First Timed Test After Studying..Bad Score Forum

[LitigatingLiar]

So after a few months of prepping, going through the Bibles, the Manhattan books and doing sections I finally moved on to full tests. My first ones were good. I scored 165, then 167 and 168. This of course was untimed. I took my first timed test today and my score plummeted to a 153. My question is, did I rush it? Should I have taken a few more tests or instead of strictly timing myself, should I focus on trying to shave time off each test till I can get it done under 35 minutes? This really freaked me out today. My original plan was to take it in October, but unfortunately I might have to wait till December now. Thank you.

[pkraft1]

Untimed scores are not scores. They are lies we tell ourselves so that we can sleep at night. Now you are awake--good morning! Your score never plummeted to 153. 153 is your first score.

You say your score scares you. You have the option of going back to untimed exams and lying to yourself about how you are "almost scoring in the 170's, yay!"

Alternatively, you could practice more strictly timed, 5 or 6 section PTs, and get a real read of your skills. Take 5 or so of these, blind review them, review them, write up explanations for questions you had difficulty with, focus on the process you've utilized to answer the questions (this is especially important for you. You've almost certainly developed inefficient methods for answering questions. That's why you're score is low when you are actually taking the test.), and examine what you need to work on using 7sage's analytics. Only then will you know if you are ready for October.

[MrBalloons]

So after a few months of prepping, going through the Bibles, the Manhattan books and doing sections I finally moved on to full tests. My first ones were good. I scored 165, then 167 and 168. This of course was untimed. I took my first timed test today and my score plummeted to a 153. My question is, did I rush it? Should I have taken a few more tests or instead of strictly timing myself, should I focus on trying to shave time off each test till I can get it done under 35 minutes? This really freaked me out today. My original plan was to take it in October, but unfortunately I might have to wait till December now. Thank you.

I'd echo most of what the other poster said.

Get plugged into 7sage analytics. It's a great tool to tell you your weaknesses. Develop a set strategy for each LR question type, focusing most heavily on the question types that 7sage tells you to. Know why each wrong answer is wrong and each right one is right, and don't move on to new material until you do.

Drill, drill, drill with LG, again using the 7sage video explanations. Don't stop drilling a game/game type until you are confidently getting the right answers.

Get good at finding RC main points. You do this by drilling RC sections. Buy a chunk of 40 of them and just knock them out. You'll get better.

That all said, if you're shooting for October, you're in for a rough 6 weeks. I'd start planning on December if your goals are in the upper 160s or higher.

[LitigatingLiar]

I've used 7sage for my games. I've followed his model or repeating them till I get them right and it's worked. I've been getting -0 of -1. Today I got -6 and I don't know why. Was trying to push myself because of the time, so i may have rushed. For reasoning I've been using Manhattan and studied with their books and used their forums for answers. Once again I think I was rushing. I don't think I went through each answer and try to eliminate it. I know part of it was the fact that I felt that I wasn't going through everything fast enough. I know how to isolate the conclusion, and determine which are the supporting premises. If it's an assumption family question to find the assumption, or gap and attack the question. At least I thought I did. Like I said before I was scoring much higher. I felt as if I had to rush through and I think I paid for it. Is it simply a matter of learning to go through the process of each question faster?

[PoopNpants]

Practice doing games sections timed, since some games you should do in 5/6 mins while others take as long as 12. also do timed sections for LR and RC and develop your own pacing guide for these sections. For example for LR i try to do the first 10 questions in 10 minutes or so, then slow down around Q 15 and spend alot of time on the more difficult questions around/past Q 20.

The difficulty in doing well on the LSAT isn't the material, its doing the material in the alloted time. I feel this pressure is most experience in Reading Comp so be sure to practice that section timed too. I'd consider December too if you don't feel ready in the next few weeks good luck