Retake Prep Method? Forum

[roshan07]

I took the October LSAT a few weeks ago and was scoring in the 167-169 range, but would like to retake in order to break into the 170s. I have only used the Powerscore Bibles but switched to ManhattanPrep to go even further (the consensus on here seems to be that the MP books is better for higher scoring test takers that want to get into the elite range). However, I am unsure of how exactly to go about this. I purchased the RC, LG, and LR books and am reading them one at a time pretty quickly, but not TOO fast. I think I can go through them faster since I'm very familiar with the sections (done about 30 PTs and read all the PS Bibles). I plan on going in order of difficulty. My worst section is RC, so I would do that first, then LG, then LR, with a few PTs every week to track my progress. Is this a good strategy? or should I mix it up? how much should I drill questions types vs doing timed tests? I'd like to do whats most efficient/effective. Thanks in advance!

[Shakawkaw]

I took the October LSAT a few weeks ago and was scoring in the 167-169 range, but would like to retake in order to break into the 170s. I have only used the Powerscore Bibles but switched to ManhattanPrep to go even further (the consensus on here seems to be that the MP books is better for higher scoring test takers that want to get into the elite range). However, I am unsure of how exactly to go about this. I purchased the RC, LG, and LR books and am reading them one at a time pretty quickly, but not TOO fast. I think I can go through them faster since I'm very familiar with the sections (done about 30 PTs and read all the PS Bibles). I plan on going in order of difficulty. My worst section is RC, so I would do that first, then LG, then LR, with a few PTs every week to track my progress. Is this a good strategy? or should I mix it up? how much should I drill questions types vs doing timed tests? I'd like to do whats most efficient/effective. Thanks in advance!

It depends. When you did your breakdown of your exam, did you find that you were getting questions wrong sporadically (i.e.: question type wasn't an issue), by difficulty, or by type? Did you run out of time? How did you study with the initial take?

I think the most promising method is to read through the MP books, drilling by question type as you go along. I wouldn't focus on, say, doing LR exclusively or any other section for weeks on end. Mixing it up is good for two reasons: (1) It keeps the skills and materials fresh because you're doing all of them vs. putting one type aside for a while. (2) The skills and strategies that you improve on for one type/section can be cross applied to another.

If timing wasn't an issue your first go around, I would focus on getting the strategies down first, untimed. Then fold timing in via timed sections and PTests.

HTH.

[Blueprint Mithun]

I took the October LSAT a few weeks ago and was scoring in the 167-169 range, but would like to retake in order to break into the 170s. I have only used the Powerscore Bibles but switched to ManhattanPrep to go even further (the consensus on here seems to be that the MP books is better for higher scoring test takers that want to get into the elite range). However, I am unsure of how exactly to go about this. I purchased the RC, LG, and LR books and am reading them one at a time pretty quickly, but not TOO fast. I think I can go through them faster since I'm very familiar with the sections (done about 30 PTs and read all the PS Bibles). I plan on going in order of difficulty. My worst section is RC, so I would do that first, then LG, then LR, with a few PTs every week to track my progress. Is this a good strategy? or should I mix it up? how much should I drill questions types vs doing timed tests? I'd like to do whats most efficient/effective. Thanks in advance!

Everything Shakawkaw said is great advice. It's a bit difficult to tell you the most efficient way to study, since that depends entirely on you and your specific weaknesses. Re-reading prep books is a great way to refresh and get back into prepping, but since you're already scoring so highly, most of the information will be redundant. You might find a few key tips here and there, so I think you should stick to it, but don't shirk doing actual questions. Definitely mix it up. Maybe focus on a different section each day. Plan out which q.types you want to drill and schedule that. Focus on the ones that you struggle with. You don't need to drill a ton of questions if you get that type correct 95% of the time. Just do a few challenging ones instead.