improving consistency...

joncornfield5300

Does anyone have any good advice on improving consistency within each section. I've been taking about 4 prep tests a week for a while now, and my score fluctuates anywhere from -2 to -8 in LR, and -3 to -9 in RC. Its super frustrating because Im generally doing well on 3 of the sections, and then all of the sudden, I get a -8 or -9 and it kills my score. I'm having trouble figuring out why this is happening, and simply going over the answers I got wrong, while helpful, isnt fully doing the trick..

anyone else have this problem with some good tips??

LPLPLPLP

I seem to be fluctuating a lot as well. I'm still working on it so I would love to hear what other people suggest too.

My current approach is to dwell on Blind Review and isolate the type of questions I am getting wrong. For example, I seem to be getting a lot of strengthening questions wrong so I've gone back to the lessons from JY and gone over all the basics. Then, I'll take a few prep tests untimed and even if I am 1% unsure of a question, I will review it meticulously in Blind Review. This has taken hours. I seem to be doing a lot better untimed and then I try and ask myself why this is: am I skimming over keywords? Am I not breaking down the premises and conclusion correctly?

So, stop timing yourself for a little bit and try to isolate the type of question you're getting wrong. Understand your difficulties with the question and go from there.

K

I think my mind wanders too much when I have to do something concentrated.

I wonder how I can make my mind stop doing that...

Jason Borer

This happens to me sometimes too. What helped me was realizing that each section can vary significantly in difficulty level, and I was letting myself get stuck on those 1-2 curve breaker questions that. That would destroy my score for that section, even if I did better on the other sections.

Use J.Y's lowest hanging coconut analogy!

kraft.phillip

My scores fluctuate a lot as well. I think inconsistency with some high scores is a sign of understanding without firm process. I know how to arrive at the correct answers, but I have not analyzed and inculcated my process to the extent that it is set in stone. This is evinced by the fact that often the mistakes I make are what I'd call silly ones; I stare at a logic game, "knowing" that it makes no sense, and only upon watching the explanation do I realize that I just transcribed a premise wrong in some obvious way. This is a scary thing that happens because it seems hard or impossible to overcome. For a while I'd just say "of course!" I just messed up with this one really simple rule!" This is entirely unhelpful and led me to a cycle of unproductivity and frustration.

But I think it shows understanding, and therein lies the solution. Since I can solve these logic games or whatever else on the LSAT, I understand what I need to do. The issue is execution, or the process.
1) So I map out my process to solving X. I think of it as if I'm explaining how to make a PB and J to a kid. I noticed there are aspects of my process that I could not really articulate well, but once I was satisfied with an explanation of my process (after all, I do understand how to do X, I've just been failing to do it) I...
2) Monitor my approach to X to see if it matches my process. If it does and my accuracy increases, awesome. I've found this is almost always the case. If it does and my accuracy drops, reevaluate the process. If it doesn't match, make it match.
3) psychology. My process is the only factor that is subject to how I'm feeling that day, if I'm hungry or stressed, etc. Realizing that I understand the game and how to solve it helps me a lot in this regard because it means I have most of the studying done. I merely have to do what I already know how to do, and control for external variables. This increase in certainty directly increased my accuracy and confidence, and allowed me to instead focus on applying the process I know to get the answers instead of trying to figure out the answers generally, if that makes any sense.

Eric Fu

@kraft: I think you might be the first person to have perfectly explained my current situation. I too think I have the studying done and the problem lies in perfecting my execution under stress and pressure for consistency. Kraft, could you please elaborate more on how you are solving this issue for yourself? Thank you.

CJ Shin

God, I feel kinda relieved(?) to see that so many others are facing the exact same problem as I am lol. I know how to do it, but seem to completely forget about everything I learned under time pressure.

Would love to have an intense discussion on this issue with you guys.

Nevill Wilder

I had this same problem with the same score fluctuations. These ranges are slowly getting smaller, and can attribute it to one process. The blind review.

Guess what? You're not taking enough time on your blind review. Before you say, "Oh I do the blind review, that can't be it!", ask yourself if you're really digging in.

Day 1- I take a PT. 33 minute fast time crunch using the proctor app. As I take the test I am obsessive about circling questions. If i don't know the reason why every incorrect answer is wrong on a question it gets a circle. This leads me to circle a lot of questions. More than I can go over that day. Followed by a beer.

Day 2-I devote the next day to BR, and I will stare at a question until i get it. Every part of it. I know the words that cause an answer choice to be wrong, the relationship and every part of it, and any logical patterns that lead to my conclusion. I want to leave a trail of bread crumbs for later. At the end of the day every question that has a circle around the number has little notes in blue pen explaining why every incorrect answer choice is wrong including a note as to which rule makes every incorrect logic game answer wrong. Beer usually follows this stage.

Day 3-The (hopefully) final day of this process I score my test. After I finish my mini celebration/freakout about my score I go to the analysis. I mark and pull out every missed question and make special note of any confidence errors. Then I stare at them until i figure out what I messed up. Then, and only then, do I watch the video, figure out the trap that I fell into, write it out step by step in red pen on the test, and tally up my mistake on my white board. I then repeat this process for every missed question, including ones that I got correct in blind review. You should see my test at the end of the process. Looks like a battle zone, but this leaves me with a bunch of bread crumbs that lead me to actionable data. I stare at the stats section of the website forever. This lets me find the core things that I am messing up on. Then, I go back to the theory lessons that address what I have determined to be my biggest weaknesses, and watch the videos and take problem sets until I am certain that I have found and fixed my biggest weaknesses. All while full proofing every logic game.

This time the beer is accompanied by a thousand yard stare.

Then I take a day off, let my brain reset, and do things that aren't related to the LSAT at all. Remind myself that sunshine and nature are real live things. Then I repeat. I get two tests done a week this way. And I assure you that it is kind of brutal.

If you are missing up 8 a section, and doing 4 tests a week, there is no way that you are spending that much time on your blind review. This means that you are not actually finding your weaknesses and killing them with cold hard logic and repetition. Instead you are glossing over them and letting them live in their nooks and crannies. The Blind Review is HARD. It is ego crushing. It will show you every chink in your armor, your most basic mental weaknesses. You have to find and fix every one of these if you want real consistency. Naturally, this I have found has led to many to dark, frustrating, pissed off moments that are just part of the path to the LSAT. But I would rather fight through those than get a score that is below what I know my potential to be.

Blind Review is your answer for consistency. It is hard, but oh so worth it.

Anyone know of a better way to build consistency? Throw me ideas!

Eric Fu

@Nevill: I think you just gave the absolute most detailed and "correct" advice I have ever gotten from anyone (including paid advisers). This process is exactly the one I have been neglecting for the past two months while doing over 20+ PTs. Which might explain my fluctuating scores. Although I am already scoring in the low 170s and my BR process is a bit shorter, I am not as thorough as you and that could be my downfall.

K

I get more questions right in BR but then it saddens me when I do bad again on the next PT