How should I improve? Forum

[inevitable510]

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[galeatus]

Withdraw and prepare for December.

Granted, there is a chance that you *might* be able to hit 170+ on test day with what you've got now, but considering it's your 3rd take, would you rather bank on the slim possibilities (yes, the chance of getting a 5 point jump from you untimed PT average on test day is slim), or prepare for 3 months-ish so that you have a much much better chance of hitting that 170? I'd take the latter any day.

[pleasesendhelp]

I was registered for the LSAT in September, later this week, but I am not feeling like I am peaking yet (it's my 3rd attempt, with a 2 year gap since the last exam and so I only want to take it one more time and hit a 170+) - while my accuracy is truly good now (much better than before!!), it's the timing that I need to improve. Any tips? Timed I can probably hit a 165 but untimed (not like all day but maybe 10 mins more per section) is much higher.

DISCLAIMER: I HIGHLY recommend not taking the test this time around. Speed can't be gained without sacrificing accuracy in such a short amount of time. If you're not doing any of this already, don't drop what you're doing and change your whole method. There's not enough time for that. You're gonna stab yourself in the foot. That being said, the decision is yours, so with only 5 days left... here's my advice. I don't know what you're scoring on each so take what's applicable.

For LR you'll come across something like 15~ easy, 5~ medium, 5~ hard difficulty questions right? The questions are not all equal so don't aim for something like 1 min. 24 sec. per question. The easier questions should be done in 10 minutes or less, which gives you 25 minutes for 10 questions. If you come across a medium or hard Q early on, skip it and come back. If you get stuck on one question, not only do you waste time but you end up splitting your focus while answering the following questions. That hard question is gonna linger in your head slowing you down when reading others. You want to hit 170+ so you can't miss more than 3 on LR, meaning you have to answer every single one without guessing to really have a shot. Tip for this is to LOCK DOWN identifying conclusions to the point that it's reflexive. Vocabulary is surprisingly important for LR as SCOPE/RELEVANCE can be obscured with words with similar connotations but different meanings. For example, one question I messed up on was due to my seeing committed and enthusiastic as the same. Someone who is enthusiastic may be committed and vice versa, but they aren't interchangeable.

As you'll see anywhere RC is the hardest to improve on and has the most questions so you can't afford to miss more than 3/4. There's really no quick fix for RC, or any of the sections for that matter, but definitely not RC. There's two large camps for timing, notation or free memory. If you write quickly, notation all the way. This entails scribbling down brief summaries of each paragraph, and by brief I mean 5 words. Voyager has a great strategy laid out for notation http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... f=6&t=7240. I personally opt for something in between. No notes but brackets/underlines under key elements; mainly names, groups, dates, examples, lists, definitions. Though I said it's the hardest to improve on, I also think it's the most straightforward. Excepting 5-6 inference questions, the majority of answers are in the passage as plain as day. Read thoroughly, slowly even, then blaze through the questions.

LG is the most easily improvable in my opinion. 7sage all day. I didn't read anything from anywhere when studying for LG and I score -0 every time on PT's with minutes to spare after starting at -4 or more at the start of my studies. To get 170, hell to get over your 165, you need to be getting all of these right. Speed tips? Don't get stuck on specific forms for diagramming. Flexibility is key. Weird games almost always pop up whether in the real or experimental if you happen to get two LG's, but they're not as weird as they come off to be. Often they're hybrids or slight deviations from basic forms, but the basic forms don't cut it. Do timed LG sections, always, then immediately watch the videos. Watch them before you sleep, let it invade your dreams.

Good luck!

(delay to december if you can)