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Most Effective Way to Drill?
Posted: Sun Sep 20, 2015 8:48 pm
by 180orDie
So, I gather that to "drill" one should read up on how to approach a particular question type and then do questions of that type over and over again. My question is, how can you do this while also leaving enough fresh questions for when you are ready for full PTs? Won't this method use up all the questions? Also, what is an effective way of organizing this? Timed, untimed, how many at a time, etc?
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Posted: Sun Sep 20, 2015 9:14 pm
by SirArthurDayne
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Re: Most Effective Way to Drill?
Posted: Sun Sep 20, 2015 9:20 pm
by texasellewoods
It really does depend on the person, but this is what I did:
March: took a couple diagnostics, did the LR Bible and the LG Bible
April-May: PTs 7-30ish (can't remember the exact ones): I liked doing these at the beginning because I was able to get comfortable with the test/strategies without wasting the "good" more recent PTs
June LSAT: got a 169, which was below my target score. I knew this would be a 'trial run' but I was still hoping I wouldn't have to retake haha
August: LR Cambridge packets: had all LR sections from PTs 40-50ish, this is where I did the drilling. The book breaks them down by section and by question type which I found very helpful. I did them by question type first so I was able to identify specific problems I had with each type (I was really bad at parallel reasoning/flaw questions but was able to improve them by understanding the underlying logic mistakes I was making)
September: PTs 51-71 yaaay. These are the most recent and generally regarded as the most helpful. I did four section PTs at the beginning of the month, taking about 4 a week, but now I am doing six section PTs (one full PT and half of another one) since stamina was an issue for me in June.
Week before: light drilling for RC, going back to the cambridge packet to do the LR questions by PT section, reviewing my logic errors, etc
So as you can see I've taken advantage of nearly every test available. The way I structured my studying worked very well for me, but make sure that whatever you pursue will be a good strategy for you!
If you are taking the LSAT in October, you won't have time for this haha but I recommend using the older PTs (like the 40s and 50s) to drill and saving the newer ones for full PTs.
As far as timing goes, I liked to time my "drilling by type" sections just so I could see how long each question took me on average. I took the time I needed to make sure I was correct. If I was over a certain time per question, I knew I would have to develop faster strategies on that type, or make sure that I was very confident/quick on several other question types to make up for that. I would do one question type section at a time, unless it was a huge section, in which case I would break it up into roughly 25 question sections. My main focus on these sections were accuracy/understanding and not speed or stamina - you can save that for the PTs!
Sorry this is so long - and good luck!!