For Logic Games alone I was averaging -13 per section when I first started studying. This was pretty demoralizing - I never thought I would be able to shore up my score to break the 170 mark.

I am not being paid to say this, but the 7Sage Blind Review/Foolproofing method really works. I spent nearly a month doing nothing but trying logic games, watching J.Y.'s videos, and doing the games again. I have now achieved perfect LG scores on a few of my PT's.

So, big gains are possible but I don't think there's any way around the hard work it will take to get there. Good luck!

First, I would suggest re-framing the 'feeling like a failure'. I struggle with this too, but the reality is that the LSAT is just a test, and a test cannot measure your worth or potential for success as a human being. Some people are better at the LSAT than others - that's OK! I think comparing yourself to others can lead to a negative thought spiral that will drain your mental energy, mental energy that would be better spent working on the test. If your goal is to be a lawyer - you can achieve that with a 160 score!

As far as specific advice for LR - my #1 tip is to work on identifying the conclusion for every type of question. Even if the question isn't asking for the conclusion, knowing what the stimulus is trying to say will really help answer basically all types of questions. To do this, I practiced reading lots of question stimuli and writing down the conclusion. I did rounds of problem sets based on 'spot the conclusion' LR questions so I could check my work. Now I almost instinctually identify the conclusion on any LR stimulus, which then puts me in a better place to attack the question itself. This goes for RC too.

I actually skip the Parallel Reasoning/Parallel Flaw questions and come back to them if I have time. They can be wordy and huge time sinks, and I never want my time on these questions to cause me to have to rush through the end of the section. Remember that you don't have to get every single question right in order to get a 180 - so to me it's worth it to sacrifice a question or two if needed.

Unfortunately, I don't think there's any easy answers for perfecting LG other than fool-proofing and drilling. At the beginning of my studies, I was averaging -10 on timed LG sections. I took almost a month to drill nothing but logic games. At first I didn't focus on time, only accuracy and improving my skill. Now averaging -2 or -1. The speed will come with practice. It is really like learning a new language.

@ said:

Kmullkins, are these your scores on the same practice test or a variety of practice tests?

Different practice test every time.

Individual Prep Tests are a noisy indicator - scores can fluctuate a lot. I wouldn't worry too much about a single drop.

I chart my PT's and insert a trend line, so I can see if I'm trending up/down/flat. I think that's a better way to track progress!

Your paraphrase is wrong. The rule doesn't state "If there is an technology or finance feature it must go in slot 1". Rather, it means if there is ANY technology or finance feature, there must be a technology or finance feature in slot 1.

So you could have two finance and one technology feature. As long as one of those is in slot 1, then the rule is satisfied.

Yes, I think the consensus is that LSAC made the logic games harder in the past few years. I think this is due to the popularity of new, better study tools. Basically, people were getting too good at the games, so LSAC upped the difficulty.

I'm taking the Jan test too. I've been building problem sets of "Harder" and "Hardest" games and trying to complete those in the 35 minute time, just to help prepare me for anything LSAC throws at us on test day.

At risk of sounding a little woo-woo, I think being ill hurts cognitive performance more than people think. COVID or otherwise, when you're sick, your body is working really hard to fight off the illness. Lots of energy is being directed at keeping you physically healthy, and the LSAT is so mentally taxing that even a little drop in mental stamina can really hurt your score. If it were me, I would take a few days off (or maybe just a couple timed sections per day) and really focus on getting better before test day. Don't underestimate the power of sleep. Good luck and feel better!

Individual PT scores are kind of a noisy indicator, especially if you're taking a lot of them. To prevent this panic at a drop in score, I chart my PT scores and insert a trend line. So, even if my scores are fluctuating, I can tell if they're trending up/down/flat. Here's my list so far, so you can see that big dips (up to 10 points!) do happen, but I really worked to reduce that by identifying and drilling my weaknesses rather than just madly redoing PTs. Good luck!

167 169 168 170 172 169 172 178 169 168 177 173 172 177 178 175 173 178