October 2010 Test Prep Forum

[jaydizzle]

Sweet! Hah my epiphany was that I was jumping into the answer choices without identifying the conclusion when it proved to be rather pertinent. The second epiphany was to look out for words like some, all, not, except, and look for weak answer choices. I knew this before, but somehow I didn't practices these methods well.

[Gemini]

Well hopefully, I will get an epiphany sometime soon, too, lol.

It sounds simple, what you're saying, but in practice, it's really not. Good Luck.
It's 8:20pm here and I'm off to study some LR. Wish me luck! I already did 6 LG (as per pithypike) and got -3/33. Not too bad but they were all dumb mistakes! Which sucks because I hate dumb mistake.

And if you're impressed by that, don't be because those games were only linear, balanced games...

[lastch2]

been on vacation for a few days, came back and started superprep. reviewed the LG section, took my first full PT (Preptest B in the Superprep...not sure if it's legit or not). Got a 171 but the breakdown goes as follows:

LR: -5 total
RC: -2
LG (the section I studied DIRECTLY before taking this exam): -6 wtf!!

Does anyone else think some study techniques hurt? I've been between -0/-3 on all LG PTs for the June test, cracked nary a book for them, thought it was intuitive..now I try to learn "tricks" and eff it all up. anybody??

[northwood]

lastch
when you learn a new trick it takes a few practices before you master it. You should see a decrease in accuracy for a bit, then once the new trick is mastered ( or it "clicks") your score should increase

since you got a -0 without any tricks, why change something that didnt need to be changed?

[lastch2]

lastch
when you learn a new trick it takes a few practices before you master it. You should see a decrease in accuracy for a bit, then once the new trick is mastered ( or it "clicks") your score should increase

since you got a -0 without any tricks, why change something that didnt need to be changed?

asking myself that right now...figured it couldn't hurt to read up on it and do a thorough, well-rounded study routine. That makes sense about having to practice a bit, but I think I'll practice foregetting what I read instead. thanks for the help though

[dub]

lastch
when you learn a new trick it takes a few practices before you master it. You should see a decrease in accuracy for a bit, then once the new trick is mastered ( or it "clicks") your score should increase

since you got a -0 without any tricks, why change something that didnt need to be changed?

asking myself that right now...figured it couldn't hurt to read up on it and do a thorough, well-rounded study routine. That makes sense about having to practice a bit, but I think I'll practice foregetting what I read instead. thanks for the help though

SuperPrep B has one of the most difficult LG sections ever. No worries.

[Gemini]

Good to know about Superprep B, lol.

I just did a RC section from PT 7. Got 23/27 in 32 minutes, so it's not too shabby but I hear the older RCs are easier... is this true?

[CalBear2011]

Good to know about Superprep B, lol.

I just did a RC section from PT 7. Got 23/27 in 32 minutes, so it's not too shabby but I hear the older RCs are easier... is this true?

Generally, I have found that the early RC's are much easier than the recent ones this is also the general consensus on TLS. In the earlier ones I barely had to look back at the passage while answering the questions, I think they were less convoluted and more straight forward; however, in the recent ones the language is harder to decipher which means more time looking back and less time on the final passage.

I am also planning to take the October exam, was set for June but I needed more prep time. I am in the 166-167 range at the moment and taking the biggest hit in RC. To ease other people minds after studying for a months already I find LR a breeze and finish often with 4-5 minutes remaining. At first for a few months I was barely finishing and often did not finish LR sections and was getting -7 on each section. After much repetition and rereading the LR Bible the LR section has become second nature to me. Now when I get answers wrong in LR they are just silly mistakes.

[thegrayman]

So when exactly did RC become harder? Any idea of around what PT represents the harder ones?

[CalBear2011]

So when exactly did RC become harder? Any idea of around what PT represents the harder ones?

I'm not sure if there is a specific change in difficulty around any specific PT, it is more gradual. It is barely noticeable as I can remember if you go in order, you will just start getting more and more wrong until you say WTF happened to my RC score. That is how I remember it, I was getting near perfect on RC until around maybe late 30's and 40's when I noticed myself getting a few more wrong, and the 50's is when I started getting about -7. The difference is very very very noticeable if you take an RC section in the 20's and then an RC section in the 50's.

This is what kills me I was nearly perfect in RC before and struggled on LR and LG, since then I have improved the later to near perfection and all of a sudden I have to worry about RC.

[Hannibal]

Just took PT number 29 (just got The Next 10 in the mail today) and got a 169, which matches my highest score. Got a -2 on RC, -6 on LG, and - 5 on LR. LG kills me again, this time thanks to grouping.

And of course, looking back on my LR misses I see the logic clearly. This time, every time I missed one on the LR or RC it was one of those that I marked as giving me difficulty during the test, so I know the other areas are getting better.

Now I just need to get LG under control. I'm 1/5th of the way through the bible.

BTW, I noticed the RC to be slightly denser, though I still did well enough.

[Gemini]

Just took PT number 29 (just got The Next 10 in the mail today) and got a 169, which matches my highest score. Got a -2 on RC, -6 on LG, and - 5 on LR. LG kills me again, this time thanks to grouping.

And of course, looking back on my LR misses I see the logic clearly. This time, every time I missed one on the LR or RC it was one of those that I marked as giving me difficulty during the test, so I know the other areas are getting better.

Now I just need to get LG under control. I'm 1/5th of the way through the bible.

BTW, I noticed the RC to be slightly denser, though I still did well enough.

Lucky! A 169 is amazing! Being the worst at LG is actually good news because it's what you can improve on most. By the time you get to October, you'll be an expert on all three sections. I really hope that I'll be at your level soon enough. *crosses finger*

I haven't taken any timed tests, though I have been timing myself. So I can't even say where I am right now. Not knowing is a relief yet a bit scary at the same time...

[lastch2]

i know some people on here are retaking after june and applying as soon as scores come in, for those: have you started working on personal statements, applications, letters of rec, etc?? I know this may sound dumb, but it just occured to me that now is probably the time to start doing this, but it seems kinda weird doing this AND studying for the lsat. let me know if anyone is in the same boat.

[jwaters]

Just took my second timed Pt....superprep A. Got a 165 which is 5 points higher than the PT I took last week.
Had -2 LR, -3 RC, -4 LG, and -6 LR. After about question 10 on the last section (LR) I felt completely brain-dead and couldn't concentrate on anything.

Other than that I improved on everything compared to my last test. I'm especially happy with my LG's....last week I had -15 and this week -4, and every question I completed I got right. I think doing timed sections of LG really helped with that.

Overall I guess I can't complain about a 5-point increase. That last section of LR really kicked my ass though.

[Gemini]

i know some people on here are retaking after june and applying as soon as scores come in, for those: have you started working on personal statements, applications, letters of rec, etc?? I know this may sound dumb, but it just occured to me that now is probably the time to start doing this, but it seems kinda weird doing this AND studying for the lsat. let me know if anyone is in the same boat.

I'm VERY much in the same boat. Especially since I'm not only a retaker but also a re-applier. I applied last cycle and got WL by two good schools and I hope to get a better LSAT in October. But I also need to write up a new PS for those schools and change up my old one for the rest.

I figure that after October 9, I'll do the PS the week after. The week following that is when I would begin applying to schools. My letters of rec have already been done, obviously...

[jwaters]

i know some people on here are retaking after june and applying as soon as scores come in, for those: have you started working on personal statements, applications, letters of rec, etc?? I know this may sound dumb, but it just occured to me that now is probably the time to start doing this, but it seems kinda weird doing this AND studying for the lsat. let me know if anyone is in the same boat.

I was going to start filling out apps but none of them are available yet. I have started working on my personal statement but that's about it. I figured I might as well get it out of the way while I'm still out of school for the summer so once I'm taking classes again my free time can be mostly devoted toward studying.

[lastch2]

blurg. i guess it is time to start working on that damn PS. well..lsac claims another student's summer

[lawschoolisfun2012]

So, I've been preparing for the Oct. test with everyone..go team OCTOBER LSAT!..any idea where we can find solutions with explanations to actual LSATs (PTs)? Without buying a book or taking a prep course. I am sure the answer is either no or has already been answered on a post I could not find..please help me:)!

[Hannibal]

So, I've been preparing for the Oct. test with everyone..go team OCTOBER LSAT!..any idea where we can find solutions with explanations to actual LSATs (PTs)? Without buying a book or taking a prep course. I am sure the answer is either no or has already been answered on a post I could not find..please help me:)!

http://www.atlaslsat.com/blog/index.php ... lanations/

[lastch2]

So, I've been preparing for the Oct. test with everyone..go team OCTOBER LSAT!..any idea where we can find solutions with explanations to actual LSATs (PTs)? Without buying a book or taking a prep course. I am sure the answer is either no or has already been answered on a post I could not find..please help me:)!

http://www.atlaslsat.com/blog/index.php ... lanations/

holy. crap.

[DrackedaryMaster]

So I'm through 9 of the 10 PTs in the first Official Book. I've tried to make the transition from untimed to timed, but am still struggling. Particularly on RC, I'm running out of time with 3 or 4 questions to go on the last passage, although I'm getting -0/-1 on all the questions I answer. Same thing for games. Actually, I'm loving these old LGs (especially the Flasks/Tennis Tourney/Chemicals). Strangely, it's taken me less time (under 6 minutes) to do these games than the linear/grouping ones because the diagramming/inferences seem a lot more obvious to me for whatever reason, and the incorrect answer choices really stand out from the few rules, making them quicker to answer. I've noticed, though, that no matter what the difficulty of the first game, I'm clocking anywhere from 9:45 - 10:15, whereas on games 2 and 3, I start to get them under 8 mins, regardless of their difficulty. I think I understand now why some people do "warm-up" games on the morning of the real LSAT, but in terms of taking my PT's, should I do a "warm-up" games from the PT's I've completed prior to started a new PT? Finally, unlike my last prep from two years ago, I'm doing these games diagrams within the space provided, and with a pencil, and I've finally got comfortable with not drawing on my main diagram and drawing the mini set-ups next to the question.

LR, though, oh how I hate this section! The LRB has helped, but I'm still a solid -4/-8 on each section. Although I've had two sections where I've now answered out correctly past Q15, row 2 of the answer keys (8-14), is starting to ruin my sections. My most recent, PT16, had me -6 total for both sections. #10,#11, and #14 did me in on the second LR. Which brings me up to another point, I notice that when I miss questions, they tend to be grouped around the same area.

[Hedwig]

So when exactly did RC become harder? Any idea of around what PT represents the harder ones?

I'm not sure if there is a specific change in difficulty around any specific PT, it is more gradual. It is barely noticeable as I can remember if you go in order, you will just start getting more and more wrong until you say WTF happened to my RC score. That is how I remember it, I was getting near perfect on RC until around maybe late 30's and 40's when I noticed myself getting a few more wrong, and the 50's is when I started getting about -7. The difference is very very very noticeable if you take an RC section in the 20's and then an RC section in the 50's.

This is what kills me I was nearly perfect in RC before and struggled on LR and LG, since then I have improved the later to near perfection and all of a sudden I have to worry about RC.

I found that they throw in these "tone" questions that I found very difficult to answer. Generally I can figure out an author's tone, but it's ridiculous trying to decide whether or not the author shows "tacit agreement" or "detached indifference" or "cool disdain" ahahaha. Although I have to admit I find those questions hilarious. And I can find the right answer most of the time - it's just those questions are ones where I doubt myself for some reason and sometimes switch from the right answer to the wrong one.

[northwood]

Is it just me, or does it seem that the middle problems of LR are the most difficult. I have been noticing that most of my incorrect answers are grouped in problems 13-20. Are the test makers purposely making this section the harders ( assuming that test takers will tackle the section in numerical order- and not getting to the last (and "easier") questions until the end of 35 minutes, or am i just an anomoly who has a pattern in his testing that is not related at all to the difficulty of the test?

[Patriot1208]

Preptest 42 today, in strict test like conditions with an experimental section from preptest 4, which I did as the third section. Scaled score of 165, up from 163 on my last prep test and a 159 cold. I'm a little worried at how slowly i'm making progress and if i'll even make the needed progress for a 170+. Should I worry about this?

Breakdown as follows

LG -0 (first section, felt great, finished way early)
LR -8 (ran out of time with 4 questions remaining, really got bogged down in the middle)
RC -5 (all on the same humanities passage about an artist. Apparently, I just didn't process that passage. But got every question right on Law, NS, SS passages, and although I was pressed for time, that wasn't the cause because this was the 2nd RC passage out of the 4)
LR -4 (time wasn't an issue for this one, but missed 3 assumption questions)

Overall, did about the same on RC as the last preptest (but the last preptest time was the issue not struggling with one passage), Better on games, and worse on LR due to having a time problem on one this time when i've never had a time problem on LR before.

Basically, i'm just getting really worried my score isn't up to where I want it to be yet. And that is discouraging.

[Patriot1208]

Is it just me, or does it seem that the middle problems of LR are the most difficult. I have been noticing that most of my incorrect answers are grouped in problems 13-20. Are the test makers purposely making this section the harders ( assuming that test takers will tackle the section in numerical order- and not getting to the last (and "easier") questions until the end of 35 minutes, or am i just an anomoly who has a pattern in his testing that is not related at all to the difficulty of the test?

This is the case, at least according to my class teacher.