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Doing first BR, I've taken the June 2007 test.. should I do another?
sbc.mom_3x
Alum Member
I took this test 4 years ago when I first started my journey. I've failed it miserably and am now here and taking it extremely seriously! I am just starting on the CC and at the point where I just finished learning about BR (amazing) and tomorrow I'll do the next step- take a diagnostic, and then BR.. which happens to be the 07 test. Should I incorporate another PT test for this part of the CC? Will it throw me off any, or still be following the same CC? I notice the first test is PT 36 at the end of the CC, should I just use that one? I do have 10 fresh tests from one of the "real" LSAT actual books.. I could pull one from? What do you guys think? Or, take that 07 test? It's been sooooo long. I scored a 142 on it when I took it. Then trashed it. :-p
Comments
IMO if it's been 4 years and you don't remember specific things from the test, then I would say go ahead and use June 07. I personally didn't put too much weight on my diagnostic.
Alternatively, if you think the prospect of recognizing questions/aspects of the test from when you took it might affect your test performance, then I would think it's fine to just substitute a different test. You can always use June 07 later on for drills or experimental sections.
I'm not really sure what you'll get out of a diagnostic if you've already taken the test. I may even suggest skipping it all together, unless you want to take it, in which case I say just use a fresh test you haven't seen before.
So skip that part of the CC entirely and move on to the next section since I know my diagnostic score from recent PTs? I guess my thought was that it would be my first time BRing too.
@dytmom_3x
This is my suggestion too. I don't see much value is diagnostics at that stage of the prep. I especially see no value in using another test besides june '07 and burning a fresh take.
That diagnostic will only show you what you already know from your previous experience: that you have a lot of work to do. Your time is better spent studying the cc and learning how to approach question types. You can practice BR within the practice sets throughout the cc.
So when will I get to do my first BR? Is it not imperative to do it at the beginning stage of the CC? Just brings me to question why is it there in that part of the CC?
BR is simply reviewing your work in untimed conditions. You can do it throughout the cc with each question you face and many do so by typing of question analyses which you can find in the comments.
I don't know if you golf, but when you are learning, you learn on the range before going out to play on the course. That's apt here. Sure you can take a test, but how can you even BR it properly if you haven't studied logic sufficiently or learned how to approach question types? I disagree with the placement of that diagnostic and feel it belongs at the end of the cc. The cc provides tools necessary for br. Many people don't even start taking PTs after the cc and begin fool proofing games or simply taking timed sections of LR/RC. That's because they're trying to improve on individual sections before putting it together on a full pt.
Thanks Jkatz, I appreciate that perspective. (Gosh I love these boards).
I don't particularly think it's a worthwhile endeavor for you at this point. However, I'm curious to know when was the last time you sat down and took an LSAT timed?
If it's been so long that you don't remember the test/question types, then perhaps it wouldn't be a bad idea to take a diagnostic. Not only could it help you establish a new baseline, but it's also equally important to get a good reminder of the test, its challenges, and what you need to focus on while you prep. I think it's helpful to go into studying with specific questions and things to focus on. Again, if you more or less remember the question types, know you need work with, say, assumption questions and conditional logic, then you may be fine just jumping right in. Just something to consider... Sometimes people forget there's a lot more utility to diagnostics rather than to just generate a score.
My recommendation would be to sit down with the 2007 test, and work through it at a comfortable speed. Instead of working through under test conditions, just BR right away, do your best on every question without a time restriction. This way you can get a sense of what the BR process feels like.
i just don't see the point in a diagnostic at that point in the cc. even if it is to id problem areas, would that change how we would go through the cc? one should still go through the cc sequentially and spend more time on chapters that are difficult in my opinion. And can we really say that taking 1 pt accurately points to problem areas? I don't think we can; especially since timing is probably still an issue at that point so we can't actually say that just because we missed a question it is a problem area. And learning that timing is an issue isn't really helpful during the cc either.
learning to br is essential but doing it at the start of the cc seems like putting the horse before the cart.
it makes far more sense to simply get to work in the cc and take the diagnostic at the end.
There's an interesting compromise!
I just think if it's been a while since OP sat down to take a full PT (say it was literally 4 years ago) I think it's important to take a diagnostic just so that you can remember/get an accurate sense of what the test is like, and so that you can start to develop a sense of which areas you know you need to pay more attention to.
yea i am just wrapped up in my own rant lol no harm done by taking june '07. definitely wouldn't burn a fresh one though.
Ok guys, thanks SO much. I went ahead and took it timed this morning, then BR this afternoon. Without shame I'll share, and please tell me, can I improve, since I'm still early in the curriculum? My actual score was 142, and the BR was a 148. That's not as much of a jump as I was hoping to see. And the BR I felt so confident with the answers. Clearly I have a lot of learning to do. But my first go-round with this experience I had a full-time job, now I'm not working, I was also still finishing undergrad, now I'm done with undergrad, I have so much time to dedicate to studying and I am going at this full throttle. I still am I single mother to three kids, but minus the school minus the work, I've got a lot of free time now to do this. I am dedicated to this and I'm determined to improve.
@dytmom_3x
I started at 148 and am now averaging 166. This forum is filled with people like me. You can improve! Don't put much stock in that score. Like I said, you just golfed 18 holes without learning to drive, putt, hit from the sand, etc. Just jump into the cc. Ask questions and post question analyses.
What was your score breakdown by section?
You definitely can improve. I don't think it is really even clear how much of a struggle improving will or won't be yet. Once you do the core curriculum, you'll want to take another PT to see where you are. There could be a big jump between now or then or in your next couple PTs after that one.
After that it is usually a long slow grind to improve more. It's still worth it, but at that point you know your score won't be abruptly increasing, but rather will gradually increase as you work on drilling, foolproofing, and improving past your weaknesses one at a time.
While and immediately after doing the CC your score might jump up fairly quickly because you will learn how to do all the parts including those which will come fairly naturally to you and eventually will be your strengths.
So my sectional scores are as follows:
LG 8/23
LR 12/25
LR 12/25
RC 12/27
I need to improve on everything !
Should I review these questions and watch the video explanations or just continue onto the CC? What do you guys think? Seriously I appreciate all of your feedback so far.
One interesting way to review that test would be to review each question as you reach it's type in the CC. Or you could just set it aside and take it again when you finish the cc (usually a few months for most); retakes are useful especially since you should do much better on them so any questions you get wrong again are major red flags.
Cheers to you for getting back into the swing of things, btw.