Repeat Errors in Reasoning/ Confidence Errors - BR

amanda_kw

I wanted to ask for some advice on how to correct LR errors during BR (which I hope will follow me to timed tests eventually). I have mastered the art of circling questions I have trouble with in LR (The questions I miss are part of the group of questions I circled). However, during BR, despite spending a large amount of time reviewing - I am unable to get the question right. I am SURE that I have the right answer - the one that I circled during the test. So not quite the confidence error described by J.Y., but still an error in confidence.

Any advice or methods on how to correct this? My game plan is to put these questions together and drill them / write out my reasoning / watch videos / correct reasoning / drill again. But considering that I'm making these errors consistently, I would love some help.

Thanks!

pseudonymous

Hi Amanda! I have the same problem (as you know :-P). I'm in the process of reviewing questions from last night.

I have an idea (I'm going to see if it works)... I haven't tried it yet but in case it's helpful I'll share it here with you and perhaps we can compare results -- have you considered just retaking the entire LR section, but reorganized by question type? The LSAT Trainer website has that helpful question breakdown pdf. Or maybe there's some feature on the 7Sage exam review page that lets us sort by question type? If there is, I haven't quite figured it out yet.

My theory is that if I group problems together by type, my brain will be utterly focused on the task presented in the question stem (which I seem to have issues with). This way I can borrow from whatever I was doing right for the other similar questions I answered correctly, and apply that process to those trickier ones. (Does that make sense?)

I guess I'm essentially generating "problem sets" from previously taken exams. I really hope it helps.

amanda_kw

Yes! It's so frustrating. I like that idea though. And the LSAT trainer breakdown looks super helpful to do questions by type. I know that I'm still having a lot of trouble with NA questions especially. But I think you're right - if you're in that mindset, then maybe you will see the question in a different light.

There is a feature on 7Sage exam review - When you are in the Questions tab of the LSAT Analytics page, you can sort by the "tag" category and you can do that for as little or many tests as you would like and it will organize the questions by type.

blah170blah

Hi @amanda_kw! I used to (and sometimes still do) have the same problem as you where my BR answers almost NEVER differed from the answer that I chose initially. I realized I was making this mistake because, despite how much time I gave myself, I just didn't understand the argument. This typically happened to me with assumption family questions and I would just sit there, staring at the stimulus, because I could not really for the life of me figure out what the assumption is. Or, I would stare at the answer choices and realize that I had no idea what some of them meant.

To solve this problem of "not understanding," I drilled my weaknesses using the Cambridge packets, which is just another way of doing what @pseudonymous recommends. The principle is the same: you're solidifying and internalizing skills that are necessary for this specific question type by grouping them together. I also realized that taking more tests really reduced the amount of "omg I don't know what this answer choice means" errors.

I hope drilling and just taking more practice tests or timed sections helps you with this problem. I completely sympathize because I know it's incredibly frustrating and I hope you find a solution to your problem!

@pseudonymous : how did you bold and embed a link into your comment?

pseudonymous

@blah170blah HTML tags! < a href = "site" > link name < / a > ... bold < b > text to be bolded < / b > no spaces!

I html lol. When I was a preteen, I had a blog with a pretty impressive viewership (read: 2 people, my mom and my best friend. :-P)

blah170blah

I knew it! I just couldn't remember the HTML tags (I'm embarrassed to say that I used to know those tags because of a rather ridiculous xanga I used to have).

nicole.hopkins

Great thread ... I need a lot of help on this as well!

amanda_kw

@blah170blah Yup that is exactly what is happening. lol. With your and @pseudonymous 's advice I will start drilling question types. I think I will drill some older tests too (1-25) just to practice BR - figure out argument structures. Drilling question types is not something I have done outside of the 7Sage problem sets, so I am hoping that this new approach will help with the process. Thanks!

Nilesh S

@amanda_kw So see if these errors fall in any particular pattern... this is best done by tracking them... you could do this via an excel doc... then drill those question types... if you're still getting it wrong on BR then the issue could be that you do not understand the argument... like @blah170blah said... one way to get to what you are missing is to look at answers from various resources... JY's and Jon's explanations on the videos are one resource, the Manhattan LSAT forum's LSAT geeks are another resource you could look at... Graeme Blake's LSAT hacks http://lsathacks.com/ is another resource you could look at... I would advise checking all three wherever possible... what happens here is that you will be more likely to identify the element in your reasoning that was missing (at least one of those three sources should resonate with you... and if all three point to the same thing... well you have the solution right there)... this should hopefully lead to quicker improvements in the process...

alexroark5

@amanda_kw are you able to understand where your error in reasoning occured after reviewing explanations for the correct answer? I think the key is to find the source of your error in reasoning to try to recognize patterns in similar errors of reasoning in order to prevent similar mistakes in the future.

emli1000

Re-watch the lesson videos on any question types you get wrong. Just watch like the first 5-7 videos just to get the hang of it. Also, if you've taken notes along the course I would suggest that you read them every single night. If you don't have any, I could send you mine as well. Have you drilled by question types? Cambridge packets have been very helpful on my end as well. After you BR and realized that you missed a certain question, do you actually understand why you missed it after watching the video explanations or from someone in the BR group explaining it to you?

amanda_kw

@alexroark5 hrm, I don't think so. I understand the argument but I haven't been able to pinpoint the error that I made. I started a spreadsheet, but I have not been diligent in tracking - partly because it's hard to figure out what error I made.

@"Nilesh S" I think that's a good idea to look at other resources too - to get many perspectives on how to reason through the question.

@emli1000 Eventually, I understand why the right answer choice is right - but I have trouble eliminating wrong answer choices - and I seem to have the unhelpful knack of centering in on non-important parts of the stimulus. But I am going to take your suggestions of watching videos.

amanda_kw

Thanks for all the great suggestions! I put together a summary with of all the info for myself and anyone who finds this post and is having the same difficulties.

- Watch 7Sage lessons on the specific question type.
- Drill practice sets by question type to "solidify and internalize skills that are necessary for this specific question type by grouping them together."
- Retake PT LR sections by question type.
- During BR - focus on understanding the argument.
- During BR - Write out your reasoning of why you think the answer is right and why you think the others are wrong - for circled questions.
- Determine correct reasoning through group BR and/or explanation videos.
- Use every resource possible to understand question - 7Sage, Manhattan, LSATHacks, etc.
- Compare your reasoning to explanation videos / group BR to determine your error of reasoning.
- Find what element is missing from your reasoning or what process you are using incorrectly.
- Track errors of reasoning by question type in Excel spreadsheet.
- Find patterns in errors to correct future mistakes.
- Repeat X100. lol.

Please keep adding to the thread if you have other methods that have worked for you!