Timing problem.. help!

HereisSara

Im freaking out a little... so, I miss way more questions when I do a timed test vs untimed test.

I'll usually miss like 3- 5 questions on a lr section untimed but when I time myself, I will miss like 9 questions on a lr section.

I'll miss about 4-5 questions on rc (my most difficult section), but when timed, i miss like 12 questions or more.

Definitely not good.

Also, on timed tests, i miss more on my second lr section than first...and usually i will start missing a bunch of questions toeards the end of the section. Is this test fatigue?

Has anybody struggled with missing more questions on timed tests and dealing with test fatigue? If so, any tips and advice that might help?

Please and thank you!

Alex

I'd like to start by assuring you that everyone misses more questions timed rather than untimed. So nothing abnormal is going on there, haha. So no need to freak out!!

It's my opinion that when people are missing more than 4 questions on LR while timed, there is significant room left for improvement on the fundamentals. So this would be things like general question strategy, conditional logic translations, valid/invalid argument forms, etc. When we have those skills on lock, I truly believe that this will significantly improve your accuracy under timed conditions. First thing I would do is review those lessons in the CC.

Second, is there any overt pattern to the questions you are missing under timed conditions vs. untimed? I'd be surprised if there wasn't... So see what you can find out from your analytics and by looking back at timed sections you've taken recently.

Lastly, how many timed sections/PTs have you taken? Have you completed the CC? Taking this test timed is a strategy and skill that must be developed on it's own. So it may be that you just need more practice with timed work.

Brazil020511

I have a similar problem especially since I am working on my fundamentals. However, something I use to help me build a "natural pace" is a stopwatch instead of a timer. It helps me create a natural pace. Another helpful thing I find is writing down explanations for difficult LR questions. For you, I would write down explanations for the ones you got wrong after you blind review. All these things build fundamentals which increases speed and accuracy.

Clementine_ES

@HereisSara I have the exact same problem, you are definitely not alone! Speed/Timing is by far my biggest issue. I have covered all my foundational lessons and drills, and I have taken about 6 practice tests. Highest score 161 but BRing into the 170s. My timing has improved some as my accuracy has improved BUT not enough. So I have started to drill full timed sections in LR, LG, and RC. This has helped me to develop skipping strategies and to see which questions suck up the most time. I would recommend doing full timed sections in all areas of the test as it seems to be helping me. I can now finish LR sections in 35 mins everytime, although I'm still always really rushed by the last few questions. RC timing is still a big challenge and usually I can only finish 3 of 4 games with confidence, usually can diagram and finish a couple of questions of the last game in 35 mins. I am open to other suggestions for how to work on increasing speed if people have them!??

akistotle

Of course, everybody misses more questions when timed! I think even J.Y. misses like two questions when the clock is ticking. But there are literally no LSAT questions that J.Y. cannot solve.

@"Alex Divine" said:
It's my opinion that when people are missing more than 4 questions on LR while timed, there is significant room left for improvement on the fundamentals.

Completely agree. I can go -0 on BR, but there is no way I can do the same under the timed conditions. I have to skip certain questions.