Adjusting to Digital LSAT

7sage123

Hi all! I've been studying for the paper LSAT since January of this year and am registered for the July LSAT. When I finished the CC a few months back, I started taking paper practice tests. I recently started taking online PTs, and have been shocked to find that my average score is about ten points lower than my average paper score. Has anyone else has this problem? Does anyone have tips?

I'm specifically interested in tips for digital RC - I have been consistently scoring between -1 and -3 in the paper test, but have been missing 10+ on every iteration of the digital test. What has worked well for people making this adjustment?

Thanks for all your advice!

Bumblebee

I'm on the same boat. I usually miss 3 questions on paper RC but my digital RC performance is a nightmare.

I struggle with MP questions much more because it's impossible to see the whole passage at once without scrolling down.

Digitally, it's much more difficult do a structural reading. On paper, I had no problem taking a mental snapshot of each paragraph's role and locating author's views scattered across the passage before going into the questions. Now the problem of scrolling is getting in the way.

I tried to do low res summaries on scratch paper but it's just too time consuming, compared to the freedom of marking author's tone right on the margins. Not only is writing on the scratch paper time consuming, it is distracting to look at both the passage on the screen and the scratch paper notes for answering questions. There is too much to focus on and the eyes wander.

I'm sorry I cant give you any advice as I am also seeking advice.

Bumblebee

For me, the biggest advantage of paper RC is that it doesnt have to move (no scrolling!). The passage stays in one position the whole time, and that stability helps me retain my structural memory of the passage. The aerial view is available on the LSAC digital website, but it's inconvenient and destabilizing to switch between (passage only) and (passage and questions) mode under the 35 min time pressure.

LR and LG are much more adjustable digitally because they are "stable".
LR passage is short enough that no scrolling is needed.
LG setup on scratch paper doesnt move around either.

RC is a whole other story...

cooljon525-1-1

@Bumblebee said:
For me, the biggest advantage of paper RC is that it doesnt have to move (no scrolling!). The passage stays in one position the whole time, and that stability helps me retain my structural memory of the passage. The aerial view is available on the LSAC digital website, but it's inconvenient and destabilizing to switch between (passage only) and (passage and questions) mode under the 35 min time pressure.

LR and LG are much more adjustable digitally because they are "stable".
LR passage is short enough that no scrolling is needed.
LG setup on scratch paper doesnt move around either.

RC is a whole other story...

I contacted student services about it because on the LSAC website on RC, there is a way to view the passage only. You still don't get the full view of the passage bc there are 2 pages of it but its still MUCH better than scrolling and not even being able to see a full paragraph. I totally feel you on the whole screenshot thing you mentioned in your previous comment. With the digital, I don't even know how many paragraphs there are when I finish reading the passage. Its all a mess in my head.

a1ex_682

I'm having trouble with the digital transition as well. Here's a few things I've been doing for digital RC, maybe it'll be helpful:

1. Scroll through whole reading to get an idea of its length and how many paragraphs it is
2. Take a mental note of any noticeable transition words that may signify a change in the proceeding paragraph
3. Go back up to the top and read the entire passage as usual,
4. Use the highlighting tool to highlight the main ideas of each paragraph, any change of opinions (ie: critics), as well as any tricky wording or vocab that they might ask about in the questions
5. After each paragraph, write down the paragraph number and one or two words that express the main idea on scratch paper (similar to memory method from CC)
6. When I'm finished reading the passage, I look at my scratch paper notes to get a bird's eye view of the passage

7sage123

@cooljon525 said:

@Bumblebee said:
For me, the biggest advantage of paper RC is that it doesnt have to move (no scrolling!). The passage stays in one position the whole time, and that stability helps me retain my structural memory of the passage. The aerial view is available on the LSAC digital website, but it's inconvenient and destabilizing to switch between (passage only) and (passage and questions) mode under the 35 min time pressure.

LR and LG are much more adjustable digitally because they are "stable".
LR passage is short enough that no scrolling is needed.
LG setup on scratch paper doesnt move around either.

RC is a whole other story...

I contacted student services about it because on the LSAC website on RC, there is a way to view the passage only. You still don't get the full view of the passage bc there are 2 pages of it but its still MUCH better than scrolling and not even being able to see a full paragraph. I totally feel you on the whole screenshot thing you mentioned in your previous comment. With the digital, I don't even know how many paragraphs there are when I finish reading the passage. Its all a mess in my head.

@cooljon525 Good to know! Hopefully that change will help.

7sage123

@a1ex_682 said:
I'm having trouble with the digital transition as well. Here's a few things I've been doing for digital RC, maybe it'll be helpful:

1. Scroll through whole reading to get an idea of its length and how many paragraphs it is
2. Take a mental note of any noticeable transition words that may signify a change in the proceeding paragraph
3. Go back up to the top and read the entire passage as usual,
4. Use the highlighting tool to highlight the main ideas of each paragraph, any change of opinions (ie: critics), as well as any tricky wording or vocab that they might ask about in the questions
5. After each paragraph, write down the paragraph number and one or two words that express the main idea on scratch paper (similar to memory method from CC)
6. When I'm finished reading the passage, I look at my scratch paper notes to get a bird's eye view of the passage

Thank you! Very helpful, I'll try that