distribution of difficult questions in LR section Forum

[lolol10]

is it just me or do questions get more difficult 11-20? i always miss in this question range. maybe i am mentally fatigued or something in the middle then rally at the end? can anyone attest to this?

[tng11]

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[SilverE2]

As far as I've noticed, the most difficult questions seem to pop up between 16-20 and then the last 3 or so, usually two of those will be hard with one gimme (for example 24 difficult, 25 simple, 26 difficult).

[WestOfTheRest]

The hardest questions tend to be about 13-20. 20-the last question are usually longer questions like parallel reasoning. The key to doing really well on LR sections is to finish the first 10-13 questions in 10 minutes or less. If you can do this without sacrificing accuracy, you will see a significant jump in your LR score.

[lolol10]

The hardest questions tend to be about 13-20. 20-the last question are usually longer questions like parallel reasoning. The key to doing really well on LR sections is to finish the first 10-13 questions in 10 minutes or less. If you can do this without sacrificing accuracy, you will see a significant jump in your LR score.

how does one do this? just repetition of qs 1-13 in sections? any other strategies?

[WestOfTheRest]

The hardest questions tend to be about 13-20. 20-the last question are usually longer questions like parallel reasoning. The key to doing really well on LR sections is to finish the first 10-13 questions in 10 minutes or less. If you can do this without sacrificing accuracy, you will see a significant jump in your LR score.

how does one do this? just repetition of qs 1-13 in sections? any other strategies?

No, just be aware of your timing when you are taking pts. These questions are the easiest so you should be able to do them the quickest.

Also, these questions also often have an answer that is very apparent. When this is the case there is no need to pay much attention to the other answer choices. Beware however, as this is not necessarily an effective strategy for test takers who do not have a firm grasp of the concepts. It is also not a good strategy for people who have no hope of finishing the section, since accuracy on the first few questions is much more important for this type of tester.

[kkklick]

I agree with castlerock, for LR it is essential to complete the easier questions as quickly as possible, because since the very difficult questions have such slight variations and various nuances in the answer choices you have to attack them slowly making sure not to miss anything.

1 to 13 = easy, with 1 or 2 semi-difficult
14-17 = medium difficulty with 1 hard one in there
18-25 = difficult, with 3 or 4 very difficult questions
26 = either a gimme or a long parallel reasoning

[SilverE2]

The hardest questions tend to be about 13-20. 20-the last question are usually longer questions like parallel reasoning. The key to doing really well on LR sections is to finish the first 10-13 questions in 10 minutes or less. If you can do this without sacrificing accuracy, you will see a significant jump in your LR score.

how does one do this? just repetition of qs 1-13 in sections? any other strategies?

No, just be aware of your timing when you are taking pts. These questions are the easiest so you should be able to do them the quickest.

Also, these questions also often have an answer that is very apparent. When this is the case there is no need to pay much attention to the other answer choices. Beware however, as this is not necessarily an effective strategy for test takers who do not have a firm grasp of the concepts. It is also not a good strategy for people who have no hope of finishing the section, since accuracy on the first few questions is much more important for this type of tester.

Yup, I will agree with this as well. I actually do the first 15 in 15, and this is one of the things that has helped the most for me getting -0 to -1 consistently in LR.

[northwood]

teh first 10-13 are traditionally the easiest. By easiest, the stem are short and to the point, and the question types are fairly upfront and easy to figure out. However, over the past few exams ( late 50s to pt 61) these questions have had more difficult ones placed in them. 11-early 20s are time consuming. the last ones are longer, but not as trickier.

the lsat writers know a vast majority of people go in order. Thats why they place the harder and longer questions in the middle. These questions eat up time fast, and if you are not aware, may prevent you from finishing the entire section. That being said, if you prep adequately, you will know which specific question types trip you up, and skip them and do them last, or just guess. Thats one way to avoid this trap.

games and RC are structured simiilarly. There is often an easier game/ passage followed by a harder one, and another easier one towards the end. that is why its important to be able to recoginize specific questions/ passages/ games that are easier or harder for you.

best of luck

[fosterp]

For some reason on many occasion the very first LR question makes me think harder than I think it should. Perhaps I am just not in the "LR zone," but id say at least a third of the time I go back and double check it at the end....

16-20 seems to have the hardest