155 LSAT Forum

[mattviphky]

Good luck on the next one man, I hope we both rock it.

[CYang]

hey, i've been reading through your posts; we have ~similar difficulties, just wanted to pop in and say gl & keep at it!

[mattviphky]

Just took pt 54 June 08 and I'm pretty happy with the way things went. The set up was RC, LR, LG, (exp RC), LR. I know the exp will be one of the first 3 sections, but I just forgot to put it in my book and added it after my break. On RC I went -3. I was actually pretty excited when I was going through and grading it cuz I didn't mark any wrong until the final chapter. I was pretty stoked cuz I was hoping for a -0, but I dropped 3 on the last section...bummer. On the LR I went -2, which is one of my best LR scores ever, and both my wrong answers came before the final questions, I think I missed like number 9 and 15, so I'm pretty happy with the way things went. On the LG section I went -0! First time that has happened. I was pretty stoked to go through it and not miss any. The LG wasn't that difficult on this pt, I think I finished the first 3 games in 20 minutes, but the last one took me like 12, it was definitely a weird game, the inferences were kinda strange to get. It wasn't hard, it was just strange. So I am def stoked about that showing, we'll see how i do this month, I really want to make a -0 consistent. I took the RC exp from pt 52, and I went -1...I was psyched about that. I would love to make a -1 RC consistent too, but this section felt MUCH easier than the usual RC. The last LR was a little deflating, -7. Actually surprised I did that well, I was feeling totally tired when I started this section, and I struuuuggled to get through it....so whatever, hopefully my speed and endurance keep improving as I pt this month. So I went -12 total, or 168, yeah, tough curve. So I'm cool with that score cuz it shows my capabilities and it gives me time to keep improving. Planning a doing a 5 hour energy before the real deal and eating small portion. I also need to start taking at 830 to simulate that, also need to tighten that break down to like 10 minutes, it's at about an hour right now I also feel mentally unfocused the 2 days between my pts, like studying 2 hours is my max each day. Gunning for 170+ on test day, good luck to everyone else testing that day.

[941law]

I can't get through all the RC passages before time. Any suggestions?

[kapachino]

I can't get through all the RC passages before time. Any suggestions?

Don't subvocalize what you're reading. It's a really hard habit to break, but try to resist the temptation to sound out what you're reading in your head as you go along. It slows you down considerably. Just read what's there, and you will get through the passages must faster. It might help to do this with some magazines or blogs.

[uchi15hopeful]

Seriously? I thought it was important to "read it aloud in your head". Do you think you can grasp enough by not subvocalizing?

As for having timing issues, I would probably say that you have to discern whether the reading takes too long or the answering questions takes too long. If it is the latter, I would work on understanding the relevant aspects of each passage (i.e. what is typically turned into questions) and work on a notation strategy.

[Danteshek]

Just read your thread... I hope you succeed. It is not the end of the world if you don't, however. If you are this dedicated to your LSAT studies, something tells me you will do just fine in law school.

Edit: Oddly, I have exactly the same number of posts as Kapachino

[kapachino]

Seriously? I thought it was important to "read it aloud in your head". Do you think you can grasp enough by not subvocalizing?

It's a crutch that has nothing to do with your ability to understand what you're reading. It's a tool to teach young children how to read, and it's not even the most effective method. It's just easier to teach.

[uchi15hopeful]

So I can fully understand what you mean, there are two ways of reading:

1) Just reading - you do hear the words in your head, but you are not slowly reading as if you are speaking them
2) Subvocalizing - you hear the words in your head, as if you were speaking them

Is this right?

[mattviphky]

yeah i don't subvocalize, i just read carefully and MAKE NOTES. although this process might be as slow as subvocalizing it in your head, i still don't have to look back to the passage that much, especially not as much as i did when i just read through it. If you're finding yourself looking back over the passage and rereading parts of it for most questions, you're doing something wrong. I was like this, and it seriously affected speed and accuracy, but the note taking completely changed it. When you take just brief notes, it helps you read an otherwise very dry text. these passages ate so boring no one wants to get through them, let alone answer questions about them. But take notes, and focus on the big stuff, write veery concise notes that just sum up the iimportant part of a couple sentences in each paragraph. Start doing this now, cuz another big way this helps is when you do it enough you begin to see how the passages break down. So when you are reading through and writing down the way you perceive the passage in little blips, you can tie it all together, and when you do it enough you can kinda know what lines are going to be important and which ones won't. just read a passage and take notes kinda paraphrasing in ur own way. this helps tremendously. start now tho, so u can get the repetition because it might slow u down a lil at first, but it makes u much faster and more accurate after some practice.

[mattviphky]

Just got my second 170!!!! Took PT 55, or October 08. The curve was absolutely atrocious, I missed 9 and still got a 170. I was getting to excited while I was grading and when I added it up to a -9, I was so ecstatic that I was going to get like a 171/172, so that was somewhat deflating, but I am still so amp'd about this!!! Just a few months ago I would not have believed this was possible. Unfortunately its not for reals, so I just gotta keep drilling until October and hope that I do this well. I am ready to take the real thing tho, just have to keep preparing. My results are a little skewed from my last few pts. My first section was LR, where I went -2, my second was an LG exp which I have not graded, my third section was RC, and it was a -5. This was a little unsettling because I'm usually about -3 in this section, and when you want a 170, every point matters. What is even worse is that I missed four of these on one passage!!! It was the chinese song story one that tls seems pretty frustrated with, and for good reason. The next section was LR where I went -1. This is the best I have ever done on LR, as a combined score and on a single section, I was thrilled with LR. Maybe that is why the curve was tricky, the LR wasn't too difficult, or at least it didn't seem to be. I'm very happy with my progress, I've been studying since late Feb, although I took June off, and things are definitely clicking! I was happy (or angry) to see that the only one i missed in this lr section was one that I had second guessed myself on. I had circled the right answer, agonized, scratched it out, repeat, then circled a wrong answer. Last section was LG, went -1 on this. Bummed cuz the same thing happened. It was the very last question of the very last game and it took me like 4 minutes to get it wrong. I did the whole scratch out episode on this one too. I actually put the right answer on my score sheet just to be honest with time, and I went back just to try and figure it out for real which is when i changed it to the wrong answer. I guess I didn't need to count it wrong cuz it was right on my score sheet, but i just wanted to be honest with myself. I also cut my break down to about 20-25 minutes for this one. I need to get my timing better, it seems that for all but LG I am barely making it in the 35 minutes, and I would like to get it down to 32. also need to start wearing a watch to simulate that. I wanted to start at 830, but I didnt start til 1230, which is something I have to fix. Other than that, I am extremely happy with my progress, right now I am aiming for a 172+ in October, just doing the best I can to make it happen!!!! Good luck to everyone and keep up the studying! I didn't think that I would be where I'm at just a few months ago, you guys can see my progress ITT. When I started seriously studying in February, I diag'd at a 153. My LG was awful (well it all was), and it was the first thing I was determined to fix. Got the LGB, after about a month of headaches it finally started clicking. It just takes persistence and smart studying. Give yourself quality studying, not quantity. Some people aren't in the same situation I'm in, and may need to take the LSAT sooner and with less prep, but I definitely feel that 6 months of relaxed studying of a couple hours a day a few days a week has done more for me than many hours of studying every day for 3 months could do...but people just have different abilities and situations. When I started i felt retarded and that I just didn't have the right type of brain to excel at the LSAT, this is a losing attitude. That is one of the simplest yet hardest things to fix. You need to develop the right attitude, there is a difference in quitting when you get a headache when you're reading materials and quitting when your tired of thinking while taking a pt. A winning attitude goes a long way. I'm not one of those types of people that is overly competitive or cut throat, my avatar is Patrick Starr. But it helped me to look at the lsat as something that needs to be beaten, and it really does. Before tls, I was content on the t4 that had accepted me. I still think that this particular t4 was a much better option than a lot of the t3 or some t2 schools out there given the market that its in and their generosity with scholarships, but I just wanted to do my best and not question myself down the road. If you give something your all you should have no regrets, and that is how I looked at such a life changing event such as taking the lsat. My family doesn't know why I wanted to retake so bad, bad enough that I missed (i wouldn't say I miss it) of school to study and reapply. I just really want to have options of big name schools offering me big scholarships and the best chance at a job I want. The gpa ship has sailed, and really, if you're gpa isnt that stellar, you can pretty much make up for 4 years of undergrad by spending 4 months studying for one test...on the flip side you can ruin 4 years as well by not studying. School is expensive, don't take the easy way out, I almost did. Studying will be hard at first but it will become fun, like anything once you get good at it you'll begin to enjoy it. Kinda the same principle behind our parents forcing us to ride a bike until we could do it without falling down or playing sports we thought we hated, once you get a grasp of it, you'll really appreciate it.

[mattviphky]

btw, 5 hour energy is amazing, try it.

[SarahKerrigan]

It is awesome to see you improve so much! cant wait to hear your final results in october!

[RaleighStClair]

That was a monster happy-rant, and I read the whole thing. Sounds awesome man, keep it up!! I'm retaking in October as well. Got my first -0 on a section today, pretty happy about that.

[941law]

yeah i don't subvocalize, i just read carefully and MAKE NOTES. although this process might be as slow as subvocalizing it in your head, i still don't have to look back to the passage that much, especially not as much as i did when i just read through it. If you're finding yourself looking back over the passage and rereading parts of it for most questions, you're doing something wrong. I was like this, and it seriously affected speed and accuracy, but the note taking completely changed it. When you take just brief notes, it helps you read an otherwise very dry text. these passages ate so boring no one wants to get through them, let alone answer questions about them. But take notes, and focus on the big stuff, write veery concise notes that just sum up the iimportant part of a couple sentences in each paragraph. Start doing this now, cuz another big way this helps is when you do it enough you begin to see how the passages break down. So when you are reading through and writing down the way you perceive the passage in little blips, you can tie it all together, and when you do it enough you can kinda know what lines are going to be important and which ones won't. just read a passage and take notes kinda paraphrasing in ur own way. this helps tremendously. start now tho, so u can get the repetition because it might slow u down a lil at first, but it makes u much faster and more accurate after some practice.

Awesome post man, thanks.

[PDaddy]

I can't get through all the RC passages before time. Any suggestions?

Don't subvocalize what you're reading. It's a really hard habit to break, but try to resist the temptation to sound out what you're reading in your head as you go along. It slows you down considerably. Just read what's there, and you will get through the passages must faster. It might help to do this with some magazines or blogs.

Good point! People often fear that they will not comprehend something if they subvocalize. You're going to return to the passage anyways, so read at a deliberate pace, but push through. No passage should take more than 4 minutes to read, and you can get through some of them in 2-1/2 to 3 minutes. That's basically 3 to four seconds per line. if you are alert, that's good enough. Then you get nearly five minutes to answer 7-8 questions, some of which will take you just 30 seconds.

[bkbkbk]

Keep up the good work man! This is serving as inspiration for me, as I am in a similar position. Keep the posts coming.

[mattviphky]

just took pt 56 or Dec 08 (i think) I went LG, LR, (exp LR), LR, RC. The LR LR LR was B-R-U-T-A-L! I hope like hell that this isn't what I get on test day, it's just a lot, plus when RC is there at the end...just not fun. But I went -1 LG, -4 LR, -1 LR, and finally -5 RC. Stoked about all my scores but RC, I'm usually like -3 on RC, so -5 was a little bit of a downer. Amp'd about everything else tho. anyway, i went -11 for a 170!!! I'm ready to take the LSAT, I'm definitely ready, i'd love to take it this saturday, but i'll take the time i have to keep improving. Bout time I felt like this, I've been studying for 6 months!

[Tiago Splitter]

Really impressive man! Your attitude will take you places.

[mattviphky]

just took pt 57, and i am pretty happy with my score. the sections were lg, lr, lr, rc (i didn't include an experimental i was just too tired) But i went -1, -3, -3, -3 for a 171. Very stoked about the RC showing, and i can't complain about lg, i feel like i'm always missing 1 for some reason. LR was kinda weird, i'm usually like -2, -4/5 or something, so this was different, although in one of the sections my -3 came from the last three questions, harsh. But I was happy with everything, if I do that on test day i'll be very excited. review hard tomorrow and monday, pt tuesday. im wanting to do 3 more pts until test day so taking at 830 and with maybe at a 33 minute time is my goal.

[mattviphky]

so looking back through some of my posts, i've gone 167, 170, 166, 164, 168, 170, 170, 171 on my last 8 pts. hopefully 172 on the real deal! if i can do this, i think anyone can, it just requires the balls to study hard for a long period of time

[Run!]

I recommend taking the last few days off, if not the week off, before the test. However, I know you're going to destroy this test. Keep at it.

[totaltest.milan]

So I can fully understand what you mean, there are two ways of reading:

1) Just reading - you do hear the words in your head, but you are not slowly reading as if you are speaking them
2) Subvocalizing - you hear the words in your head, as if you were speaking them

Is this right?

The way I understand it is that when you're reading something if you're focusing attention on the sounds of the words in your head as you make them you run the risk of spacing out by reading in your head but creating a visual narrative that has nothing to do with what you're reading but more to do with how hot/cold it is, that cute girl/boy on the subway you saw, etc. We're still very much visual creatures and in order to understand something and pay attention to it you have to build a visual narrative. Try this as you're reading: actively develop pictures of what you're reading that incorporate the additional information as you move down the passage. You'll find that as you're spending more mental energy on making the pictures you'll be focusing less on sounding out the words and you'll have higher retention of what you just read.

[mattviphky]

I recommend taking the last few days off, if not the week off, before the test. However, I know you're going to destroy this test. Keep at it.

No, this is not for me. I took 5 days off last week, and when I came back to pt I felt rusty. I'm going to do my last PT next wednesday and then take Th Fri off before the big day. I sat down to take a pt today, but I'm feeling really tired, and I think it will do more harm than good to my confidence if I tried to take one, so I'm just gonna do an LR section and like 8 games today. Tomorrow I'm going down to WUSTL to take a tour and sit in on class and all that jazz. So I'm gonna take PT 60 on Thursday, then 61 on Sunday, then maybe the free one on LSAC or 62 on Wednesday, then the real deal Saturday. I feel bad taking the day off, but I'll just review, see WUSTL tomorrow (which will build some motivation) and kill on Thursday...no big deal. I'm feeling confident, but I feel lazy when I don't pt when I planned to, but I'll review to keep up with it. Can't wait to see what I got on Thursday. For these last three I'm going to wear a watch and take it at 830, these are things I haven't been doing really. Normally I just monitor time with my phone and I take usually in the afternoon. Plan on taking in a library as well to simulate a more public setting and get myself out of my comfort zone. Can't wait to pt, i'm aiming for a 174 on this one

[Run!]

To be fair you disagreed with me and then technically are following my advice (if you consider that a few days can be liberally used as 2 days), . In any event, looking forward to more updates.