Self-study
I apologize in advance for the long discussion post. I am sure there are others in my shoes, so I'd like to ask the community for some assistance on my progress thus far and some guidance going forward. My story is that I began studying last summer before my last year of university, but have yet to write an LSAT (Did not sign up for Oct 2013 as planned). I studied hard last summer, but once school began in September I fell off the wagon and dramatically reduced my studying. I have began to study hard again for the June 2014 test and have noticed my progress over the last 2 weeks has slightly improved. I don't know how to properly diagnose myself to determine the best way to improve.
My biggest weakness is LR, I can typically complete a section in 35 minutes (though some sections I cannot) and achieve anywhere between a -6/7 - /12/13. Two things I have noticed looking back at my test and blind reviewing them. First, there does not seem to be ONE particular question type that chokes me up, rather all the question types seem to be in the mix of my wrong answer. So, how do I actually determine which areas I need improvement on most, since it seems to really only be the most difficult questions for all types that choke me up. Second, when I go to check my answers against the correct answer, I have a hard time firmly reviewing because once I see the answer it seems so obvious (i.e: I either make a really dumb mistake a lot, or I fell for the trap).
My second weakest area is RC, I cannot complete a section in the 35 minutes and any hard passages take me over 10 minutes and include me getting completely demolished on the questions. I have noticed a slight increase in my ability to read for reasoning structure, but I cannot figure out a way to increase my ability to answer questions while at the same time learning to reduce my time. I understand that drill drill drill is what needs to happen for this kind of improvement, so my question is how did you drill RC and what exactly did you do that made you see the improvements you desired?
Lastly, my LG is actually pretty good. I can score anywhere between -3/4- -0. BUT the biggest thing for me in this section is my timing. Games that should take me 5 mins end up taking me 8/9 mins. So, any of the more challenging games just completely throw my timing off, allowing me to only finish 3 games in 35 minutes. My question here is how can I improve my time without hurting my accuracy. Any time that I have tried to improve my time I notice I make sloppy mistakes and rush rather than actually trying to think things through (which inevitably takes more time).
Again sorry for the long post, but I am really desperate to properly diagnose my progress. As of right now I don't know what to do. Obviously drilling and practicing is necessary to improve, but I am curious to know what others think and suggest. Also, given my progress so far what should I expect for test date realistically. My last actual fully timed PT was 153, and I have scored around 163/164 but went over the time limit.
Thanks to all who assist me and provide input! I look forward to hearing all of the responses.
