UHHHH is the newer LR more difficult???? Forum

[noleknight16]

I have the older LR down to -3 to -5. Maybeeee -7 on the worst case scenario.

Took PT60 today, and I got -9 on LR1 and -14 on LR2. What the HECK is going on????

I had never taken a modern test before my first LSAT last year and I had similar results on LR. I thought I just choked under pressure, but it appears the newer LR is harder?

Thoughts please. I am in crisis mode right now.

[Campagnolo]

The LSAT is a standardized test. Which means, you know, that it's pretty uniform by definition.

After taking 40 or so PTs, I realized that there are probably around 150-200 concepts that the LR sections can test us on. For any given PT, you will see about 75 of those concepts. If the concepts are favorable to your strengths, then the test feels easier. That's why I can think test 37 is super tough, and someone else thinks it's really easy.

If the above were not the case, then people with an LSAT score from 4 years ago would be favored over those who sat for the test in October. That just doesn't seem likely.

Keep your head up, realize you still have a lot more learning to do before you cream the LSAT, and ace the damn thing.

That is all.

[Scotusnerd]

Yes, they do get trickier. The LSAC people are really trying to trip you up now with the wording. You have to read much closer than before. Every single word is important in those passages. I used to let my eyes scan through, but now I have to slow down and really read each one.

Yes, they are getting harder, but at least the solution is fairly simple. If you know your question types and read closely, you'll do great.

[minnbills]

I don't think they've changed much. I have noticed that there are 1-2 unconventional questions put into a given test now- shakespeare anyone?

It can be unpredictable how you respond to a given test though, so don't sweat it. Review and move on.

[KevinP]

An old post I wrote:

FWIW I found myself scoring in the upper 170s pretty regularly on the older tests. Even scoring in the 170s became a challenge for me on these newer tests.

RC: Older RC was easier, newer RC has a comparative passage and has gotten noticeably harder. More LR-type questions.
LG: Older LGs, especially those in the 30s, were much harder and sometimes unpredictable. The newer LGs are easier in comparison but LG has been making a comeback the last couple of tests (dinos, stained glass/conferences, bikes, among others).
LR: Stimulus is shorter on newer preptests. No more 2-question stimulus on newer tests. The newer LR has gotten more tricky with very subtle shifts.

Start drilling new LR exclusively. You should be able to make a decent transition from older LR to newer LR in a matter of days.

[noleknight16]

An old post I wrote:

FWIW I found myself scoring in the upper 170s pretty regularly on the older tests. Even scoring in the 170s became a challenge for me on these newer tests.

RC: Older RC was easier, newer RC has a comparative passage and has gotten noticeably harder. More LR-type questions.
LG: Older LGs, especially those in the 30s, were much harder and sometimes unpredictable. The newer LGs are easier in comparison but LG has been making a comeback the last couple of tests (dinos, stained glass/conferences, bikes, among others).
LR: Stimulus is shorter on newer preptests. No more 2-question stimulus on newer tests. The newer LR has gotten more tricky with very subtle shifts.

Start drilling new LR exclusively. You should be able to make a decent transition from older LR to newer LR in a matter of days.

What PT is the start of the shift in LR?

[Campagnolo]

Sorry to self-quote, but I really think folks need to understand the following:

If [tests are getting more difficult], then people with an LSAT score from 4 years ago would be favored over those who sat for the test in October. That just doesn't seem likely.

[noleknight16]

I think I was just an idiot and used Section 4's answers halfway into LR2. My score was corrected from -14 to -8 using the correct key. Still not amazing, but it saves a disaster. I still have to figure out this new LR.

[KevinP]

What PT is the start of the shift in LR?

I would say it was somewhere around late 40s.

[penguinbrah]

so is there even any point in drilling the old LRs before PT 40. I was going to buy the cambridge LR by question types volume 2 and drill all those so I can save the Preptests 40 onwards so i can do them as full PTs. I didnt want to drill the 40-60 LR questions because i didnt want to be able to recognize any LR questions in the full PTs that i do.. I have a good memory and tend to remember answers to questions when i see them.

[timeless]

Just get used to all the questions as you go through.

i agree that LR gets trickier as you move up, and specifically, I have observed the following as a rough transition pattern.

Assuming that you have used everything b4 the 40s for drilling, I would say that 41-50,51 would be on the easier side of LR. What I mean by easy is that you wont really see yourself getting tripped up and having to reread stimulus and pattern recognition can be put to great use.

51.5 was the test where the wordings of the stimulus and answer choices became more subtle and questions became scattered here and there (even in the first 10 ) that would make you doubt your LSAT instincts and waste your time. But adjusting to it enabled me to go through 52-56 smoothly until i hit a wall in 57.

Well this gradient continues on and I realized that it has occured more frequently in recent years. 57-59 were pretty similar, rough turn in 60, and another big one in 62....yea

Again this is simply my personal observation. I just wanted to share that you arent the only one thinking that things are getting harder by the year.

Gluck!

[barneytrouble]

Just get used to all the questions as you go through.

i agree that LR gets trickier as you move up, and specifically, I have observed the following as a rough transition pattern.

Assuming that you have used everything b4 the 40s for drilling, I would say that 41-50,51 would be on the easier side of LR. What I mean by easy is that you wont really see yourself getting tripped up and having to reread stimulus and pattern recognition can be put to great use.

51.5 was the test where the wordings of the stimulus and answer choices became more subtle and questions became scattered here and there (even in the first 10 ) that would make you doubt your LSAT instincts and waste your time. But adjusting to it enabled me to go through 52-56 smoothly until i hit a wall in 57.

Well this gradient continues on and I realized that it has occured more frequently in recent years. 57-59 were pretty similar, rough turn in 60, and another big one in 62....yea

Again this is simply my personal observation. I just wanted to share that you arent the only one thinking that things are getting harder by the year.

Gluck!

What rough turns were in 60 and then again in 62?

[timeless]

Maybe I exaggerated a bit, but I realized that one of the LRs are NOTICEABLY harder than the other.

I mean, the discrepancy has always been there but I think it became more pronounced as we entered the 60s, and more so on PT 62. Could be a subjective thing. PT 62 was a really hard test and difficulty of the overall exam might have played a role in giving me the impression of the supposed change in LR.

Anyways, if there is any change, my personal take is this. More vague and difficult questions are clustered in the harder LR and this has affected my performance a lot. I'd usually go 0 or -1 in 25 minutes (of course checking over in the remaining time) but in the hard section I'd go -3 or even -4 using up all 35 minutes. This is the best i can describe for now.