LR - Where to go from here?

amedley88

Hey 7sagers! I am wondering if anyone can provide me with some advice on where to go from here in LR...

LR might be my worst section and I am having so much difficulty improving. It's not that a particular type of question gets me (in fact I tend to actually be better at the more technical lawgic based types like flawed parallel method of reasoning), it just seems that I am getting the majority of the answers wrong from questions 15-22 across every section. Often times I will misunderstand the stimulus or I will understand what the stimulus is implying and what to pick in the answer choice but will get confused about the wording in the answer choices and end up picking the wrong one. Note: English is my first language, I read extensively and have an MA degree and wrote a thesis paper. Is there any way to improve, or is it simply a matter of doing a ton of LR questions?

I have gone through the CC once and paid close attention to every different type of LR question while taking extensive notes, but it was a couple of months ago. Would a refresher be useful? I also have every LSAT from PT 1-75 and the accompanying Kaplan Explanations, so I began doing sections from early PTs untimed while taking notes on my computer to map out my reasoning, but am not seeing results, although it is still early (I have only done about three sections).

Any recommendations on where to go from here? Everyone provided me with amazing LG advice and I have been doing very well in that section so thank you to anyone who is reading this who helped me in that area, it feels great and I can confirm that the fool proof method is sound.

I will also be joining in the online study group for PT 70 this Saturday!

Thanks!

tanes256

@amedley88 Hello! I think you should drill by question type until you figure out what you're missing. While you're drilling return to the curriculum as often as necessry. If you're missing questions after #15 it sounds like you need to go deeper into the question type. Maybe there's something subtle that you should be looking for that you're missing. The curve breaker questions will turn up a notch and really test you. It sounds like you're doing well on the 1-2 level questions but need more practice to tackle the more difficult questions. Hopefully a sage or a mentor will come along soon and give you more specific advise. Side note: Where did you get the Kaplan explanations? I've found some via Google but there are certain ones I'm not able to find and I was wondering if there's somewhere I can obtain them all? TIA

Alex

Yeah, sounds like a refresher may do you some good. That and like @tanes256 said above me, drilling problem sets by type. Often students will say that it isn't one type of question that they are consistently missing, however, it may be that there is a common thread between those questions that you are missing. Perhaps they are using harder "lawgic" or require you to have a better understanding of a concept like valid and invalid argument forms. It could be many things. Also the questions in the range you're missing are also sometimes the harder questions, so make sure you give yourself a skipping strategy. Skipping question is the difference between many going -5 and -2. Wasting time only to get a question wrong is probably the worst LSAT mistake one can make. Aside from not using 7Sage

If you find you are having any particular trouble with certain concepts of question types, feel free to PM me.

Good luck

Colin1485

Learning to skip time sinker questions is the best skill you can work on in LR - focus on your strengths, like assumption questions or main point. Time sinker questions suck your time and mental focus. Don't forget to play the percentages at the end of the LR section if you run out of time - (23.5% chance of answer being E on the last 5 questions of LR). Probability of D on the other questions - 21.3% chance on LR (non-final 5 questions) - Typically 4 of the hardest questions on the section have the answer of A. Guessing strategy aside, Work on drilling; learning lawgic, Speed reading, labeling the conclusion/premise ect. 7sage helps a lot. Working with a timer. Take a ton of pretests and learn from your mistakes.

Good luck!

poohbear

Totally get where you're coming from--no matter where you are in prep, I think we can always benefit from revisiting core concepts (I don't think anyone can lose from this). I've found Mike Kim's LSAT Trainer to be a great supplement to 7Sage and it's really help me feel more confident about my LR. I second what everyone else has been saying in terms of drilling and lots of reviewing (looking at your analytics, your timing) and making sure you're employing the right strategies like skipping.

poohbear

@tanes256 said:
Where did you get the Kaplan explanations? I've found some via Google but there are certain ones I'm not able to find and I was wondering if there's somewhere I can obtain them all? TIA

Not sure if you're asking for a place with all the LSAT explanations-- your 7Sage course should come with a lot of the explanations, or you can post any questions you might have on the forums and Manhattan LSAT forums (https://www.manhattanprep.com/lsat/forums/) should also have all of the explanations as well

smseraj3

@Colin1485

where did you get those numbers from??

extramedium

@Colin1485 said:
Learning to skip time sinker questions is the best skill you can work on in LR - focus on your strengths, like assumption questions or main point. Time sinker questions suck your time and mental focus. Don't forget to play the percentages at the end of the LR section if you run out of time - (23.5% chance of answer being E on the last 5 questions of LR). Probability of D on the other questions - 21.3% chance on LR (non-final 5 questions) - Typically 4 of the hardest questions on the section have the answer of A. Guessing strategy aside, Work on drilling; learning lawgic, Speed reading, labeling the conclusion/premise ect. 7sage helps a lot. Working with a timer. Take a ton of pretests and learn from your mistakes.

Good luck!

This. Knowing when to skip or choose an answer and move on. The webinar on this is very good.

Sounds like you're having trouble with timing like me. I get nervous around 15 if I'm running low on time, so I'm trying to finish the first half faster so I can have more time for the later questions and still have extra time to come back to hard questions. This has been a long process, but exposure therapy and just doing drills and knowing when to skip has been pretty helpful.

Colin1485

@Colin1485
where did you get those numbers?

powerscore's lsat guessing strategy - in the books and online.

http://www.powerscore.com/lsat/help/guessing.cfm

Not advocating guessing by any means but there are statistics out there suggesting not to randomly guess if you are in a shortage of time and can't complete the section. If you prepped properly, you should be okay.

amedley88

Hi all, this is great advice! I have never wanted to prioritize skipping but I realize that in the sections where I have gotten my highest scores, I have skipped questions and gone back at the end. I will continue to employ this strategy while drilling by question type. Thank you @"Alex Divine" @Colin1485 @extramedium @tanes256... I will update, and I may message you @"Alex Divine" if I have any more questions if that's alright with you

Alex

@amedley88 said:
Hi all, this is great advice! I have never wanted to prioritize skipping but I realize that in the sections where I have gotten my highest scores, I have skipped questions and gone back at the end. I will continue to employ this strategy while drilling by question type. Thank you @"Alex Divine" @Colin1485 @extramedium @tanes256... I will update, and I may message you @"Alex Divine" if I have any more questions if that's alright with you

Of course -- I usually respond as soon as possible, so don't hesitate. I'll help in any way I can

amedley88

So I am still having difficulties with LR and am going to have to go back to the CC videos and do all the drills for lawgic practice, argument forms, argumentative flaws etc. combined with my LG almost daily fool proofing of PTs 1-40, which is going well (I'm on PT 23 at this point). I'm kind of unsure of how to manage my time right now. I feel like I really have to go back and get better at LR and only then can I move on to RC, while still practicing the other two, and developing a solid strategy for that section. Once I am solid in all three I want to start practice testing. I had planned to write the test in June after I moved the February one, but am afraid I am going to have to move it to September. I want to do the BR groups and most recent PTs before going into the test and hit my average score. This whole year up until this point has felt like a waste, I feel like I spent the entire time basically on LG and am still not perfect at it.