Which sections does burnout affect most? Forum

[niederbomb]

My LR and RC are sitting happy, finally. But my performance in LG has nosedived during the previous days. As in missed inferences, not finishing nearly on time, and dumb errors.

I just went 1/6 on my first game ever (PT 17).

I had always thought burnout affected RC most of all. Am I wrong?

[northwood]

i think it affects the end of the test ( sections 4 and 5)

[niederbomb]

Short term, yes. How about long term?

[kkklick]

I have never had an LG burnout, but I can see it happening. You're brain just can't find the inferences and the harder you look the farther away you get. I would suggest taking a day off from the LSAT and come back to it the day after.

[tomwatts]

It affects whatever section you care most/struggle most/are best at. (I know those are all contradictory.) I've seen people get so stressed out about a single section that they just can't function when looking at those question types (this is usually LG, but it can be any of the three). I've seen people get so fed up with trying to improve at a single section that they feel overwhelming antipathy that overwhelms their ability to think whenever they see those questions (this is usually RC, but it can be any of the three). I've seen people get so tired of the LSAT that they get overconfident on whatever they're already good at and this section takes a dive because they don't put in a full effort (this is less common, but it can happen especially with RC early on or LG later on).

So burnout can manifest itself in just about any way that you can imagine. You can tell that you're burned out partly by how you're feeling (you feel tired and fed up when you're working through at least one section of the test) and partly by how you're performing (you're at a plateau or your scores are declining slightly, especially in questions that, in hindsight, you feel that you normally get right).

[niederbomb]

LG is my most inconsistent section and the one I was really trying to improve before the December test. I always have had trouble finishing on time, but I had gotten to the point where I actually was finishing (-0) at least some of the time (on easy ones like PT 47 & 48 & 50). Not any more.

I've been doing tons of games every day and redoing ones I had trouble with and doing a full PT 4 times per week. But now, even the games I redo are sometimes worse than they were the first time.

If it means anything, the section I feel the most antipathy towards is LG, and the section I consider the most "fun" is RC. I was the kid who absolutely could not do even simple puzzles or fit legos together correctly. lol

[northwood]

LG gets difficult inthe 50's. A lot of similar game types can be found inthe 30's. I think there will be a continuation of this trend for a while. Just remember your basic fundamentals and read each word carefully!

[2014]

When I get burnout I can't focus on the RC passages. It helps that I actually enjoy LG, that prevents burnout, and for whatever reason LR hasn't given me problems yet.

[D-ROCCA]

RC for sure. It's so annoying knowing you have to read 4 or more pointless articles on topics you could care less about. It just gets so difficult to actually read closely and pay attention.

[Sandro]

i'd say LR. Think about it, over a course of a test LR asks you ~50 questions. Each question will have 5 answers and while some people don't read every choice (atleast quickly) i'd say most do. Thats 250 answer choices, plenty of opportunity for burnout to pop up and cause you to pick a trap answer.

[niederbomb]

I guess it depends on the person --

I like most of the RC passages (the key word is MOST).

But LG scares me every time. I know I have a 70% chance of not finishing. So I guess the consensus is that burnout affects the section you are worst at?

[tng11]

...

[niederbomb]

LOL!

I'm an idiot. The LG I went 1/6 on is actually PT 20, Game 2, which I somehow mixed with three games from PT 17 when I was making the PDF. So yeah, it's a bad idea to use the answer key from PT 17 to grade PT 20.

I actually went 6/6.

PDF mistakes=burnout?