Advice Needed - Still seeing little improvement Forum

[LegendaryOne]

So I scored a 143 diagnostic in mid-July 2014 and since then I've improved to 155. My problem now is that I just can't seem to get any better. I've tried everything to improve my approach to this test including Blind Reviewing every single question I get incorrect, creating a list of reasons I misunderstood a question, and even redoing them when enough time has passed. I almost always understand why I one answer choice is correct, and why the others are incorrect after the fact, but seem to have a problem the first time around.

I already took a prep-course which helped me get the basics down and have gone through both LG and LR Bibles. I'll be taking the June LSAT which is still a while away, but my concern stems from the fact that I've been doing this for almost 6 months now and still not getting it. What should I do?

[thisone2014]

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[LegendaryOne]

I know timing is a problem, but I'm not sure it's the only problem. LG has gotten significantly better which is what I attribute my score increase to, but I'm suffering in LR and RC. I can finish 20 LR questions in 35 minutes, but get 13/25. In RC, I'm usually only able to complete 3 passages before time runs out. I have a hard time with specific questions, mostly because it takes too much time to go back into the passage to find the answers.

[thisone2014]

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[msp8]

How many timed sections/PTs have you done?

Give us a rundown of what your scores are on a PT v. on BR of that PT.

[nlee10]

How many timed sections/PTs have you done?

Give us a rundown of what your scores are on a PT v. on BR of that PT.

+1
Giving us your BR breakdown will help a lot. But you're leaving a lot on the table when you're getting 13ish/25 per LR section. With it being half your score, I'd start drilling the Cambridge like no order.

[LegendaryOne]

My problems seem to spread across all question types, but I am having a harder time with strengthen and weaken questions. How should I tackle RC without looking back? It seems like I remember the wrong things when I'm reading the passages.

PT36 151 BR 167 - Nov 2014

PT37 146 BR 165 - Nov 2014

PT38 154 BR 171 - Jan 2014

PT24 Sec 3 - 17/26 BR 20-26

PT24 Sec 2 - 21/26 (Untimed)

I've been drilling questions by type so I don't really have many full sections to examine.

[thisone2014]

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[msp8]

My problems seem to spread across all question types, but I am having a harder time with strengthen and weaken questions. How should I tackle RC without looking back? It seems like I remember the wrong things when I'm reading the passages.

PT36 151 BR 167 - Nov 2014

PT37 146 BR 165 - Nov 2014

PT38 154 BR 171 - Jan 2014

PT24 Sec 3 - 17/26 BR 20-26

PT24 Sec 2 - 21/26 (Untimed)

I've been drilling questions by type so I don't really have many full sections to examine.

So, have you only taken 3 PTs? If so, that's really not bad. And your 165-171 BR range demonstrates that you have some solid foundational knowledge. Basically, you just need to improve that foundation. With improvement, you'll start recognising structures and patterns faster.

What worked for me is to have notes from the Bibles and Manhattan books. And then read through my notes every 4-5 days until it's incredibly annoying to look at those notes; absorb all of that essential information. Work through the Manhattan LR book, with all of the examples and explanations they give. Then come back again to doing PTs.

Then I'd do the following basic regimen:

Step 1: take PT
Step 2: BR it hard. For LG, print out a fresh sheet of the section and re-do it timed. Then go through 7sage videos and see what you did in the original PT, the BR version, and compare that to the 7sage video. For LR, look at every question and don't move on until you thoroughly understand it. By understand, I mean diagram it if necessary, write out how it makes sense, and then look at the Manhattan forum discussion on that particular question. Then move on to the next question. I prefer looking at Manhattan forum discussion after each question so that my logic is fresh in my mind and I can see the logic in the discussion while my mind is still engaged. When people ask questions on that given thread, I try to answer it (to myself, since one of the teachers there has likely already answered better than I could). This is another form of testing; I see if my answer then aligns with what the MH teacher reasons in their answer. For RC, I haven't mastered it, but what the guy above me wrote seems reasonable. I think RC just takes practice and time, read for structure and try different things until something works. I'll let you know if something ever clicks for me.

Step 3: read theory from your notes/various forums/other sites pertaining to specific issues you feel you're struggling with still.
Step 4: drill some LR packets from Cambridge or LG games you've done before just to memorise the steps you should take and get accustomed to recognising patterns and question types quickly.

Then back to Step 1.

You recycle that process as many times as necessary and you will get better. Don't worry about your timing so much; timing is really more about your overall comfort level and knowledge level than it is about your aptitude for this test. If you're already getting a 171 on your BR, then you can definitely start scoring there timed. Stress less and work more.

[eli2015]

My problems seem to spread across all question types, but I am having a harder time with strengthen and weaken questions. How should I tackle RC without looking back? It seems like I remember the wrong things when I'm reading the passages.

PT36 151 BR 167 - Nov 2014

PT37 146 BR 165 - Nov 2014

PT38 154 BR 171 - Jan 2014

PT24 Sec 3 - 17/26 BR 20-26

PT24 Sec 2 - 21/26 (Untimed)

I've been drilling questions by type so I don't really have many full sections to examine.

4 timed lsat are def not enough. It seems to me from your score posting of the timed prep test and the br you are sacraficing a tremendous amount of accuracy for time. Your br score is no where near your timed I suggest lots and lots more timed prep tests and timed drilling. Remember you want the concepts you are applying to be second nature. Hope this helped.

[Smallville]

try BRing before you grade, so you don't know what you got wrong. When you know you got a question wrong you kinda start looking at it a little different and not how you normally would. just a thought

[ltowns1]

So I scored a 143 diagnostic in mid-July 2014 and since then I've improved to 155. My problem now is that I just can't seem to get any better. I've tried everything to improve my approach to this test including Blind Reviewing every single question I get incorrect, creating a list of reasons I misunderstood a question, and even redoing them when enough time has passed. I almost always understand why I one answer choice is correct, and why the others are incorrect after the fact, but seem to have a problem the first time around.

I already took a prep-course which helped me get the basics down and have gone through both LG and LR Bibles. I'll be taking the June LSAT which is still a while away, but my concern stems from the fact that I've been doing this for almost 6 months now and still not getting it. What should I do?

For some questions in reading comp. you're almost guaranteed to have to look back for a couple of questions. I would agree that you should be able to attack some questions without looking back, but don't feel like you failed if you have to go back and find the right answer. The key is isolating each paragraph and determing which paragraph is relevant to the question. So #1 do try to understand the overall passage better by taking your time. (If you have to go back for all of the questions, then you probably don't understand the passage as well as you should.) #2 understand that most, if not all passages are just large arguments. What do you do with a large argument??? You break it down. In this case, paragraph by paragraph. If you know what part of the passage the question is talking about, it's much easier and quicker to the find relevant information you need to answer the question.

[Meursault]

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[thisone2014]

yeah, agree with all of the above. I guess more what I meant to say was that early on, I'd check back in the passage to double check my answers or because I thought I knew the answer but wanted to make sure. The more I studied, the more I realized I could forgo the double check, and that my inclinations were almost always the same conclusions I came to after checking back. But yeah, there are definitely times you need to check back.