Worst Section, No Improvement

MrsRobinson1

I have been PT'ing and noticed I have improved my LG and RC sections but have not made any improvement in the LR sections. I am getting on average -9 to -13 wrong on the LR sections. LG I am averaging -2 to -5, while RC -3 to -5. Best sections RC and LG. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

lsatgodjk

Hi there!

First of all, your LG and RC scores are so good! Great job on that.

LR was one of my weaker sections, too, and considering you are at -9 to -13, I would say that you are missing the core foundation skills of LR.

I also had this problem! I have improved in LR by returning to the CC and really learning all the question types and how to attack each type. Then I would suggest doing LR questions untimed to make sure you really have those LR solving skills. I truly believe it is a waste of time to do LR timed when you are missing more than 4 or 5 per section. So try to do LR sections untimed until you can get to -4 to -2, and then incorporate time!

MrsRobinson1

Thank you for your response. I was thinking of returning to the CC and then doing LR drills. I have LG almost down and my RC has always been my best I just need to get the LR down and improve those numbers.

Chris Nguyen

Definitely agree with lsatgodjk. Make sure you understand truly why you got each question wrong, and if it's because you're lacking a foundation skill, reference the question type in the core curriculum. You have to learn to walk before you run!

AudaciousRed

Agreed. In depth study, then go for timed. You're missing something vital to your understanding of these questions, and you're falling for the trap answers. You need to learn why that is, and in depth study can show you where your train of thought led you to a wrong answer. That, and lots of repetitive practice which includes rewatching videos of the explanations, and even asking questions when you don't 100% know why an answer is right or wrong.

kaikdame

I had a similar problem. My improvement on LR started after I stopped taking so many timed PTs. I went back and reviewed the question types and then drilled like crazy. I focused on understanding the stimulus in my own words (make the language a friendly conversation/pretend you're talking to the person), predicting, and finding the ONE right answer. I used to answer all the questions in LR sections because I was speeding through. After drilling for awhile, I slowed down and left 2-3 unanswered at the end but my accuracy improved so much, and so did my scores (I got my first 170). I'm working on timing now and still have some bad days with LR, but I feel a lot more confident with the section. I couldn't put my finger on exactly what I wasn't understanding, but I think it was important to go "backwards" and focus on accuracy across question types.

Take your time in BR and devote time to reviewing the questions that you really struggled with a few days later. Try not to rely on other people's explanations or videos to help you see why answers are right and wrong. You don't want to feel like the answer is "kinda right" and get confirmation from someone else. Force yourself to understand what's going on and feel confident.