Help! LR and score fluctuations?? Any tips?

karko2525

So with my flex exam approaching in literally less than 2 weeks, I am low-key worried. I have been taking about 2-3 .. sometimes 4 exams per week with one day of review in between. I have noticed some decent increases in my scores and even hitting like 170 once (never thought that was possible for me) which is encouraging. However, I chalk that up to luck and try not to think too much about it since my score still fluctuates anywhere from a 160-167 with my average being around a 165. Has anyone else noticed fluctuations like this in their analytics? I know it might be due to the fact that some exams are harder than others, but I can't help but worry a bit since I feel like I could literally score anything from a 160-167 on test day. The uncertainty is just killing me. I have noticed that LR seems to be the one section that generally drags my score down. I have always been best at LG and then RC which leaves LR as my weakness and basically the bane of my existence lol I have been targeting LR questions stems that I have the most trouble with and used the Loophole in conjunction with 7sage. Though I experienced some headway and managed to get my LR down from -8/9 to -2 to -5/6, I am now seeing a drastic decrease in my LR performance once again. I have been scoring probably around -8 to -12 being my worst and it's just freaking me out. I am not sure what else to do besides taking individual LR sections and focusing on my weak points. I am thinking of starting a wrong answer journal, but I find that most of my mistakes are usually due to misreading or missing a keyword. I also have an issue where I get down to 2 answer choices and I almost always somehow choose the wrong one over the correct one :'( In this past week, I noticed I get more tensed with LR as well which causes me to overthink some of the questions and answer choices.. My anxiety is just terrible over this section so yikes. I would appreciate any advice/ tips at this point as I am desperate to get back to at least a -5/-6 on LR so I can maximize my chances of scoring on the higher end of my scores.

Also, for context, I am mainly taking the PT's in the 70's to 80's. I generally score fine in LR for PT's into the 60's. And yes, I am aware that LR gets trickier or more "difficult" in the 70's to 80's so that could explain some of this. Again, any advice would help at this point T.T Thank you!

karko2525

help

mhf.andrew

I am kind of in a similar boat with LR. Over the last five tests, I've seen three -4s, and three -8s. Consequently, too, bigger picture, and with the other sections taken into account, I've seen a scaled score fluctuation of 9.
I think many people, even after doing numerous PTS, will see this sort of fluctuation.
Sure, the uncertainty can be jarring, but I at least take comfort in the fact that seeing a -4 or even a -3, is a plausible score on the flex.

grace099

What's helped me consistently get -2/-3 on LR is just reading the stimulus really carefully. I noticed I wasted so much time b/w two answers because there was something in the stimulus that I missed. I'd skip such a question and come back, re-read the stimulus and then go for it. It'll save time pondering over two ACs and worst of all choosing the wrong one. I could use some tips on RC since u said it's ur strong section.

karko2525

@"mhf.andrew" Thanks for commenting. Your positive mindset is such a great asset to have when dealing with the LSAT. I wish I could do the same haha but it's reassuring to know that everyone experiences some sort of dip in their PT scores. I've been seeing a downward trend over the past few exams so I am just worried it will translate to exam day, but I'm just going to hold out hope for the best possible score next week. Best of luck in your studies !

karko2525

@grace099 Thank you for the tip! Amazing LR score. I am super jelly haha I have been spending more time on the stimulus, but I think I overthink the AC's too much sometimes and my test anxiety severely cripples my thought processes. So combined, I tend to get a lot more wrong that I would have gotten right if I just moved on from the question.

As for RC, it is by no means my best section, but it is generally better than LR. For me what helped was actually slowing down and spending more time reading the passage carefully the first time instead of trying to skim. In addition, formulating summaries for the paragraphs really helped give me the big picture and structure of the passage which cut down the time for questions. I do have some fluke sections here and there where RC will be my worst so take my advice with a grain of salt, but I found those two methods to be helpful in getting less wrong.

grace099

Thanks @karko2525 . All the best for the exam!!