hitting a mental wall

Julia L

Hey guys!

I'm aiming for the June 2015 LSAT. I've gone through pretty much the entire curriculum (a few unfinished practice sets floating out there). My PT scores have increased significantly since December '14. 7sage has been a phenomenal teaching tool.

Right now, I'm sort of hitting a mental wall. My blind review for the past month has been pretty consistent, and I can't seem to score higher during blind review. My problem areas are the more difficult LR and RC questions. Does anyone have tips on how to get past that wall? Review specific lessons? Or is it just continuing taking prep tests? I still have 3 months, so a fairly good chunk of time. But I really want to master the material.

Thank you!
Julia

jdawg113

Im not sure how you are BR but try going more in depth than you are (ie. write out next to each AC why it is wrong (or right if it is TCR) to fully grasp it) I would also look into Cambridge most difficult packets. Although Im sure you dont wanna go spend more money it is the 2 or 3 most difficult problems from each PT 1-38 so you can really work on and try figuring out the hardest problems from those tests

blah170blah

Knowing your BR score is pretty essential to figuring out your next course of action. If your BR isn't in the 170s, that suggests you need to revisit the fundamentals by drilling specific sections or visiting material over again. This is especially true if you're missing particular question types over and over again.

If you're missing only the most difficult question types of a particular question type, it could be helpful to get the Cambridge most difficult packets (like jdawg suggested) to get exposure to the most difficult LR and RC questions.

If you're missing only the most difficult question types regardless of question type, I think that's an exposure problem, which can be overcome by drilling Cambridge packets and taking additional PTs.

Julia L

Thanks for the replies!

When I said entire curriculum, I meant the core curriculum. I haven't finished all the practice tests (currently on PT 44, so I have a long way to go).

Thanks jdawg113, that's a good tip for being more thorough during BR. blah170blah, my BR is currently hitting the high 160s. Do you have any additional thoughts, seeing as I'm on PT 44 right now?

emli1000

Review, review and review those questions that you are getting incorrect. Maybe take a day off to relax and then take another PT. Whenever you get a question wrong, such as after BR, make an excel sheet and put every question type that you are having difficulties with. Then later, come back to it and try that question again and see if there's any progress on your end. When answering the question, try writing down why each AC is incorrect and why the AC you chose is correct. Doing this will eventually become less time consuming and something that'll help you better understand each question.

Julia L

That's a great strategy, thank you!

Nilesh S

Take a few days off... like 3 or 4 and see how things are after that... scores are known to jump post time-out if you've been at it for a while before the break...

blah170blah

I'd suggest a couple of things:
1) Evaluate and see if you're missing certain question types and review those
2) For those questions you are getting wrong (and the ones you get right as well to reinforce good habits), write down:
- the argument core (what is the premise and conclusion)
- provide explanations for why 4 of the answer choices are incorrect
- provide an explanation for why the correct answer choice is in fact correct

Being honest with yourself for step 2 is crucial. When I first did this, I noticed that when I eliminated answer choices, I was saying, "Well, because..it just is wrong." It wasn't until I could say, "this answer choice is wrong because it's outside the scope" or "there's a temporal fallacy taking place" or a "this answer choice shifts the subject" that I saw massive improvements in my LR.

CallMeJazzy

I've been hitting a wall, as well. It dangerous to go entirely cold on the studying (your habits get off and it's *haaaarrd* to get them back on track--at least for me) so I'd say to just go light for a day or two and do something that you love/don't get to do often. I'm a community organizer and we often talk about how self-care is so incredibly important. So if it's burnout--do something nice for yourself (get a massage, read a book, do absolutely nothing and binge watch Netflix instead) or if it's just a spot when you don't feel like you're moving forward--take a day or two to go through your notes and find your weaknesses. Drill them. Go light and take really good notes. That's what I do anyway. Godspeed!

Julia L

love all of these