Self-study
This is more of a journal entry for myself as I get closer to test day. Hopefully someone can use some of these!
LG - My worst modality. I wish that I had listened to people from the beginning and just drilled it over and over again. I am really coming to appreciate that mastery simply takes time. If you're new, watch the LG core videos, and then just use the dill auto builder to focus on your worst game types. That's what I am doing now, but I am concerned I started a little too late. I know that my worst games are group-types and Misc. (obviously). So I have been doing 5-10 games a day, with at least one timed section. It's definitely helping.
I listen to the Thinking LSAT Podcast when I'm waiting for new episodes of the 7Sage podcast to come out (prioritize 7Sage's podcast- it's much more practical). One of those dudes said that when he does a LG section, he simply takes it one game at a time- he doesn't watch the clock, he doesn't worry about the next game, he doesn't think about a game that he skipped (if he skipped), he simply gets one perfect game, followed by a second perfect game, followed by a third perfect game, and if time allows, he does a fourth perfect game. It sounds a little silly, but I noticed that my biggest LG score shaker is my perception of time. Not time itself, mind you, but how I feel more and more anxious as the clock is ticking down, knowing that I likely have a harder game up next. I stop focusing, which kills my ability to do the basics- understand each rule, choose an appropriate board, split prudently, don't lose track of rules throughout the game. When I take timed drills outside of PTs, I am relaxed and smooth. I get somewhere between -2 to -4, which is acceptable to me based on my goals. But during PTs, I'll see -5+ consistently. That's the equivalent of almost an entire game. If I had taken 33 minutes to do 3 games, and then guessed on the last, I would probably do better. But I leave points on the table throughout the entire section.
The takeaway is this: do one game at a time. When you do a game, that is it. Think about nothing else. Don't think about how this simple sequencing game should take you less time. Just think about the sequencing game. And then spend more time drilling those games that are slowing you down or causing you to miss points.
LR - In one of the 7Sage podcast videos, Henry says that if you want to get better at RC, do LR. In my experience, I would agree. You're strengthening your reading comprehension and critical thinking ability, one bite-sized chunk at a time. The core videos are again very helpful, but what I noticed is that after doing a few of the full courses for the various question types, you start to feel way more comfortable with all of the types. Spend the time to watch those videos and do the accompanying drills, and you'll see increasing returns with every question type you study.
RC - I have always been pretty good at RC. I think I got a -4 on my first diagnostic, and I will regularly see -1. I don't have as much advice to give, because I feel like I haven't really improved much beyond understanding what the LSAT is looking for. I would suggest being able to paraphrase every paragraph to yourself before moving on. If you can't do that, I wouldn't move on.
General wisdom - There was a period of about 3 weeks that I was trying to get in 4+ hours of studying a day in, plus work, plus the gym. Although I was allotting myself time to review PTs, I simply wasn't allowing my brain the time to heal and absorb new concepts. I was taking a PT every 2 days- test, review the next, test again, etc. That pattern was not conducive to my learning. I have backed it off to 1-2 PTs a week, and spending the rest of that time on focused drills.
Thank you for reading my stream-of-consciousness post.
