Adding a 5th section to practice tests Forum

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Adding a 5th section to practice tests:

Pointless
4
10%
Useful to gain stamina
22
55%
Useful for some reason in addition to stamina
14
35%
 
Total votes: 40

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redsox

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Adding a 5th section to practice tests

Post by redsox » Mon Apr 12, 2010 5:38 pm

Is there any value to doing this beyond gaining stamina? Obviously (unless you have someone make tests for you by chopping up real tests and removing the section numbers) you'll know which section you added, so there won't be the uncertainty that there is on the actual test about which section is the experimental.

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Mr. Smith

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Re: Adding a 5th section to practice tests

Post by Mr. Smith » Mon Apr 12, 2010 7:37 pm

Useful.

Not so much for stamina but for replicating your test-day experience in advance, IMHO.

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scribelaw

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Re: Adding a 5th section to practice tests

Post by scribelaw » Mon Apr 12, 2010 7:40 pm

Mr. Smith wrote:Useful.

Not so much for stamina but for replicating your test-day experience in advance, IMHO.
This.

Try to replicate test conditions -- take 30 seconds or a 1 minute between sections, with a 15-minute break after the third, add the fifth section, use the same kind of pencil you'll use on test day, use the same watch (analog, not digital). The more stuff is different on test day, the more it will feel different as opposed to just the next PT in a line of PTs.

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Helmholtz

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Re: Adding a 5th section to practice tests

Post by Helmholtz » Mon Apr 12, 2010 7:41 pm

Thought adding a fifth section was useless, never did it.

JJDancer

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Re: Adding a 5th section to practice tests

Post by JJDancer » Mon Apr 12, 2010 7:44 pm

For me it was just stamina.

I saw a drop in scores while prepping when I added a 5th section because I was tired/had trouble concentrating/was bored.

A 6th section is completely unnecessary and overkill in my opinion though.
I also never practiced with the writing sample section.

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Shrimps

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Re: Adding a 5th section to practice tests

Post by Shrimps » Mon Apr 12, 2010 8:36 pm

For stamina, just take the 4 sections straight, without the 15-minute break. No need to ruin tests by sacrificing some of them for the "fifth section".

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jpSartre

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Re: Adding a 5th section to practice tests

Post by jpSartre » Mon Apr 12, 2010 8:44 pm

Shrimps wrote:For stamina, just take the 4 sections straight, without the 15-minute break. No need to ruin tests by sacrificing some of them for the "fifth section".
5 sections aren't bad if you throw in a section from PTs 1-10. Taking 1-10 themselves is hardly worth it IMO.

As long as you force yourself to concentrate and behave like it's a real section, you can really throw whatever you want in there. It's all about tiring yourself out for 35 minutes knowing there are 2 or 3 scored sections to go.

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KibblesAndVick

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Re: Adding a 5th section to practice tests

Post by KibblesAndVick » Mon Apr 12, 2010 8:48 pm

Mr. Smith wrote:Useful.

Not so much for stamina but for replicating your test-day experience in advance, IMHO.
I agree that it's critical for replicating test-day experience. I think it's useful for stamina as well. Lots and lots of people score a couple of points lower on the real thing than they do on their PTs. I think the most logical explanations for this are (1) being nervous or tired from not getting a good nights sleep and (2) the real LSAT being different (it's a room full of people, it has 5 sections, they call time right at 35 minutes, if you misbubble something you can't correct it after the fact, and every other small difference).

Adding a 5th section helps with (2) directly by replicating the real test and (1) indirectly by making you more comfortable as the test mirrors your practice.

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LAWLAW09

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Re: Adding a 5th section to practice tests

Post by LAWLAW09 » Mon Apr 12, 2010 9:12 pm

Stolen from another thread:

Pick the next preptest you plan to do. Make each section an experimental section for the next four preptest that you will do. Score and review it after all the "experimental" sections have been completed. I personally rotate when the experimental section appears (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 1st...) and I go with whatever section (lg, lr, rc) just so happens to be up. This last point, hopefully, will keep me from having a negative reaction if my least favorite section ( rc) is the experimental section on test day.


All in all, every section will "count" and should have some impact on how one does on the other sections.


Good luck.

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jpSartre

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Re: Adding a 5th section to practice tests

Post by jpSartre » Mon Apr 12, 2010 9:23 pm

LAWLAW09 wrote:Stolen from another thread:

Pick the next preptest you plan to do. Make each section an experimental section for the next four preptest that you will do. Score and review it after all the "experimental" sections have been completed. I personally rotate when the experimental section appears (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 1st...) and I go with whatever section (lg, lr, rc) just so happens to be up. This last point, hopefully, will keep me from having a negative reaction if my least favorite section ( rc) is the experimental section on test day.


All in all, every section will "count" and should have some impact on how one does on the other sections.


Good luck.
I like this idea. If only I had enough material left to do it

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Bert

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Re: Adding a 5th section to practice tests

Post by Bert » Mon Apr 12, 2010 9:26 pm

LAWLAW09 wrote:Stolen from another thread:

Pick the next preptest you plan to do. Make each section an experimental section for the next four preptest that you will do. Score and review it after all the "experimental" sections have been completed. I personally rotate when the experimental section appears (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 1st...) and I go with whatever section (lg, lr, rc) just so happens to be up. This last point, hopefully, will keep me from having a negative reaction if my least favorite section ( rc) is the experimental section on test day.


All in all, every section will "count" and should have some impact on how one does on the other sections.


Good luck.
Wish I had thought of this.

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redsox

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Re: Adding a 5th section to practice tests

Post by redsox » Mon Apr 12, 2010 11:29 pm

Thanks for all the responses.

My study plan consists of taking practice tests, and not much else. To resolve the stamina issue, I think I'm just going to start doing them back to back in May.

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