Study schedule leading up to test day

cvaldez74

Hi everyone,

So I've finished the CC, took a PT to see where I'm at and, like lots of others, was disappointed in my score. My BR score is about 6 points lower than my goal score.

At the suggestion of other 7sagers, I am doing the following in no particular order:
- re-watching sections of the CC where I need help and where I need a confidence boost
- drilling LR questions by type from the question bank
- fool proofing LG
- reading up on RC strategies in the LSAT Trainer

My question is, should there be some sort of order to this studying? This may be too much, but I'd really love to create a schedule of what to study when, when to take PTs, etc. Without a schedule, I feel like I'm wasting possible opportunities for better understanding.

I would love to hear what sort of schedule/plan you're following if you've got one.

Thanks!

10000019

Do you have a test day in mind?

cvaldez74

@10000019 said:
Do you have a test day in mind?

oops - thought I posted this in the September 2018 section...

10000019

@cvaldez74 said:

@10000019 said:
Do you have a test day in mind?

oops - thought I posted this in the September 2018 section...

You did. I didn't see the section when I clicked on the post.

So you've got 44 days. Normally I would suggest to start taking timed PTs but I don't think your sectional scores are strong enough to proceed to that.

I suggest spending the next two weeks continuing with what you're currently doing. After that, take a timed PT and post again for suggestions.

Do you feel more comfortable with RC now that you're using supplementary material? I didn't work on that section myself. But I heard that it's slow to improve. For that reason, I think you should be spending the least amount of time on RC. I suggest you spend at least 60% of your time working on LR. Most people say LG is the easiest to improve on, but you almost got as many LR questions wrong as you did RC and LG combined. So I think that section deserves the most attention.

You're shooting for a 160, so here is a way I could see you getting there (I'm going to use PT 73 as an example because I randomly had a copy laying around). You need 74/101 questions for a 160.

• You get two LG perfect (13 questions correct). You guess on the remaining ten questions in the section and get two correct. So for LG you walk away with (15/23).
• For RC, let's assume you use a skipping strategy to attempt three passages and guess on the fourth passage. So for the 21 questions in passages 1-3 let's assume you get 75% correct. You get 15/21 for those passages. And you guess on the last 6 questions, and only get one correct. So you finish the section with 16/27.
• Now from LR, you're going to need 43/51 points. That is you need 84% accuracy on that section. You can get 8 questions wrong between two sections.

So in that scenario, you would need to make a major improvement in LR. That was a big hypothetical, but if you play around with the numbers it'll give you an idea where you want to spend your time. For example, if you got 3 LGs perfect and you guess on the fourth (19/23), then that would you could afford a 77% accuracy on LR.

So I rambled a good bit so I'll try to concisely summarize my points:
- You don't have much time. Attempting to master all the sections probably isn't the best way to try and get a 160.
- Spend some time experimenting with all the sections, and see where you seem to be making the most progress. If you find that after two weeks of working on RC that you haven't made any progress, then implement a skipping strategy and focus your attention elsewhere.

Now if you're up for delaying your test date or want to score really high, then you shouldn't use my suggestions.

cvaldez74

first - thank you for all of your responses over the past couple of weeks! I appreciate you taking the time to earnestly respond, really

next - as far as the LSAT Trainer is concerned, today will be my first day actually using it. I just got it last week and have only skimmed the RC section. i'll keep you posted...

LR is where I'm planning to spend the majority of my studying time - I've got the question bank questions, the 35 prep tests from 7sage, a handful of other (newer) prep tests from a local prep course my son took, and an LR drill book (from the same local course). I'm trying to, at least in this initial phase, tackle question types. using the question bank and the material from the local course, I'm able to do that easily. right now, I'm focusing on Main Conclusion and Point-at-Issue questions; I'll move through the CC/local course materials by question type, focusing on a different type (or two if they relate) each day (7 days a week, some days a couple of hours, others 6-7 hours). I also have a few key rings filled up with homemade flash cards for identifying question types and how to approach them; translation rules and how to handle them; logical indicators; and valid/invalid argument forms using "lawgic". I'm referring to them multiple times a day (waiting in the car for whatever, cooking dinner, etc).

in addition to focusing on the LR refresher and drilling, I'm moving through about 3-5 games per day (this is easy for me to do because I kind of enjoy them - doesn't feel so much like work). until I feel confident (enough) in my LG and LR abilities, I'm not spending more than about 30 minutes a day on RC (and then only if my brain is up for it).

I guess what I'm wondering about is whether or not I should be organizing my studying like this: 'Monday: LR MC, PAI; LG from PTs1-5; 30 mins LSAT Trainer; Tuesday: LR MSS; LG from PTs 6-10..." or should I instead stick to one thing (LR or LG, not both) each day? Am I doing myself a disservice either way?

Vicky180

How many questions do you have get right to be in the 170+ range?

mynameisjeff

@Vicky180 said:
How many questions do you have get right to be in the 170+ range?

About 89-90 Questions correct for the 170 range

Leah M B

Honestly at this point with this short of time, I wouldn't really bother with RC much at all beyond making sure you watched the cc videos on them. It is painstaking to improve in RC and you won't do much in the next 4 weeks. Your time would be better spent on LG and LR.

I was working full time while studying and my schedule looked something like this:

Monday-Friday: during lunch break, 1 timed LR section. After work, BR the timed section from lunch, drill any question types that are an issue. Review cc as needed. Foolproof 1 or 2 games.
Saturday: PT
Sunday: BR the PT

I made sure to take 1 weekday completely off from studying, as well as Saturday and Sundays off after doing the PT and/or BR. It's really important that you monitor burn out. This test isn't friendly to cramming. If your scores suddenly seem to drop and you feel like you're going crazy, take a few days off.

Honestly, I think there's not a strong chance that you'll be in your goal range by the September test date. If your BR score is still 6 points below your goal, it'll take a little while to get there. I'd really recommend pushing back to at least November. But if you're set on going forward with September, the above advice is what I've got. Hope it helps!

10000019

@cvaldez74 said:

I guess what I'm wondering about is whether or not I should be organizing my studying like this: 'Monday: LR MC, PAI; LG from PTs1-5; 30 mins LSAT Trainer; Tuesday: LR MSS; LG from PTs 6-10..." or should I instead stick to one thing (LR or LG, not both) each day? Am I doing myself a disservice either way? If my LR and LG were weak, I would have done LR and LG both days. But when I was studying, my LR was decent and my LG was junk so I spent the majority of my time on LG.

I think that entirely depends on the type of person you are. Some people get sick of doing the same thing over and over, and benefit from swapping around throughout the day.

The only thing I'll add is that I don't think it'll be beneficial for you to try and master the question types. Drilling the question types is fine, but I don't think you should be trying to routinely get 5 star difficulty questions correctly. That isn't an efficient use of your time.

LCMama2017

I'd like to add in my two cents. I don't think you should focus on MC or PAI questions. About 6 -10 questions will be flaw questions (check out pg 36 from the trainer) so I think if you can master the flaw questions then you can work on the rest. Each LR question will have a flaw and so long as we identify that flaw correctly will we be able to answer the questions that come.

I like Leah's schedule with a twist. So how about this:

Week 1:
Monday, Tues, Weds morning: Trainer LR (Part 1 on Mon, Part 2 on Tues, Part 3 on Weds) or CC Flaw videos with 2 flaw problem sets each day.
Monday, Tues, Weds afternoon: Foolproof LG games - how many would depend on you - perhaps do four per day?
Thursday: Timed sections for LR and LG. BR the timed sections
Friday: Day off (I know you probably don't want to do this but the last thing you want is to burn out so take a mental health day for your brain to recharge).
Saturday: PT in strict test conditions
Sunday: BR the PT and take note of your weakest areas so you can tackle them on Monday.

Week 2:
Monday, Tues, Weds morning: Work on your weakest areas from the LR PT by going back to the CC or the trainer and do more problem sets or drill from the question bank.
Monday, Tues, Weds afternoon: Review the weakest part of LG from the PT. Foolprooof those.
Thurday: Same as above focusing on weak areas and perhaps different question types.
Friday: Same as above - if you live in NJ we can have a spa day
Saturday and Sunday: Same as above.

Rinse and repeat week 2

I suggest that by the time you get to August or mid-August you are PT'ing some of the 70 tests. Make sure you save some PTs in case you have to take November. Also, August 17th is the last day to request a partial refund from the Sept test. Perhaps you can use that date as your marker to see if you are ready for the test.

Good luck and wishing you the best!

cvaldez74

@LCMama2017 said:

Friday: Same as above - if you live in NJ we can have a spa day

thank you thank you thank you!!!!! this is exactly what I was looking for but just couldn't quite articulate. flaw questions are really the toughest for me so that makes what you're saying re: focusing on them even more important.

how long should I be timing the LR and LG sections - 35 minutes each section, right? should I avoid the earlier PTs and just focus on the most recent? I understand that the more recent tests tend to test your inductive reasoning abilities more than deductive...

LCMama2017

@cvaldez74 said:

@LCMama2017 said:

Friday: Same as above - if you live in NJ we can have a spa day

thank you thank you thank you!!!!! this is exactly what I was looking for but just couldn't quite articulate. flaw questions are really the toughest for me so that makes what you're saying re: focusing on them even more important.

how long should I be timing the LR and LG sections - 35 minutes each section, right? should I avoid the earlier PTs and just focus on the most recent? I understand that the more recent tests tend to test your inductive reasoning abilities more than deductive...

yes, 35 minutes each section and def focus on flaw if those are toughest.

I would start with 2 PTs from the 60s, 2 from the 70s and 2 from the 80's. If you want to do more PTs then I would use the 70s. Make a note though that there are 9 PTs from the 70s and 5 from the 80s. I would save at least two from each in case you need to take November. Rooting for you!!!