Self-paced
Hey everyone! I have had a wild ride in studying for the LSAT... After my 4th attempt, I decided to start over completely with 7 Sage, thanks to my friends' advice!
I'm definitely improving on my accuracy and timing, but I think I can do even better! I have started a wrong answer journal in a little red notebook, with each page explaining why I chose the wrong answer, what's wrong about that answer, why the right answer is right, and why I missed the right answer. I want to do better at understanding the patterns in my wrong answers, so I can address them.
However, the way I'm currently doing it, identifying patterns is not happening. Does anyone have a method that works really well for them, or maybe even an app that's worth it? Any advice or suggestions on formatting wrong answer journals would be very helpful! Happy studying!
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Hey! I don't know if this will work for you, but I created a google sheet/excel file that has helped me a TON when doing a wrong answer journal. On the first tab in an excel sheet, I have it titled "Study Journal" and another tab called "Why I missed it". Under the "Study Journal" tab, I have 5 columns, the titles of the columns are "Date" "What did I do" (so like which PT or section you did) "How did I do?" (input the score), "what did I learn? (self-explanatory but good to keep track, so saying something like "my concentration was not all there, definitely have and done better on previous PTs, or note that there was a lot of a certain question type that you missed etc), and "What should I do next" (here I usually write down the question type that I found I missed the most (i.e. parallel flaw or principle questions, and note that I should practice those question types before taking my next PT) . Then on the other tab at the bottom of the file, "Why I missed it" I have 6 columns: "Prep test #" "Section #" "Question #" "Section Type" (I created a drop down saying 'LR' or 'RC' so I can just select whichever section applies to the one I am reviewing), "Question Type" (again, another drop down where I list all the types of LR and RC question types...ex: strengthen, weaken, flaw, parallel reasoning, global, detail, etc., so it makes it easier on you when reviewing). I have "Wrong Answer Type" (this is where I put the type of wrong answer I chose). For example, if I'm reviewing and the answer I chose was a 180 or a distortion, I can easily select it instead of typing it in. Finally, I have a column "Why I missed it." In this column, I write down what my process was and how I came to select the wrong answer so for example "Application of the principle left something out of the stated principle, and so I should have seen that and noticed the correct answer would have provided that missing link."
I don't want to put words in your mouth, but it seems like you are the type of person who likes to write things out pen and paper and it helps you, and I used to be the exact same way (and still kind of am). However, since LSAT is on a computer now, I have had to transition reviewing the PTs or sections online, and it's actually very helpful. I have been able to notice a pattern in some of the wrong answer types over time. For example, I can tell that a lot of the times my answers I chose that are incorrect tend to be extreme/out of scope, or I can tell in the danger zone (approx questions 13-22), sometimes I lose focus and misread the stimulus and that's a defining factor in why I answered the question wrong).
The grammar in this post is horrible, so I apologize, (it's the end of a workday), but I hope this helps! It certainly is nice seeing a pattern in your incorrect answers and I hope it helps you as well!! Best of luck.
@Lawlover1234 Hey! Thank you so much for your thoughtful response and for sharing your process! Your intuition was correct, and you make a good case for using sheets. I think I'm actually going to take your advice and build a similar system because my little red notebook is doing nothing for me.
Thank you! (And no worries, it's the end of my work day too, so I get it). Best of luck to you too! I wish you a 180!