Best Advice I Got From This Forum--In A Nutshell Forum

[goosey]

Ok so I am supremely happy to NEVER have to visit this section of tls again, but before I go, I want to give a bit back. I definitely wouldnt have improved the way I did without tls, so here is a list of the best (most helpful) advice I got:

I improved 17 points from my initial diagnostic.

LOGIC GAMES

1. Do every game (organized by game type)--doing the same type of games back to back help you see the common inferences in that type of game. Also, go through this list as many times as you can. Do the games over and over again. The list can be found here: http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... =6&t=50657

2. Do the game timed, then take as much time as you need to review it and then do it timed once more, giving yourself only 5 minutes. Review every single game and make sure you understand what inference you missed. Go back to the same game again a week or so later and see how you do.

3. Do ten games a day--cant tell you how much this helped me

Logical Reasoning

1. If you're going to start from older tests for your prep, make sure you give yourself enough time to "adjust" to the change in questions. Its difficult to pinpoint, but something changes in modern LR. I had (very foolishly) done only older tests until the final month before my first LSAT--I was averaging -2 or so on older tests and suddenly when I started taking modern lsats I went down to -7 and -6. Pretty stressful.

2. Go through the LRB multiple times. Figure out what types of questions you are getting wrong by reviewing every single pt you take--make a spreadsheet if you have to, but find the pattern (there is one) and then review that specific chapter as many times as you need to.

3. Review your practice tests. You can take every practice test ever released, but you're not going to see a jump until you review the tests THOROUGHLY. I made a point of circling the questions that I found difficult and also the ones I felt even slightly iffy about. Later when reviewing my incorrect answers, I would check to see if my iffy questions were correct or not. This helps in two ways: firstly, if you get a question wrong that you didnt even circle, it means you are TOTALLY missing something (because you thought you were definitely right) and that question needs to be ripped apart until you understand what you missed. Secondly, making a habit out of this helps you better gauge your performance on test day (ie. you start to see if the questions you felt iffy about are usually wrong, or if you always get the questions you were sure about right and only miss the ones you were unsure about, etc).

4. Write down the stimulus, stem and every answer choice for questions you were unsure about or that you got incorrect I bolded this because at the end of my prep, I felt I maxed out on LR improvement-then I read this advice. It was amazing how doing this for only a few days made me see words in the stimulus and answer choices that I never would have picked up on before--and that ultimately made the choice either right or wrong. Writing the questions works *wonders* After writing the questions, my LR improved and while the Feb test was undisclosed, judging from the fact that I didnt finish either LG or RC and had to guess, I know the only way for me to have gotten the score I did was to get either perfect or near perfect LR.


Reading Comprehension

1. As people usually say, RC is the least learnable. A lot of people advise reading magazines like the economist--I think reading regularly and reading dense material (philosophy books worked for me) does the trick.

2. Review your RC from pt's

3. Do as many passages as you can. Before long you will know what you are reading for while you read--they ask the same questions over and over again.


General Advice

1. Burn out does exist. Do not burn yourself out, it wont be pretty.

2. Some people recommend timing yourself at 32 minutes a section, others advise against it. Time will go by MUCH faster on test day, so being prepped at 32 min a section could really help. On the other hand, giving yourself 32 min/section during practice will force you to rush through stuff that you dont need to, potentially being counterproductive because you never learn how to really nail the questions, but rather just how to win the race. Whether giving yourself less time will work depends on how you work best. I personally failed horribly when I tried doing this. If you do, do it from day 1. Dont start mid-way through your prep.

3. Repetition is absolute key. Logic games--you will start seeing inferences easily; Logical reasoning--a time will come when you will know which question is right just because you know..you may not even understand why at that instant, but LR really just clicks one day; RC--practice reading is important, but more than that, seeing the questions and patterns is more important. Do things over and over again, esp with LR and LG.

4. DO NOT go into test day aiming for X score. I did that my first lsat--I wanted a 170 (atleast) and every time I was unsure of a question, my brain went "oh no, I can only get 10 more wrong--and Im still on section 1!!!"--I psyched myself out so badly that I did the worst on that test than I had done in the past 6 months. Significantly worse. Once you start freaking out in your head, you are done for. Aiming for a specific score will kill you. If you must aim for something, aim for a 180. Short of that, just aim to do your absolute best. Dont put a number on it.

5. Make sure you sleep well. It seems like common sense, but really, make sure you get a good nights rest. Eat breakfast. Dress nicely (research shows that people that dress well for exams perform better than those that come in sweats--something about morale; also for purposes of the lsat, you want to be alert and on ur game, so dress properly but still make sure youre comfortable)

Good Books

1. Logic Games Bible (do this multiple times)
2. Logical Reasoning Bible (same)
3. Kaplan Advanced (excellent for practice--I also like their method for in and out games better than powerscore's--made in and out games MUCH easier--and recent games have had in and out games that always some how kill people, so this would be good to work with)
4. SuperPrep
5. All PTs obviously

[DGLitcH]

what philosophy book did read to improve RC?

[Richie Tenenbaum]

I actually found that reading philosophy before prepping for the LSAT clashed with the style of reading I had to adopt for RC. Reading philosophy forces you to read slow and re-read often, since you will get lost in the arguments being made unless you understand how it is being built. When I read for the LSAT, I found out I needed to focus a lot more on structure and purpose than on content. I could see how it could help for people uncomfortable with dense material though: Being able to read through anything written by Kant or Hegel and RC passages seem to be a breeze by comparison.

[fathergoose]

Great post.

[Knock]

Great post.

Agreed. Thanks for this post, it is very helpful!

[Underoath]

This was helpful. Thanks goosey

[HiLine]

All very useful advice! Thanks a lot!

[goosey]

I actually found that reading philosophy before prepping for the LSAT clashed with the style of reading I had to adopt for RC. Reading philosophy forces you to read slow and re-read often, since you will get lost in the arguments being made unless you understand how it is being built. When I read for the LSAT, I found out I needed to focus a lot more on structure and purpose than on content. I could see how it could help for people uncomfortable with dense material though: Being able to read through anything written by Kant or Hegel and RC passages seem to be a breeze by comparison.

I guess I see where you're coming from with that, but for me it feels about the same: dense material which is usually driving at one point and you pretty much just need to hack your way through the jungle of info to figure out what the hell the guy is actually trying to say. Sounds about the same as RC passages haha.

To asnwer a previous poster's question: I pretty much just did my course reading--no particular philosophy book. I think Emerson's essays are nice to begin with, you can read DesCartes, Hobbes, Aristotle, etc. Its not necessarily about which book, but the fact that reading philosophy books is a bit more fun than reading the economist as well as the fact that there is always an argument present.

for everyone else: no problem

[LockBox]

Great post. Question: besides dressing well what else did you/would you take in to the exam with you ie 6 pencils, sharpener anlog watch in a clear zip lock bag?

[Shrimps]

Sex a couple of hours before the test - yes or no?

[honestabe84]

Ok so I am supremely happy to NEVER have to visit this section of tls again, but before I go, I want to give a bit back. I definitely wouldnt have improved the way I did without tls, so here is a list of the best (most helpful) advice I got:

I improved 17 points from my initial diagnostic.

LOGIC GAMES

1. Do every game (organized by game type)--doing the same type of games back to back help you see the common inferences in that type of game. Also, go through this list as many times as you can. Do the games over and over again. The list can be found here: http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... =6&t=50657

2. Do the game timed, then take as much time as you need to review it and then do it timed once more, giving yourself only 5 minutes. Review every single game and make sure you understand what inference you missed. Go back to the same game again a week or so later and see how you do.

3. Do ten games a day--cant tell you how much this helped me

Logical Reasoning

1. If you're going to start from older tests for your prep, make sure you give yourself enough time to "adjust" to the change in questions. Its difficult to pinpoint, but something changes in modern LR. I had (very foolishly) done only older tests until the final month before my first LSAT--I was averaging -2 or so on older tests and suddenly when I started taking modern lsats I went down to -7 and -6. Pretty stressful.

2. Go through the LRB multiple times. Figure out what types of questions you are getting wrong by reviewing every single pt you take--make a spreadsheet if you have to, but find the pattern (there is one) and then review that specific chapter as many times as you need to.

3. Review your practice tests. You can take every practice test ever released, but you're not going to see a jump until you review the tests THOROUGHLY. I made a point of circling the questions that I found difficult and also the ones I felt even slightly iffy about. Later when reviewing my incorrect answers, I would check to see if my iffy questions were correct or not. This helps in two ways: firstly, if you get a question wrong that you didnt even circle, it means you are TOTALLY missing something (because you thought you were definitely right) and that question needs to be ripped apart until you understand what you missed. Secondly, making a habit out of this helps you better gauge your performance on test day (ie. you start to see if the questions you felt iffy about are usually wrong, or if you always get the questions you were sure about right and only miss the ones you were unsure about, etc).

4. Write down the stimulus, stem and every answer choice for questions you were unsure about or that you got incorrect I bolded this because at the end of my prep, I felt I maxed out on LR improvement-then I read this advice. It was amazing how doing this for only a few days made me see words in the stimulus and answer choices that I never would have picked up on before--and that ultimately made the choice either right or wrong. Writing the questions works *wonders* After writing the questions, my LR improved and while the Feb test was undisclosed, judging from the fact that I didnt finish either LG or RC and had to guess, I know the only way for me to have gotten the score I did was to get either perfect or near perfect LR.


Reading Comprehension

1. As people usually say, RC is the least learnable. A lot of people advise reading magazines like the economist--I think reading regularly and reading dense material (philosophy books worked for me) does the trick.

2. Review your RC from pt's

3. Do as many passages as you can. Before long you will know what you are reading for while you read--they ask the same questions over and over again.


General Advice

1. Burn out does exist. Do not burn yourself out, it wont be pretty.

2. Some people recommend timing yourself at 32 minutes a section, others advise against it. Time will go by MUCH faster on test day, so being prepped at 32 min a section could really help. On the other hand, giving yourself 32 min/section during practice will force you to rush through stuff that you dont need to, potentially being counterproductive because you never learn how to really nail the questions, but rather just how to win the race. Whether giving yourself less time will work depends on how you work best. I personally failed horribly when I tried doing this. If you do, do it from day 1. Dont start mid-way through your prep.

3. Repetition is absolute key. Logic games--you will start seeing inferences easily; Logical reasoning--a time will come when you will know which question is right just because you know..you may not even understand why at that instant, but LR really just clicks one day; RC--practice reading is important, but more than that, seeing the questions and patterns is more important. Do things over and over again, esp with LR and LG.

4. DO NOT go into test day aiming for X score. I did that my first lsat--I wanted a 170 (atleast) and every time I was unsure of a question, my brain went "oh no, I can only get 10 more wrong--and Im still on section 1!!!"--I psyched myself out so badly that I did the worst on that test than I had done in the past 6 months. Significantly worse. Once you start freaking out in your head, you are done for. Aiming for a specific score will kill you. If you must aim for something, aim for a 180. Short of that, just aim to do your absolute best. Dont put a number on it.

5. Make sure you sleep well. It seems like common sense, but really, make sure you get a good nights rest. Eat breakfast. Dress nicely (research shows that people that dress well for exams perform better than those that come in sweats--something about morale; also for purposes of the lsat, you want to be alert and on ur game, so dress properly but still make sure youre comfortable)

Good Books

1. Logic Games Bible (do this multiple times)
2. Logical Reasoning Bible (same)
3. Kaplan Advanced (excellent for practice--I also like their method for in and out games better than powerscore's--made in and out games MUCH easier--and recent games have had in and out games that always some how kill people, so this would be good to work with)
4. SuperPrep
5. All PTs obviously

Thanks for the post. I'm a little confused about number 4 under the logical reasoning section. What do you mean when you say "Write down the stimulus, stem and every answer choice for questions you were unsure about or that you got incorrect?" Are you saying to copy the stim, stem, and answer choices?

[typ3]

Yes. Copy down word for word, every stimulus, question, and answer choice. It will help you to see the relationships you missed in the problem.

[noelleF]

thank you!!!!!! this post is very very helpful to me

does kaplan advanced use real questions or made up one?

[typ3]

Don't buy Kaplan advanced the Book. It's full of egregious errors. I have the 2010 version of the book and for one explanation of a game it starts explaining a game that isn't even in the book in the answers. Same with a bunch of the LR questions.

If you're talking about the Kaplan Advanced course, then you get all the released LSAC questions except the recent PT's.. I believe Kaplan's current materials run up through PT 55, so you'll have to buy 56/57/58/59 or go to the nearest kaplan center and take the tests there.

[honestabe84]

Yes. Copy down word for word, every stimulus, question, and answer choice. It will help you to see the relationships you missed in the problem.

Interesting. I've never heard of this strategy. It seems like you're basically just punishing yourself, but I'm willing to try anything at this point.

[goosey]

Don't buy Kaplan advanced the Book. It's full of egregious errors. I have the 2010 version of the book and for one explanation of a game it starts explaining a game that isn't even in the book in the answers. Same with a bunch of the LR questions.

If you're talking about the Kaplan Advanced course, then you get all the released LSAC questions except the recent PT's.. I believe Kaplan's current materials run up through PT 55, so you'll have to buy 56/57/58/59 or go to the nearest kaplan center and take the tests there.

I think I remember a few issues with kaplan advanced as well, so I guess a good addendum to that is to use it later in prep so you know where to ignore, but I think in the entire book there was only a few instances and it is overall a really good resource for people that are either retaking or otherwise have exhausted all materials. its really good for working through problems according to type---kind of like a miniature mastery book.

[Ken]

Hey Goosey,

Thanks for giving back to TLS, this is a great post and congrats on your exceptional improvement. Best of luck, now I am sure you will do well. Best,

Ken

[rocksolid325]

would you recommend doing the games by type first or taking timed exams? i feel like if i did the games first, i would have already seen them by the time i take time practice exams and thus artificially inflate my score...

[scribelaw]

Pretty good advice in this post.

However, doing 10 logic games in one day is way too much. At that point, you're just burning through them rather than actually learning the material, and that's 5 or 6 hours of work -- way past the point of diminishing returns. And from a practical standpoint, that's a great way to waste a bunch of games. There are a finite number out there to do.

If you're studying for the June test, don't do that. Do a few sections in a night and really figure out what you're doing, rather than finishing them to finish them.

[blhblahblah]

Pretty good advice in this post.

However, doing 10 logic games in one day is way too much. At that point, you're just burning through them rather than actually learning the material, and that's 5 or 6 hours of work -- way past the point of diminishing returns. And from a practical standpoint, that's a great way to waste a bunch of games. There are a finite number out there to do.

If you're studying for the June test, don't do that. Do a few sections in a night and really figure out what you're doing, rather than finishing them to finish them.

He said games, not sections. There are 4 games in a section. 10 games = 2.5 sections, or just over 2 hours.

grats' on your tiny pink RC score.

[waxecstatic]

What was your final score, if you don't mind my asking?

[holeinone600]

Goosey,

Point #1 under your LR tips, you state that the "modern" LR questions are substantially different...what PT # are you referring to as the start of the "modern" LR questions?

Thanks!

[chutzpah]

Great post goosey! I would add that the best advice I learned from this forum was to take 5 or even 6 section practice tests. This was the only substantial difference in my studying that contributed to a jump from 165 in September to 174 in February. Also, I was much more relaxed and comfortable, which I knew helped.

[waxecstatic]

Yes. Copy down word for word, every stimulus, question, and answer choice. It will help you to see the relationships you missed in the problem.

Interesting. I've never heard of this strategy. It seems like you're basically just punishing yourself, but I'm willing to try anything at this point.

In the time spent copying down all this stuff, you can simply do more problems. Furthermore, you're probably going to remember the correct answer once you see it again.

[cornell]

bump this up