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Do the official prep tests have an experimental?
Posted: Sat Oct 16, 2010 9:52 am
by JurisDoctorate
I bought the prep tests on Amazon and I was wondering if they had five sections. I know it wouldn't be the real experimental, but do they throw in another section as an experimental?
Re: Do the official prep tests have an experimental?
Posted: Sat Oct 16, 2010 10:14 am
by cynthia rose
No, they only come with the four 'real' sections from that test, and if there were any questions that were pulled from the test they omit those as well.
Re: Do the official prep tests have an experimental?
Posted: Sat Oct 16, 2010 10:45 am
by alphagamma
Yeah, if you want to have an experimental section in your practice tests (and you should), you'll need to break down one of your tests into four sections and plug those in.
Re: Do the official prep tests have an experimental?
Posted: Sat Oct 16, 2010 11:01 am
by kkklick
JurisDoctorate wrote:I bought the prep tests on Amazon and I was wondering if they had five sections. I know it wouldn't be the real experimental, but do they throw in another section as an experimental?
No the experimental from the real tests will be used in the future depending on suitability, so obviously you won't get those if they will show up on future tests..
Re: Do the official prep tests have an experimental?
Posted: Sat Oct 16, 2010 11:08 am
by JurisDoctorate
Yeah, I knew they wouldn't throw in the actual experimental but I was hoping they'd throw in an old section as the experimental.
This stinks; if I throw one in, I'll know it's the experimental and I won't be able to simulate the actual test.
Thanks for the answers, though.
Re: Do the official prep tests have an experimental?
Posted: Sat Oct 16, 2010 11:10 am
by kkklick
JurisDoctorate wrote:Yeah, I knew they wouldn't throw in the actual experimental but I was hoping they'd throw in an old section as the experimental.
This stinks; if I throw one in, I'll know it's the experimental and I won't be able to simulate the actual test.
Thanks for the answers, though.
Doesn't matter, just choose your weakest section, put it 1st second or third, then do it, don't think about "Oh I don't have to care about this section because its experimental", the whole test your doing is experimental in a sense. Just try to do the best in each section as you can.
Re: Do the official prep tests have an experimental?
Posted: Sat Oct 16, 2010 11:10 am
by AverageTutoring
JurisDoctorate wrote:Yeah, I knew they wouldn't throw in the actual experimental but I was hoping they'd throw in an old section as the experimental.
This stinks; if I throw one in, I'll know it's the experimental and I won't be able to simulate the actual test.
Thanks for the answers, though.
Lies! What I did was print off all my exams way ahead of time and I put an experimental in there a few weeks in advance...that way, come PT day I couldn't remember which section was experimental. Just make sure to match up the headings at the top of the experimental with that of the real test (i.e. if you put experimental first make sure it has 1,1,1,1 across the top).
Re: Do the official prep tests have an experimental?
Posted: Sat Oct 16, 2010 11:23 am
by marsilni
I think what matters most is simulating the extra 35 minute section. It helps build your stamina for the real thing. Who knows what kind of effect that extra section may have on the rest of your performance That's why I think PT scores from tests with only four sections are a bit misleading.
Re: Do the official prep tests have an experimental?
Posted: Sat Oct 16, 2010 11:31 am
by JurisDoctorate
AverageTutoring, I do get what you're saying. If there are two Section 1's, then you wouldn't know which one was the real one; I get it.
I ordered the formal ones because I felt I should be working from a book, like on the LSAT. My only concern, with not having the 5 sections, is that I will mentally check out during the experimental; but if I take it seriously and just treat it like additional practice, I should be fine.
I agree with marsilini. The biggest thing is getting used to answering 75 LR questions, doing 8 games or reading 8 passages.
Re: Do the official prep tests have an experimental?
Posted: Sat Oct 16, 2010 11:33 am
by Patriot1208
I didn't even do experimental in half my practice tests. Just did four sections with no break. Really, I was just as mentally there my last section as I was my first when I took it.
Re: Do the official prep tests have an experimental?
Posted: Sat Oct 16, 2010 11:41 am
by kkklick
Patriot1208 wrote:I didn't even do experimental in half my practice tests. Just did four sections with no break. Really, I was just as mentally there my last section as I was my first when I took it.
Same with me, I was writing 5 section tests before the June test, but for October I just did 4 straight with no break and no offo dor drink, doing a test under those conditions is just as effective in my opinion. Like another poster said, it is more about stamina, if you feel completely drained after writing 4 sections, you will definately need to add a 5th section to condition yourself and immprove endurance. If after 4 sections you feel good and you feel like you can write another test, you should be fine.
Re: Do the official prep tests have an experimental?
Posted: Sat Oct 16, 2010 12:32 pm
by eberryhill7
My plan is to take 40 practice tests and break up the entire 10 Actual Prep Tests Book (1st one) and put a section from that book in with my tests. That will help because those tests are older and somewhat strange just as the experimental will be on the actual test.
Re: Do the official prep tests have an experimental?
Posted: Sat Oct 16, 2010 2:05 pm
by 2014
Honestly I knew which one was my experimental on the test. At some point when filling out my answer sheet I managed to see that my section 5 was LG, and when I got to section 2 on the real deal and saw it was LG I knew that one was the experimental because TLS told me they have to be in the first 3.
Point being, knowing which is your experimental isn't even necessarily a difference from the real deal.
Re: Do the official prep tests have an experimental?
Posted: Sat Oct 16, 2010 2:32 pm
by kopper
marsilni wrote:I think what matters most is simulating the extra 35 minute section. It helps build your stamina for the real thing. Who knows what kind of effect that extra section may have on the rest of your performance That's why I think PT scores from tests with only four sections are a bit misleading.
Go online and find a practice test (there are free ones out there). Take one section from the free practice test and add it to the first test you take (preferrably your most difficult section). Take it as one of the first three sections. I would try not to add it first because for me it took me time to warm-up so I felt adding it first would add an advantage to my practice test that I may not get on the real test. I would take sections from old tests and use them as experiment sections on new practice tests. Its a way to redo old sections (especially ones you did poorly in). I always made sure to put my full effort into the experimental sections. The only concern I had was that the material was not knew and I tended to remember the questions and sometimes the answers I had selected. Not a perfect systems but worked for me.
I would always add a second RC or third LR because I enjoyed the games section and didn't feel like it drained my energy as much as RC and LR's did.
Re: Do the official prep tests have an experimental?
Posted: Tue Oct 19, 2010 1:00 am
by rinkrat19
I never bothered to add in an experimental. I wasn't worried about fatigue or attention span. But then, I've taken an 8-hour exam before, so the 4 hours was not particularly intimidating.
We'll see how it worked out for me in 11 days.
