.

PT 55

LR1: -2
RC: -2
LR2: -0
LG: -0

ETA: That's a 177. It can be done!


First ever perfect scores on both a Games section and a LR section, but I'm at the point where I'd be pissed if I miss any on games. After going through the Bible and drilling, I hold myself to 8:00 per game, and perfect scores. Games are provable, the answers are there, you can test and diagram...everything you need to do can be done to get a perfect score. Just DRILL DRILL DRILL and then Practice some more!

As to LR...drilling the strengthen, weaken, assumption, and justify questions was a HUGE help. Once you can correctly identify a question, you can approach it correctly and the whole thing becomes much easier.



My best advice on RC is still the same - get better at reading. The answers are ALWAYS in the passage. I'm starting to get annoyed at myself for missing RC questions, because every single time I go back through and examine the missed questions...the answer is right there in the stupid passage. Reading faster without losing comprehension is the key - it allows you to have time to refer to passage for any difficult question.



I also (since I've been doing 5 section PTs) managed a -1 on PT 56's RC. And I knew it would happen, because I got time crunched and couldn't check a passage for an answer, guessed at a 50/50 shot...and of course guessed wrong.

[Jcastro1]

Any advice on here for crossing the mid-170s hump? My last 4 PTs in order of proximity to right now were 170, 173, 173, 169

[natashka85]

Did 100 lr drilling today missed 6 ,I think this is serious,must be true questions are important,the show up in Rc too,so need to review them and work harder.

[overperformer]

Just did PT55 and yeah, the first 3 games seemed ridiculously easily. I did worse on RC then I expected (thought I killed it).

LR1 -2
LR2 -2
LRX -4
RC -5
LG -1

90/100

169

Definitely thought this would be the break over the mid-170s hump, but guess that'll happen another day. -1 on LG and -5 on RC make me feel awful.

hmm i was

lr1 -4
lr2 -3
rc -5
lg -0

88 is my highest raw score yet. RC i typically miss 7 or 8. found it to be easy, except the incredibly boring third passage that i missed 3 on

[overperformer]

Well my "Take a week off to get through the LR and LG Bibles" plan kind of worked. I'm 90% through LG Bible, 60% through LR Bible...and I took a PT today.

PT 55

LR1: -2
RC: -2
LR2: -0
LG: -0

ETA: That's a 177. It can be done!


First ever perfect scores on both a Games section and a LR section, but I'm at the point where I'd be pissed if I miss any on games. After going through the Bible and drilling, I hold myself to 8:00 per game, and perfect scores. Games are provable, the answers are there, you can test and diagram...everything you need to do can be done to get a perfect score. Just DRILL DRILL DRILL and then Practice some more!

As to LR...drilling the strengthen, weaken, assumption, and justify questions was a HUGE help. Once you can correctly identify a question, you can approach it correctly and the whole thing becomes much easier.



My best advice on RC is still the same - get better at reading. The answers are ALWAYS in the passage. I'm starting to get annoyed at myself for missing RC questions, because every single time I go back through and examine the missed questions...the answer is right there in the stupid passage. Reading faster without losing comprehension is the key - it allows you to have time to refer to passage for any difficult question.



I also (since I've been doing 5 section PTs) managed a -1 on PT 56's RC. And I knew it would happen, because I got time crunched and couldn't check a passage for an answer, guessed at a 50/50 shot...and of course guessed wrong.

justify questions always screw me. for months i was just trying to justify the entire argument, rather than the conclusion

read the LR bible section on it. i still can't quite put all the pieces together (at least not fast enough)

[Instinctive]

Any advice on here for crossing the mid-170s hump? My last 4 PTs in order of proximity to right now were 170, 173, 173, 169

You and I are on the same trajectories, except I took off a week from PTing to exclusively drill on my weak points (and I still havent made it to the Flaw in Reasoning questions yet, which are my weakest...): My advice is to look back through those last 4 PTs for commonalities in questions that you A) missed, and B) had difficulty with.

Then drill that. Once you master Games, you just need to PT to stay sharp (I think haha). RC is difficult to drill, so what I have found most helpful is get better at reading, and making just a couple of key marks:

1. When there's a new viewpoint
2. When a section compares/contrasts
3. When a randomly large or unnecessarily strong word appears (examples include: flux, draconian, exclusively ______ - words that you think there's a solid chance you'll get a "What is the meaning of _____ when the author uses it on line xx?")
4. Mark anything that has quotes and is followed by a definition. Decent chance of a question there.


Pretty much, I mark anything I think there will be a question on so that I can then quickly find it in the event that there is a question and I want to review the text.



I suggest you drill your weaknesses for a couple days and then see where you're at.

[Jcastro1]

Hey Instinctive,

thanks for your advice. Do you suggest drilling all of the, say NA qs, or merely the hardest?

[Jcastro1]

The RC passages in PT55 seemed strangely easy, though a few of the questions had very deceptive wrong answers. I got into the habit of arrogantly relying on memory because I thought the passages were easier rather than checking my answers against the passage. This is crucial.

RC is just as provable as LG. All the right answers can be backed up, either explicitly or implicitly, by the passage. Anything less than 100% certainty (i.e. I remember this answer choice in this part of the passage saying exactly this) on an answer choice should be checked against the passage. A split second can mean an extra point.

I think ultimately RC is about discipline. Don't bring in outside knowledge *or* assumptions and stick as closely to the passage as possible. I now pretend that the passage I'm reading is out of the New Yorker (a magazine I love) and, strangely, I've made myself more interested in RC.

LET'S GO !! 18 STUDY DAYS LEFT.

[TheMostDangerousLG]

And baaaack to studying. Seem to be stuck in a cycle where I do one good day of studying (12+ hours) followed by three or more days without studying (bad!).

Attempting to drill RC sections. Been going through, section by section, starting with PT 1. Currently at PT 13. Did two earlier today:

PT 11 (Section 3): -2 (25/27)
PT 12 (Section 3): -1 (26/27)

Probably the biggest thing that's been helping was a realization I came to last night that RC Qs afford far less time per Q than LR. I know that should be obvious, but I thought my main problem was the time spent on the passages. I wasn't thinking about the fact that pacing through RC questions shouldn't be like LR. Unlike LR, where you have ~1:20 per question, RC Qs (assuming a passage read time of about 3 minutes) afford you only about :45 per question. That's a big difference!

So what I'm trying now is taking my own LR advice and strategically skipping RC Qs and working to not get stuck on individual Qs. Even more so than LR, getting stuck on an RC question can be damning. Didn't realize how out of whack my pacing on RC is across the board. Hopefully I continue to see improvement as I adjust my timing and reading methods.

Also: slightly concerned having read people saying that the earlier RC sections are easier. Do you all find this to be the case? Especially if I'm prepping infrequently, think I may need to skip to PT 20 (or just start prepping more regularly) in my drilling. Hopefully the work I'm doing now on earlier PT RC sections applies when I take more recent PTs. =\

[natashka85]

Did 100 weakening questions missed 4,well still mistakes but its better to make these mistakes here than on the test,everyone keep working hard ,i am gonna go back to Rc drilling and reviewing lG bible today.

[Jcastro1]

natashak, how long does it take you to drill 100 qs? I want to spend some time drilling but want to have time to do PTs

Also, did PT56 today. No experimental (kinda feeling guilty? But I started it at like 8:45 pm here UK time)

LR1 -3
LR2 -0 (!!!)
RC -4
LG -0

93/100 for a 174. Getting close to the hump! At this point, gains will be minimal, but I think I want to step up the pace and really get that RC down.

[ws81086n]

What are you guys' points for improvement over these last 3 weeks? Mine are weaken and PR for LR, grouping for LG, and raising my probability of missing 0 or 1 on RC from ~80% to 90% or better .

[Instinctive]

Hey Instinctive,

thanks for your advice. Do you suggest drilling all of the, say NA qs, or merely the hardest?

I don't think it matters. I'd rather drill 10 easy questions where I can see the exact reasoning behind where every answer is right or wrong than 2 really difficult ones that took me longer, because in the end...I'd just have 2 questions to examine why each answer choice was right or wrong.

[Jcastro1]

Yeah, good point.

For these next 3 weeks, my plan is to do a lot of PTs (and thorough review of each) as well as the "hardest" RC/LG sections + some drilling.

[illiniguy1551]

And baaaack to studying. Seem to be stuck in a cycle where I do one good day of studying (12+ hours) followed by three or more days without studying (bad!).

Attempting to drill RC sections. Been going through, section by section, starting with PT 1. Currently at PT 13. Did two earlier today:

PT 11 (Section 3): -2 (25/27)
PT 12 (Section 3): -1 (26/27)

Probably the biggest thing that's been helping was a realization I came to last night that RC Qs afford far less time per Q than LR. I know that should be obvious, but I thought my main problem was the time spent on the passages. I wasn't thinking about the fact that pacing through RC questions shouldn't be like LR. Unlike LR, where you have ~1:20 per question, RC Qs (assuming a passage read time of about 3 minutes) afford you only about :45 per question. That's a big difference!

So what I'm trying now is taking my own LR advice and strategically skipping RC Qs and working to not get stuck on individual Qs. Even more so than LR, getting stuck on an RC question can be damning. Didn't realize how out of whack my pacing on RC is across the board. Hopefully I continue to see improvement as I adjust my timing and reading methods.

Also: slightly concerned having read people saying that the earlier RC sections are easier. Do you all find this to be the case? Especially if I'm prepping infrequently, think I may need to skip to PT 20 (or just start prepping more regularly) in my drilling. Hopefully the work I'm doing now on earlier PT RC sections applies when I take more recent PTs. =\

Yeah I am concerned about the old RC's as well. I just completed drilling the Cambridge-By-Type RC for Preptests 1 -38. I became way better at reading activity and pacing myself, but I hope that is was not all in vain due to the newer RC trends.

With only a couple weeks left, should I redo a couple of the more recent tests, or should I do the SuperPrep since those are some of the only tests I have never seen before?

[ws81086n]

Old RC is definitely still useful. At the very least, the pre-40 ones with the highest number of views/topics on the MLSAT forums are very good practice and liable to give you a very good idea of how many you will miss on a current one.

[natashka85]

Did 100 Lr drilling-4(mistakes)
4RC passages today-2(mistakes)
wanna review some games but my brain needs a rest,maybe later today will review games.
Not sure if this is enough in one day,i just think that its the quality and not the quantity,how u guys think?

[TheThriller]

Did 100 Lr drilling-4(mistakes)
4RC passages today-2(mistakes)
wanna review some games but my brain needs a rest,maybe later today will review games.
Not sure if this is enough in one day,i just think that its the quality and not the quantity,how u guys think?

I wouldn't risk burnout this close the test. But if games is your weak point then you could benefit from an LG or 2.

Impressed on the RC. I've consistently been getting worse in RC and LR. Been going from -1/-2 to -3/-4 in both my LR and RC passages which is frustrating because it drops my PT scores from high 170s to low 170s.

[natashka85]

Did 100 Lr drilling-4(mistakes)
4RC passages today-2(mistakes)
wanna review some games but my brain needs a rest,maybe later that its the quality and not the quantity,how u guys think?

I wouldn't risk burnout this close the test. But if games is your weak point then you could benefit from an LG or 2.



No,I am ok w games,yea u are right I should take a break till Tmr ,anyway wanted to tell u sth about Rc,I haven't done it for 3 days,I was doing Lr drilling,Rc can be bitch to improve,and the more u do the worse it gets,so I only do it during my practice tests or when I feel that I an hungry to dissect Rc passages,only 4 ,breathing also helps during Rc ,i just worry that i may freeze during the test,i may go to the testing centre tmr to do some drilling there.

[TheMostDangerousLG]

Is it true that we will only receive a score when we get our results? It just occurred to me that we won't even get a raw score.. That's going to suck. Especially for those of us who will likely be retaking in June.

[ws81086n]

Is it true that we will only receive a score when we get our results? It just occurred to me that we won't even get a raw score.. That's going to suck. Especially for those of us who will likely be retaking in June.

Yeah, they don't even give us the scale or our raw score. It's incredibly annoying, and I really can't fathom why they do that. Totally understand why they don't release the questions, but the scale too? Ridiculous.