Sections vs. full tests Forum

[DC_Patent_Law]

I was recently advised by an LSAT instructor to do a section and fully review it rather than crank out a full PT and then review it. His logic was that you're so far removed from a section after completing a test that you don't remember how you really approached the questions, the timing etc. Coupled with the fact that I end up reviewing the test in its entirety two to three days later adds even more time between having taken a section and reviewing it, diminishing the value added.

So, is there an advantage/disadvantage to take sections of a PT and reviewing them rather than taking the entire PT and then reviewing it over a couple of days? (I have the stamina for 5 sections because I've taken about 16 so far, my timing issues on RC haven't resolved themselves yet though...)

[bport hopeful]

Depends on how far you are in your studies.

If you have just recently began to study, I would say do sections first. You havent learned the techniques yet, and your study should be focused on that.

Saying that, full timed tests are extremely important. Once you have the techniques down, you should be doing regular timed tests.

[Quan292]

How do you guys think the scores translate over to the real test. Like if someone is going -5 when doing sections is it safe to say you would be -5 on full length test?

[incompetentia]

How do you guys think the scores translate over to the real test. Like if someone is going -5 when doing sections is it safe to say you would be -5 on full length test?

Not necessarily. Goes both ways - some people have endurance issues with multiple sections that need to be worked out, and some people may not be sufficiently warmed up by the end of 35 minutes to perform to their best on the section.


You need to do full tests, and should be primarily focusing on those by the time you get within a couple weeks of test day.

[bport hopeful]

How do you guys think the scores translate over to the real test. Like if someone is going -5 when doing sections is it safe to say you would be -5 on full length test?

Not necessarily. Goes both ways - some people have endurance issues with multiple sections that need to be worked out, and some people may not be sufficiently warmed up by the end of 35 minutes to perform to their best on the section.


You need to do full tests, and should be primarily focusing on those by the time you get within a couple weeks of test day.

This is good advice. Once you are within roughly a month of test date, you should have the techniques down and should do a few of full length tests a week.

[thecilent]

Doing (and then reviewing right away) 30-minute timed sections is veryyy credited at any stage of studying.

You should be doing them in the days between the practice tests you need to be taking.

There is absolutely no reason why you shouldn't review a practice test the same day you take it. Take a 20-minute break, then review everything.

[DC_Patent_Law]

Depends on how far you are in your studies.

If you have just recently began to study, I would say do sections first. You havent learned the techniques yet, and your study should be focused on that.

Saying that, full timed tests are extremely important. Once you have the techniques down, you should be doing regular timed tests.

I am pretty far in my studies (6 months in and heading to the Oct 01 LSATs) but I get an average of -6 to -7 on LR sections and -8 to -9 on RC sections so I need to iron these two out to the -3 range at the most. That's the reason I wanted to switch to doing sections instread of full length tests, that way I can really analyze what I did wrong before I forget what I did.

Doing (and then reviewing right away) 30-minute timed sections is veryyy credited at any stage of studying.

You should be doing them in the days between the practice tests you need to be taking.

There is absolutely no reason why you shouldn't review a practice test the same day you take it. Take a 20-minute break, then review everything.

Thanks. I'm planning on doing sections of a test during the week and then doing a full length test in the weekend. That way I get the best of both worlds. That sound good?

[incompetentia]

I am pretty far in my studies (6 months in and heading to the Oct 01 LSATs) but I get an average of -6 to -7 on LR sections and -8 to -9 on RC sections so I need to iron these two out to the -3 range at the most. That's the reason I wanted to switch to doing sections instread of full length tests, that way I can really analyze what I did wrong before I forget what I did.

Sounds like you may still have specific question types that require more work rather than just what you'll get from doing single sections.

Thanks. I'm planning on doing sections of a test during the week and then doing a full length test in the weekend. That way I get the best of both worlds. That sound good?

It is a good idea to mix and match different types of work, so this would probably work out fine, as long as your drilling is productive.

[DC_Patent_Law]

Sounds like you may still have specific question types that require more work rather than just what you'll get from doing single sections.

Thanks. My assumption and inference questions are still weak. It varies from test to test. It seems like the problem is not that I don't understand these questions, but that I get suckered by answer choices that have things like a shift in terminology, abstract answer choices, questions dealing with numbers vs. percentages. These problems plague me across the board in LR.
RC accuracy is high but speed is an issue in getting to the last passage completely.

[clouds101]

thanks OP, I was wondering the same thing.