Blub88 wrote:I usually get -9 or - 14 in total on Logic Reasoning. I've read the logic reasoning bible but it has not helped too much. My usual approach is to review questions that I get wrong on preptests. Anyway, I'm going through the Manhattan LR book now and doing more drills by type. I'm wondering if people have any practice methods that really helped them improve? One of my issues is also timing. I usually have 1 - 2 questions that I have to blindly guess. How do you guys get to the point that you have ~ 5 min go over your answers (amazingg)? Thanks for the help!
1) Are you missing the questions because did not know or misunderstood? If, so using a prep book or course is useful.
Study to the point that you know all the question types (there's not too many), can identify and question type by the question stem, and you can get 99% of questions right if you're not timed.
2) Now it's time to
practice LR sections, and this is where I can help you most because it's actually the point where I got stuck before:
a)
Read the stimulus first. A lot of prep companies advocate reading the stem first. While it's essential to know the question types thoroughly (it changes the way you answer), I found that just reading the stimulus first was more beneficial for a few reasons. Almost all the questions require you to fully comprehend what you're reading, so I found that if I don't have the added pressure of looking for something other than the argument itself, I could read the stimulus faster and more accurately. This leads to the next thing I will say...
b)
Recognize patterns in the phrasing of the stimulus. Recognize when an argument is flawed and why it's flawed immediately. Recognize assumptions. Recognize conclusions as opposed to sets of facts. The LSAT basically reuses a lot of ideas. Sometimes I just spotted the flaw immediately, glanced at the stem to see if it was asking about a flaw, then immediately went to the correct answer choice. By doing this, I could confidently answer some questions in 15-20 seconds. Those questions are where you want to save time. That leads to my last piece of advice...
c)
Set timing goals. Do the first 10 in 10 minutes is the most popular strategy because the earliest problems have historically been easier, although I heard this latest LSAT had a greater variety of LR difficulty in the first 10 specifically. In any case, you want to have around 10+ minutes for the last 5. If those last 5 are easy (which they definitely can be), you will have a few minutes to check over answers you weren't 100% sure of (you should be marking these- I used a star. I used "WTF?" for the occasional question I was stumped on). Practice with a wristwatch, and when you do full tests, make sure you can quickly and accurately gauge time using the watch.
3) As always, review your wrong answers, and know why they were right or wrong.
There's really not much more to it that that. Practicing will make you quicker, but don't practice for speed unless your accuracy is high. Also, make sure you're right mentally. Don't burn yourself out, and don't practice when you're tired. Get sleep, get nutrition, and don't start an argument with your significant other before you practice.
