why am I doing WORSE Forum

[swtlilsoni]

I'm really freaking out here. I'm taking the dec LSAT and all this time I have consistently been getting -0 to -3 on logical reasoning. However over the past couple days I'm all of a sudden getting -4 to -6! How can I suddenly be doing worse?!

[Aqualung]

By worrying too much. Take a step back. It's exceptionally unlikely that you've declined in your ability to answer the questions. So, I hazard to say that there is a pscyhological component at work in your recent tests. Even if your scores dip sometimes, don't freak out. Trust your preparation.

[pizzabrosauce]

What kind of questions are you missing? If you haven't been drilling, you could be slowing down (wrong answers concentrated at the end).

[swtlilsoni]

What exactly is drilling and how do I do this without buying another book? I've just been taking practice tests. I have every pt ever made so I have enough material

[Wodin]

Drilling means doing questions by type over and over. By doing a single question type over and over you can see patterns in question types. Here is the list I use to drill logical reasoning - http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... ed+by+type

[swtlilsoni]

Drilling means doing questions by type over and over. By doing a single question type over and over you can see patterns in question types. Here is the list I use to drill logical reasoning - http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... ed+by+type

WOWW that list must have taken a lot of work. Thanks so much!

[msblaw89]

have you been taking recent tests? It is pretty much the consensus that LR has gotten reasonably harder recently

[swtlilsoni]

what constitutes as recent? after 30? I've been taking older ones but I'll start doing recent now
It's tough though cus I have to save a bunch for drilling.

[cinephile]

Are you getting answers wrong, or just running out of time? It's pretty common when you start using new strategies to take extra time to implement them, causing you to run out of time. If that's the case, it's just about getting comfortable with the new techniques and practice makes perfect.

[swtlilsoni]

Are you getting answers wrong, or just running out of time? It's pretty common when you start using new strategies to take extra time to implement them, causing you to run out of time. If that's the case, it's just about getting comfortable with the new techniques and practice makes perfect.

No I deff have enough time. I finish with 5-10 min to spare (although I don't use a scantron). But even if I am finishing early I don't think thats a cause. Earlier I was finishing at the same speed and scoring better. I think drilling is helping though. I tried drilling some must be true questions and answers started becoming more and more obvious.

[American_in_China]

relax- I had three consecutive tests in the low 170s three weeks before my test, but my last 5 PTs were all in the high 170s and that's what I scored. Substantial drops can occur, especially if you are trying a new method, or adapting your current one.

I was working on a new method for RC, and I dropped from -3 consistently to -7, but then once I adapted I started getting -0,-1 consistently. It takes time get your speed and fluency back up if you're changing your approach.

Just don't let it psych you out- remember, learning to take the LSAT is like learning a different language. New "grammar", new approaches, new information all take time to integrate into a functional schema.

[swtlilsoni]

Okay I tried drilling and it deff helped. How do you guys do your drilling? This is what I have been doing:

I take one LR section. Pick a question type I had trouble with. Drill that question type (I do about ten tests ... so I would drill that question type from test 25-35). And then do another LR section, repeat.

Is this okay? Should I be drilling more? As in drill a question type through twenty tests instead of ten? (for example drill parallel reasoning from test 25-45 instead of 25-35) Should I drill more than one question type before attempting another section?

ALSO

It's coming to the point where I am getting -0 to -3 and I am not having problems with any particular question type. So reading the technique and practicing that will not help me. I understand all the techniques and applying them is not the issue. I find that when I miss a question it has more to do with comprehension than anything else. Usually I would miss a question or two because I didn't understand the stimulus properly (too convoluted), or something. So how exactly would I improve? I feel like I have the techniques down but there is always a stimulus or two that is just confusing in itself.

[yipeng024]

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[3v3ryth1ng]

I think you're burning out. I think you need to relax. I think you're good enough at the LSAT and that if you start freaking out on the actual test, you will miss questions you would easily answer correctly if you were calm.