Blind review for practice tests?

vignesh.krishnaswamy

I am taking my first practice test soon. Should I do the circling for unsure answers that is discussed in the blind review method? I am basically confused if this method is for practice tests or just individual sections.

tanes256

@vignesh.krishnaswamy yes, you should. You should BR from here on out. This is where you'll see your gains. BR will help you see what you do and don't know and what you should be focusing on. It'll help reveal your weaknesses so that you can then return to the curriculum and drill. Have you started any curriculum? You mentioned first PT but is this the first PT after finishing a curriculum, or just your first LSAT PT to get your diagnostic score? Either way, I still think you should BR.

JustDoIt

I agree with @tanes256.

I would also add that be really hard on yourself when it comes to BR. If you don't understand something, dig deeper to try to figure it out. Once you feel that you have dug as deep as you can, go one level further. There is so much that you can learn from your BR process and by taking a ton of time to thoroughly understand each question, you are preparing yourself for similar questions that you will get down the line.

In short, BR everything hard and spend a lot of time doing so. You will learn a lot!

jknauf

Last night in the instructor chat with Jonathan, he made a really strong point which I absolutely agree with. If you are blind reviewing an entire test, and it only takes you 1 hour, you are doing it wrong. Jonathan said he has spent up to 6 hours BRing one test. Keep that in mind!

tanes256

@jknauf said:
Last night in the instructor chat with Jonathan, he made a really strong point which absolutely agree with. If you are blind reviewing an entire test, and it only takes you 1 hour, you are doing it wrong. Jonathan said he has spent up to 6 hours BRing one test. Keep that in mind!

Yep! I have spent a week BR a PT before. It takes as long as it takes!

jknauf

@JustDoIt said:
I agree with @tanes256.

Once you feel that you have dug as deep as you can, go one level further. There is so much that you can learn from your BR process and by taking a ton of time to thoroughly understand each question

In short, BR everything hard and spend a lot of time doing so. You will learn a lot!

Yup! and to kind of add on to this; really try and grasp the underlying logic. It's not ok to just scratch the surface.

For example lets say we have a weaken question and the stimulus is;

The only way to get into Harvard is with a high LSAT score and high GPA. Therefore, since Peter got into Harvard, he must have a high LSAT score and high GPA.

Which of the following most strongly undermines the arguments conclusion?

A) Christopher does not have a strong GPA or Strong LSAT score, but he was accepted into Harvard because he has a Nobel prize. - This weakens our argument. As such, it is a correct answer choice.

• Why does this weaken our conclusion?

(Scratching the surface explanation) 'there must be other ways to get into Harvard, since our friend Christopher was accepted without a strong LSAT and GPA. This therefore weakens the argument.

(Next level explanation) 'We are weakening a conditional conclusion by attacking the necessary condition. We are showing that the necessary condition doesn't need to occur in order for the sufficient condition to occur'.

Really strive for that 'Next Level Understanding' which comes from the underlying components of logic.