Logic Games Difficulty

saeednaseeba

I have been studying for the LSAT for about 1month and 1 week. I have put in about 100 hours total so far for all the sections, but my logic games section is not improving at all. I have used my time thus far to go through the core curriculum so I have only spent about 20 hours probably all together doing logic games, but I feel very discouraged because everyone says they are the most learnable section and I can't figure out why I am having such difficulty. On my diagnostic I got 9 out of 23 questions in the logic games section, 7 out of 23 sections for the second practice test in the LG section, and 8 out of 23 in the LG section on the third practice test I just took today. Do you have any stories of major improvement on the logic games section or any tips? I plan to take the test on November 17 so I still have 4 months left to improve. I do pretty well on the other sections, but the logic games section significantly brings my score down. How long did it take you to improve your logic games section (if you weren't naturally great at it initially). I know it is going to take time, but I'm just worried. It would be nice to hear that someone improved significantly after struggling initially. Also, should I be taking practice tests every 2ish weeks if I haven't finished the core curriculum yet? Thank you.

Kermit750

Don't get discouraged! I probably had similar scores or lower on LG when I took a diagnostic. It took me almost a year to get a strong grasp on LG (this varies by person), but now I score between -5 to -1. I went through the logic games in the CC at least twice. Then I adopted Pacifico's fool-proofing strategy on PTs 1-35. I realized my weakness was grouping and did a lot of drills on it.

The major thing is to make sure you're not rushing the process, practice a ton and watch JYs explanations on every game you attempt even the ones you get correct. I think you should complete the games in the CC, then fool-proof using Pacifico's method. I believe many would agree that his method works. Your aim in fool proofing is to memorize the inferences within each game since the games are basically just a repetition of some other one.

Pacifico's Strategy-----https://7sage.com/discussion/#/discussion/2737/logic-games-attack-strategy/p1

I would advice against taking any PT until you complete the CC because only then can you fully gauge your weak areas. Instead focus on learning the fundamentals and drilling.

saeednaseeba

Thank you for responding! I appreciate the tips and advice!

samantha.ashley92

Are you fluent in translating into "lawgic"? If not, you need to start there. Are you struggling more with timing or accuracy? Or maybe both?

eRetaker

Hi @saeednaseeba , I never took a diagnostic but I am pretty sure I would've gotten more than half wrong if I did. The way I improved was with the fool-proof method. I spent a month learning the fundamentals etc. then I spent the next 2 months drilling only RC passages and LG from PT 1-40. I was getting consistent perfect sections after that, though my timing was still pretty terrible. I then drilled/fool-proofed PT 41-83, A, B, C, C2, and F97 to really solidify my games section. Entire process took about 5-6 months and now I rarely get -1 on a section. Ended up with -0 LG on June 2018. A final point I want to make is that I think LG is considered the easiest to improve because people start off the worst on LG, thus more room to improve. Also, if people put in the same effort towards fool-proofing RC passages then I think the general consensus would change.

TexAgAaron

@saeednaseeba Hey, so I was in a similar situation. I was completely lost on the games but I'm now about a minus 5-7 consistently and usually BR at about -0 to -1. I'd first make sure your lawgic foundation is down pat. If you can't translate rules properly and accurately, then you will struggle in LG.

I would next fool proof PT's 1-35. There are variety of different ways that people have done this (I saw Pacifico's method mentioned). I stuck decently close to that method and varied a bit. One thing that helped me in the beginning was simply doing some games untimed. I didn't put pressure on myself but I forced my self to solve the game.

You need exposure to the games. By the time I was done with 35, I had a much better handle on things. I continued through the 40's and some of the 50's too to further my understanding. Simply seeing a variety of games and how they vary will exponentially increase your skills. But make sure you watch JY's videos so you can have a firmer grasp of what you did wrong. When watching the videos, I would simply take my timed game section and in pen draw a line separating my boards/scratch and write out below JY's method which allowed me to compare mine with his side by side. I would also write out what he did for each question as well so I could compare those too.

Hope this helps! You can do this! LG seems like a beast at the beginning but you can absolutely tame it! Good luck!!!

saeednaseeba

@"samantha.ashley92" I just seem to freeze up during the practice test because I can't figure out how to do the problem. I'll confuse one of the rules or misunderstand something. I need to start from the basics and keep learning how to approach the games so I don't panic.

samantha.ashley92

Are you timing yourself when you do problems? I typically will print out the problem, put my phone's stopwatch on, and do the best I can. Just knowing that I'm timing myself adds a little bit of the pressure that I'm going to feel on PTs/exam day. And I think you're right about going back to the basics. JY said something on one of the answer explanation videos that I'll pass along: when in doubt, make a chart.

saeednaseeba

Thank you so much! @"samantha.ashley92" I have not been timing myself unless it is a practice test since I am still practicing how to do the games, but I will start to implement that to create that same pressure feeling.

samantha.ashley92

Yeah! So on PTs it's obviously ideal to set a timer for 35 min, but for general practice, I put the stopwatch on and just see how long it takes me. Every time I do a problem, either my timing gets better or I answer more questions right-- sometimes both! But knowing that the stopwatch is on just pushes a little more adrenaline and speed out of me.

NeverStop

LG was the section I initially hated the most, but it became my favorite section, honestly. I have finished taking the LSAT and am currently in the process of getting application materials ready to apply to law school in the fall. Now, I actually do LG for fun! I started out in a similar situation as yours, but I used the foolproof method. After using this method, It took about a month or so before I began to see improvements in my LG score. I also noticed that the later games (PT 63 onwards) seem a bit easier than earlier ones. So, in other words, it does get better.

LG begins to click after a while, but it only clicked for me after foolproofing. Remember, and J.Y. says this all the time, memorize inferences. With the exception of a few pattern games, there is no such thing as a new LG. LSAT writers simply reincarnate games. When you begin to memorize inferences and realize that games are just clever reincarnations of each other, then you will begin to see massive improvement in LG.