February 2013 LSAT Study Group Forum

[Jcastro1]

My trajectory so far has been:

First PT (A I believe) on December 28: 166, extra time needed on every section, so realistically like 160.

Last PT (56) on January 21, 2013: 174, 3-5 mins to spare on each section.

How I review:

1) Go back through all the questions I got wrong PLUS all the questions I was not 100% certain on.

2) Redo games + watch 7sage videos on even tough games I got perfect on. Might learn a new trick or more efficient diagramming.

3) Mentally re-do the LR question I got wrong/got right but wasn't 100% sure. Actually physically re-live the process. LR is 100% process in my opinion ad mine goes question-stimulus-eliminate ACs-circle right AC-check against stimulus quickly. Where this chain breaks down I try to figure out when reviewing. Almost always, on wrong LRs, I put a little check mark during the PT next to the right answer but was tempted by what I call the "attractive disaster" (I think this is PowerScore's term).

4) Go through RC, match up wrong answers with stimulus. Write out which lines the right answer choice can be found in.

5) Open up a running Google Documents spreadsheet and word document I have going. The spreadsheet is a running history of my PTs with sections to mark "test notes" (i.e. did a game trip me up? How was timing? etc) + "external notes" (How was my sleep? Caffeine level? Grogginess?). This ensures that I am controlling for external variables (yes, I have a degree in social science:P). The word document is just reminders I have written to myself for each section. Little things like "for Most Strongly Supported, 1 answer backed by text, 4 are bullshit"

I was aiming for a 170 when I started this. Now I'm aiming for a 180. It's eminently doable, but takes total commitment to making the entire PROCESS error-free.

[NapoleonXV]

Started PT with a string of 173s... Did PTs every day for two or three weeks in a row... And progressed to 3*177, 3*178, and 1* 179 in seven days...

Most recent PT: lowest ever 172 T T

Need to keep it up!!

I am in Oxford. Anyone in UK here?

[NapoleonXV]

What are the a few skills of RC?

Personally I find LR and LG really easy stuff, but I do have little time to spare for RC and just don't have enough time to check every answe choice in the passage

PT 62 RC -7

missed 5 on the 3rd passage even though i understood it, was very shocked

im coming to realize that LR is a beast compared to RC and LG

for RC and LG, u need to master a few skills, as opposed to a dozen for LR

still, u can screw up 1 question on LR and no big deal, but screw up 1 game or 1 reading passage, and game over

quite paradoxical

[Theopliske8711]

Good news: LGs have become a joke for me now. Last one I finished with 7-8 mins to spare. I still manage to get -1 or -2, which is often the result of me being the idiot I am and marking the wrong answer in haste (even as I have the right answer right in front). Bad news is that I have getting pounded on RC (-8), though this was on the excessive side for me and largely as a result of post-work fati and fatigue destroyed my first section of the LR last night (-10 wrong, second LR section was -2). I hate having to test after work and I need to find a new testing site in NYC, my current one is a library where the heating is insanely high.

For those who finish early on LG, how do you go back and review? 7 mins a lot for me, it is usually closer to five, but I was flustered as to how to go back. I have a very linear track of thought during the games and as a result, once I finish a game my mind kind of "clears it out" in order to ease into the next one. It's difficult to go back after though.

I think I'm headed for a cancellation on the Feb and retake on June. My tutor recommends against the cancellation, and just take the score, but I won't know what sections I did better or worse on so the score won't help much, IMHO.

[Jcastro1]

PT57, grogginess and all:

LR1 -4 (UGH)
LRX -0
LR2 -3
LG -0
RC -2

92/101
172

Hate the "this could have been it" feeling but oh well, more motivation.

[gobosox]

Good news: LGs have become a joke for me now. Last one I finished with 7-8 mins to spare. I still manage to get -1 or -2, which is often the result of me being the idiot I am and marking the wrong answer in haste (even as I have the right answer right in front). Bad news is that I have getting pounded on RC (-8), though this was on the excessive side for me and largely as a result of post-work fati and fatigue destroyed my first section of the LR last night (-10 wrong, second LR section was -2). I hate having to test after work and I need to find a new testing site in NYC, my current one is a library where the heating is insanely high.

For those who finish early on LG, how do you go back and review? 7 mins a lot for me, it is usually closer to five, but I was flustered as to how to go back. I have a very linear track of thought during the games and as a result, once I finish a game my mind kind of "clears it out" in order to ease into the next one. It's difficult to go back after though.

I think I'm headed for a cancellation on the Feb and retake on June. My tutor recommends against the cancellation, and just take the score, but I won't know what sections I did better or worse on so the score won't help much, IMHO.

Why take it if you already plan to cancel?

[Jcastro1]

Any tips on avoiding burnout?

[Theopliske8711]

Good news: LGs have become a joke for me now. Last one I finished with 7-8 mins to spare. I still manage to get -1 or -2, which is often the result of me being the idiot I am and marking the wrong answer in haste (even as I have the right answer right in front). Bad news is that I have getting pounded on RC (-8), though this was on the excessive side for me and largely as a result of post-work fati and fatigue destroyed my first section of the LR last night (-10 wrong, second LR section was -2). I hate having to test after work and I need to find a new testing site in NYC, my current one is a library where the heating is insanely high.

For those who finish early on LG, how do you go back and review? 7 mins a lot for me, it is usually closer to five, but I was flustered as to how to go back. I have a very linear track of thought during the games and as a result, once I finish a game my mind kind of "clears it out" in order to ease into the next one. It's difficult to go back after though.

I think I'm headed for a cancellation on the Feb and retake on June. My tutor recommends against the cancellation, and just take the score, but I won't know what sections I did better or worse on so the score won't help much, IMHO.

Why take it if you already plan to cancel?

I want to take it at least once already. That way I can understand better how I feel during test day.

[natashka85]

Did 50 LR drilling missed -2,
I think its time to take a break,my brain tells me ``Stop``
gonna take one of the FEb tests tmr,sort of nervous ,my last one went from 175-165, i nearly was giving up ,until one of the guys on the forum advised me to keep going and not to withdraw my test,home i will do better this time.

[ws81086n]

Which Feb were you going to take? I have Feb 1997 and Feb 2000 left out of the Febs, and I was going to take one tomorrow probably.

[natashka85]

feb 2000

[eav1277]

Hi everyone,

Is it worth it to purchase the superprep test book (are the February tests really that strange in comparison to others)? Or should I just keep taking more recent pretests?

Also, I'm pting in the mid to upper 160's. Would it be more beneficial to start doing pt's exclusively or keep doing a mix of drilling and pt's? Thanks.

[ws81086n]

Hi everyone,

Is it worth it to purchase the superprep test book (are the February tests really that strange in comparison to others)? Or should I just keep taking more recent pretests?

Also, I'm pting in the mid to upper 160's. Would it be more beneficial to start doing pt's exclusively or keep doing a mix of drilling and pt's? Thanks.

Answer to your last question obviously depends on your particular circumstances. If you're low on PT's and drilling will compromise too many of them, then minimize drilling. But if you've got plenty of PT's even after drilling, then do lots of both, though PT's should be a higher priority. I would say get the SP book if you can. They are a bit weird, but still good practice. To me, after taking two of them, LG seemed challenging, LR about the same, and RC substantially easier. Could be different with the other two, though.

[TheMostDangerousLG]

Done some more drilling.. getting concerned about LGs again after a couple funky sections. For anyone interested in some funky games, check out PTs 11 and 12.

Just went -3 on PT 12's LG section due to some really stupid errors.. the kind I made near the beginning of prep. Have to remind myself to make sure I'm considering all of the rules and have them all straight in my head sometimes.. It's incredible how easily just registering the initial rules wrong can kill you. Have to make sure I don't get overconfident or sloppy going into LGs on test day, or might lose what should be easy points. >.<

[ws81086n]

Done some more drilling.. getting concerned about LGs again after a couple funky sections. For anyone interested in some funky games, check out PTs 11 and 12.

Just went -3 on PT 12's LG section due to some really stupid errors.. the kind I made near the beginning of prep. Have to remind myself to make sure I'm considering all of the rules and have them all straight in my head sometimes.. It's incredible how easily just registering the initial rules wrong can kill you. Have to make sure I don't get overconfident or sloppy going into LGs on test day, or might lose what should be easy points. >.<

I did 11's LG's yesterday, and I felt the same way. Games 2 and 4 were odd. For G4, I spent 5 or so minutes coming up with every scenario for the entire game, and then was able to blow through the questions. Not sure I had to do that, but oh well. Game definitely threw me at first.

[natashka85]

Heading to the testing centre,i thought i would do a feb test,but i decided to drill Rc passages probably 3 sections and do some of the hardest games.

[DLA]

Need some help here:
Went from 173 in previous PT to 168 in PT 52. here's the break down:
LR 1: -3
LR 2: -3
LG: -2
RC: -5

I always run out of time (in the sense I just finish filing in the oval as time is up) in RC. The LG took strangely longer than they usually do and I usually get -0. LR is ok time wise but I could do with 3 extra minutes to go over some of the tricky ones. Any advice?

Super worried, the test is right here and I am slipping down when I should be stabilizing at my target score.

Thank you.

[Jcastro1]

PT58

LR1 -2
LR2 -3
LG -2 (WTF)
RC -3

91/101

171

Starting to feel tired/burnt out. Maybe I'll take a few days off of PTs to drill and then get back into it.

[Theopliske8711]

Ugh. 52: 167. -5 LR, -5RC, -4LG. I made a mistake on the LG rule when notating it, cost me half the game.

I hate doing Preptests after work. Nearly all of the mistakes were easily avoidable with focus. Taking tests after work is just such a pain.

[DLA]

Can anyone explain the 16th question from PT 52, LR Section 1?
(Question removed due to copyright issues)

I see the pattern in the stimulus as mistakenly equating the existence of something with belief in another and I think E is doing just the same.

What do you think?

[gobosox]

DLA, prob want to take that down if it is the specific text of a question, as it's copyrighted and you may get booted for it...

[gobosox]

Just finished PT 43. 92/101, 173.

-5 Combined LR
-3 RC (victory, I suppose)
-1 LG (Inexcusable)

While I never used to get them wrong, now I'm getting assumption questions wrong. The simple, bedrock questions-- can't get em. Classic.

Seem to hover around the 173 mark... Would like to push above that 175...

[gobosox]

Can anyone explain the 16th question from PT 52, LR Section 1?

A. Anyone who believes in unicorns believes in centaurs. But it has been demonstrated that there are no centaurs, so there are no unicorns either.

E. Anyone who believes in unicorns believes in centaurs. But it has been conclusively proven that there s no such thing as a unicorn, so a belief in centaurs is mistaken as well.

I see the pattern in the stimulus as mistakenly equating the existence of something with belief in another and I think E is doing just the same.

What do you think?

Diagramming the initial question:
A-->B, Not B--> Not A

Diagramming the answers:
A. A--> B, Not B--> Not A (Same as stimulus, properly drawn)
E. A--> B, Not A--> Not B (Improperly drawn conclusion)

[Theopliske8711]

DLA, you should remove the question. But anyway, here is very basically

E has the order of the logic mixed up.

Belief in ET--> Belief in UFO

No UFO --> No reason to believe ET (logical fallacy = belief)

E is:

Belief U --> Belief C

No U --> No belief C

A is the answer because it makes a logical fallacy in that it connects belief with fact. The logical equivalence isnt there.

[TheMostDangerousLG]

Took PT 58 today (176, woohoo):

LR1: -1
RC: -1
LG: -3
LR2: -0
Total = -5

Super excited about -1 on RC during a PT, although I got -3 on the RC section I took right beforehand as an experimental (from PT 15). Officially nervous about logic games, have started drilling again.

Does anyone have any good tips for grouping games? Not the in/out ones that can be mapped with the nifty chart, the messy ones.. I know there's got to be a system, but if there is, I think I've forgotten it. Probably time to hit the books again.