logical reasoning help Forum

[blitzons]

logical reasoning is the section i need the most help in (I'm usually 0/-2 in LG and 0/-5 in RC), I took the feb lsat and plan to retake in June or Sept (depending if I can get better in LR)

I have Manhatten Prep LR
and Powerscore Bible LR
as well as two books of official preptests

I really want to spend the month of March focusing on LR and killing it . Can anyone give me advice on how you improved your LR score?

[nerdylsat]

You have to analyse why you're doing badly in LR in order to fix it.

I noticed I wasn't finishing my sections because I wasn't reading at a proper speed with sufficient comprehension of the text, so I rushed and got questions wrong.

I started to read books apart from my LSAT training, focusing on sustaining my reading for large amounts of time and with decent reading speed and comprehension while not subvocalising and it has really helped.

If you're having trouble with a specific type of questions, you can also get the Cambridge packets and drill them.

[theconsigliere]

A lot of people have trouble with one (or more) particular type of question. So maybe you struggle with "weakens" questions or with "assumption" questions. Definitely record which types of questions you're getting wrong when you practice because there's a decent chance you'll find a pattern.

The pattern might be that you struggle with a particular type of question; or maybe you get a lot of "except" questions wrong (these aren't really a 'type' of question b/c any type of question (strengthens, weakens, assumption, etc.) can be made into an "except" question); or maybe you frequently answer incorrectly some questions at the beginning of the section (due to nerves?) or at the end of the section (due to fatigue?).

If you're really struggling with LR then there's a root cause for your struggles. You're not just getting a bunch of random questions wrong with no pattern or link between these questions. Analyze the questions you get wrong, find the link, and spend more time practicing whatever it is that connects those questions

[Good Guy Gaud]

I think my logical reasoning scores went up when I started writing out paragraph explanations for why each wrong answer was wrong and why the correct answer was correct

It really seem to help me dial down on the nuances of the questions and I also think it helped me recognize analogous questions On future exams


Eta: I only did this for the questions that I did not receive credit for

[Mikey]

Is there a certain question type that you keep getting wrong? Or are you just overall not doing well in the section?

[blitzons]

Sorry for the late response. I will be honest I am bombing the entire logical reasoning section, I routinely miss 50%, through blind review I notice I do scratch out about 3 wrong answers but then when it comes between the last 2 answers I usually fall for the wrong one. Logical Reasoning is the one section that is holding me back from a great score, I score really well in LG/RC so being so bad at LR consistently is super disheartening.

[railyard]

Sorry for the late response. I will be honest I am bombing the entire logical reasoning section, I routinely miss 50%, through blind review I notice I do scratch out about 3 wrong answers but then when it comes between the last 2 answers I usually fall for the wrong one. Logical Reasoning is the one section that is holding me back from a great score, I score really well in LG/RC so being so bad at LR consistently is super disheartening.

Did you just finish reading a LR prep book and jumping into doing full sections with all the problems? If so, I would strongly discourage that. I did that for a few PTs because like everyone else you just want to see results fast. Drill each individual question type from PT 7 to some PT # you feel comfortable with. Someone on another thread mentioned that they took notes on each LR type while reading their respective LR book. I think this has helped me a lot. Drill, drill, drill, that way you will be confident with the LR questions

[blitzons]

Thanks for all the advice. I'm going to take another section tonight to see if there is a pattern in what questions I am getting wrong. I'm also going to try the paragraph thing.

I will try and take notes when going through my LR prep book tonight. I'll update you guys in a week!

[railyard]

Thanks for all the advice. I'm going to take another section tonight to see if there is a pattern in what questions I am getting wrong. I'm also going to try the paragraph thing.

I will try and take notes when going through my LR prep book tonight. I'll update you guys in a week!

Unless you have drilled each type individually, I strongly suggest not taking a full section.

[L0uth]

Sorry for the late response. I will be honest I am bombing the entire logical reasoning section, I routinely miss 50%, through blind review I notice I do scratch out about 3 wrong answers but then when it comes between the last 2 answers I usually fall for the wrong one. Logical Reasoning is the one section that is holding me back from a great score, I score really well in LG/RC so being so bad at LR consistently is super disheartening.

Did you just finish reading a LR prep book and jumping into doing full sections with all the problems? If so, I would strongly discourage that. I did that for a few PTs because like everyone else you just want to see results fast. Drill each individual question type from PT 7 to some PT # you feel comfortable with. Someone on another thread mentioned that they took notes on each LR type while reading their respective LR book. I think this has helped me a lot. Drill, drill, drill, that way you will be confident with the LR questions

In terms of drilling by question type, what is the best approach to obtaining question sets by type? I have all the PTs, but obviously those have entire LR, which won't be nearly as useful.

[railyard]

Sorry for the late response. I will be honest I am bombing the entire logical reasoning section, I routinely miss 50%, through blind review I notice I do scratch out about 3 wrong answers but then when it comes between the last 2 answers I usually fall for the wrong one. Logical Reasoning is the one section that is holding me back from a great score, I score really well in LG/RC so being so bad at LR consistently is super disheartening.

Did you just finish reading a LR prep book and jumping into doing full sections with all the problems? If so, I would strongly discourage that. I did that for a few PTs because like everyone else you just want to see results fast. Drill each individual question type from PT 7 to some PT # you feel comfortable with. Someone on another thread mentioned that they took notes on each LR type while reading their respective LR book. I think this has helped me a lot. Drill, drill, drill, that way you will be confident with the LR questions

In terms of drilling by question type, what is the best approach to obtaining question sets by type? I have all the PTs, but obviously those have entire LR, which won't be nearly as useful.

http://top-law-schools.com/forums/viewt ... 6&t=108425

[L0uth]

http://top-law-schools.com/forums/viewt ... 6&t=108425

Awesome. Thanks!

If I've already gone through Manhattan LR, but am still struggling on LR sections (last PT went -7 in both sections ), would you recommend going through another book like LSAT Trainer? Or just stick to drilling by type and doing a couple type-specific problem sets each week?