- Joined
- Aug 2025
- Subscription
- Core
Admissions profile
Discussions
Thank you Kevin, this is really helpful! I just want to make sure I’m understanding you correctly.
Before starting timed practice, I had already drilled each LR question type through Levels 1–4 and generally moved on once I was around 80%+ accuracy. My tutor then suggested starting with 10 questions in 11 minutes before moving to full timed sections.
Level 1 went fine, and Level 2 was initially manageable, but my performance actually started getting worse the more timed Level 2 drills I did. I’ve now done close to 160 Level 2 questions this way, so I’m also worried about burning through too many questions without improving.
My understanding is that I should stop using the 10-questions-in-11-minutes benchmark for now, go back to untimed mixed LR drills for accuracy and reasoning, and separately do full 35-minute sections with the clock hidden and just get as far as I can. Is that right? For the untimed mixed drills, would you recommend working through Levels 2–5? Thanks again for your help!
Hi all, I’m an international student and recently started doing timed LR drills, beginning with 10 questions in 11 minutes, and I’m having a really difficult time adjusting.
When I work untimed, I can usually understand the stimulus clearly and get almost all of the questions right. But once I turn on the timer, it feels like my reading comprehension suddenly gets much worse. Sometimes I have to reread the stimulus because I don’t fully process it the first time. Even when I do understand the stimulus, I often feel like I lose my ability to prephrase or use POE effectively. Answer choices that I would normally eliminate pretty easily suddenly all look plausible to me.
Because my performance drops so much under time pressure, I’ve also started getting anxious as soon as I begin a timed drill. Sometimes I want to quit the drill halfway through, and lately I’ve been feeling extremely mentally exhausted. I’ve even reached the point where seeing LSAT material can make me feel physically nauseous.
I tried taking breaks, but I also noticed that after taking several days off, I felt even rustier when I came back, so I’m not sure that simply taking more time off is the answer.
Has anyone experienced something similar when first transitioning from untimed work to timed drills? Is this a normal part of building speed, or does it suggest that I should go back and strengthen my fundamentals before continuing with timed practice? I’d especially appreciate advice on how to maintain stimulus comprehension, prephrasing, and POE under time pressure!
Thank you Kevin, this clears things up a lot!! I’ll adjust my practice plan accordingly. Thanks again for your help!