how do you guys balance studying all 3 sections? Forum

[flash21]

How are you guys doing it? I find I'll really be focusing on one section, only to realize I've kind of neglected another in the process

[mlansky]

Whatever needs the most work gets worked on the most. Early on I set goals for each subject based on objective accomplishments rather than time, e.g. "Get through this particular book on LR" or "knock out the In/Out set by Monday" and have goals in each section... in the end I spent less time but it was much higher quality... now I just do tests a couple times a week, review the day after, and spend my free-study time doing sections. Then again, I'm in my target range and it took me a while to get here, earlier in my prep I was doing "this week I focus almost exclusively on RC", "this week I learn relative ordering games" and so forth...

[flash21]

thanks

[tuffyjohnson]

This is a tough one for me too because I can get so geared up on LG for a week or two and then I lose my edge in LR/RC.

[10052014]

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[lawschool22]

I have not done the "focus on one section at a time" strategy during my prep. I instead followed the MLSAT syllabus that has you doing 12 sections, with most sections having a lesson or two from all three areas. I think there are differing schools of thought on this, but I feel it enabled me to stay sharp on all three as I progressed. Additionally, as I learned things in one section I noticed that many concepts I was learning in that section could also help me in the other two sections. I am sure this same thing happens if you do the one-section-at-a-time approach as well, but for me it made more sense to have a more integrated approach.

Another point is that it probably depends on how much time you have to devote to prep. Someone who has 9 months to study can afford to spend focused time on one section at a time. Whereas someone starting out with three months or less should probably not go LG>LR>RC for instance, as they risk devoting too little study time to one area or another if it happens to be the third section they touch. The first section would get 3 months, the second 2 months, and the third only 1 month, so to speak.

Long story short (as I have deviated from your question somewhat), for me the key was to always prep all three sections simultaneously. I never went more than 3 days without doing a drill, a lesson, a section, something, from all three sections.

[SteelPenguin]

How are you guys doing it? I find I'll really be focusing on one section, only to realize I've kind of neglected another in the process

I've usually taken 2 PTs a week and drilled or worked on a particular section the rest of my time. For the most part, I'm far enough in my prep that even taking extended time off doesn't affect my progress. At most, it'll take me a section to get reacclimated.

[akg144]

If you want to improve in RC and in LG and in LR your going to have to put in work consistently in all three. If you want to do specific drills for each question type do that. If you want to do drills of increasing section difficulty Cambridge bundles can do that. Whatever you want to accomplish you can do it -- just gotta be willing to put in the work.