Test Timing and Study Plan Struggles

danielleschmalz7

Hey guys,
I have finished the curriculum and I'm planning on taking the June LSAT. I feel kind of stuck about where to go from here. Should I take practice tests and blind review? Or should I work on timing with some sort of drill? I'm super slow at answering test questions and I'm not sure what the best way to get faster is. I have only taken 2 practice tests so far. I feel a little overwhelmed and I just want to make sure I'm making the best use of my studying time. Any suggestions are welcome! Thanks!
~Danielle

theLSATdreamer

im coming up to same situation, im finishing my basics soon, even saved up to buy more test reviews, my goal is 2-3 a week they say 40 is the magic number so hopefully one sat review sun, one mon revie tue one thur review fri will do it. but one thing i always been told is always take them timed and proctored, good luck i'll keep checkin this discussion for advises its a good question

danielznelson

Check out @"Cant Get Right"'s webinar if it's up already. It may not be, but I imagine it will be soon if it's not.

Heart Shaped Box

I haven't officially started PTing yet so I'm not in a position to give concrete advise. But it seems the general consensus from those sages for ppl like us who just finished CC is that no more than 2 PTs a week at the beginning. (1 per week suggested, yes, timed/proctored) To quote David Account Payable "you just don't need to know your score 3 times a week" and I find there is much wisdom in this statement, especially at the beginning. I believe the quality of BR way outweights the number of PTs. (take it from a guy who took a year building up fundamentals ) and I'm not alone, Danielznelzon is a much better inspiration in this. And definitely check out Can't get right's 3-stage study plan, it's a really good guidance, will save you a lot of time. Best of luck!

Cant Get Right

Hey Danielle, leaving the curriculum to start the PT phase is definitely a bit overwhelming. Right now, you're effectively in an extended phase of the curriculum with occasional PTs. Think of the PT's as a way to direct your studies, not as a way to evaluate your progress. So right out of the curriculum, here's how you start:

1. Take PT 36
2. BR it carefully, writing out your reasoning including: logical and grammatical breakdown of stimulus, logical and grammatical breakdown of each answer choices when appropriate, and detailed explanation of each answer choice and why it is either right or wrong.
3. Enter in your timed and BR answers into 7Sage Analytics and score.
4. Analyze your results. For every question you missed on either timed PT or BR, write out an explanation of why you missed it. If you missed it under time but got it right in BR, how could you have gotten it right under time? If it was a confidence error or if you missed it in BR, what fundamental did you misunderstand?
5. Read through this analysis when you're done and use it to develop a study plan.
6. Use that study plan and study! Return to the curriculum, drill, work problem sets, fool proof games, etc. Whatever your PT dictates you do, do it.
7. When you feel like you've constructively addressed all of these issues, take another PT and repeat the cycle.

Good luck! As mentioned above, I have a webinar that addresses this exact question in extensive detail. I will be doing it again soon, so keep an eye out for that and I hope you can attend!