PT score vs. Blind review score

lakers1234

in the course, jy said blind review score is the room for improvement. the difference between my blind review score and pt score varies about 5-10 points (only got 10 point difference once and i already expected it right after my pt--felt nauseous). Im wondering how people are approaching this.. im not sure how to best make use of my score I guess. do I simply continue pt-ing? especially bc i want to be where i am BR-ing by test day in june.

Nilesh S

Just keep working on the stuff that you got wrong... did you overlook or misread something due to time pressure? Take mental note to make a conscious effort not to do that... are some problem types taking more time so that when you have ample time during BR, you get them right and under timed conditions you get them wrong? Drill those question types... is it because you did not understand a particular concept - had multiple ways of going about it and chose the wrong way under timed conditions? Focus on getting your concepts w.r.t. right.

nicole.hopkins

The learning comes in the BR process itself. Every question you circle for BR is a question you will get to learn (hopefully) very deeply (provided you take the time and really invest yourself in it, not just "checking if you got it"). And since so many questions on LSAT's are genetic copies of a question that has appeared previously ... Well ... You're putting yourself in a good position either way. Take a lonnnnnnnggggggg time for BR if you need to, even if that means spreading out BR for a single PT over the course of several days (I do BR for my Friday tests every weekday morning from 6am–8am and it often takes me all 5 days to really go through everything).

Matthew LLC

Yeah. Everything said above makes sense. Spend a whole day reviewing a PrepTest after taking it under time pressure. My BR process is a little more drawn out and complicated, but it might help you.

First, take a test under time pressure. Then come back the next day and take it without timing yourself. Make sure you can vocalize why one answer is correct, and the other four are incorrect. After completing your second pass, score it and analyze your problem areas. Lastly, grab a pair of scissors, glue, a binder, a sheet of blank white paper, and some plastic paper slips. Cut out every question in both LR sections and try to categorize them . Is it a causality flaw? A weaken causality question? Does it deal with numbers and proportions? You'll notice that most question types, especially Strengthen, Weaken, Flaws, and Necessary Assumptions, reuse the same reasoning patterns. Being able to spot these common patterns will sometimes cut 20-30 seconds/question. After cutting and categorizing each question into a pile, begin to glue them onto a blank white sheet until you have each LR question separated and glued by pattern of reasoning.

Look over your LR collection once a day, making sure to note the patterns and correct/incorrect answer choices. You'll begin to close the gap by noticing these patterns and applying this new knowledge to future PTs.

emli1000

@"Matthew LLC" impressive! lol similar to my approach except that I don't cut them out. But I can see how beneficial that could also be.

BR is really where you see an increase in your score because since you are not under time pressure you are able to figure out why you chose the answer choice that you did and why the rest were incorrect.

My approach has been to take a PT one day and then do completely nothing so I can relax. On day two I go through all 4 sections. And on the two LR sections I write out every question and also list the premise and conclusion and for some questions such as weakening/strengthen/etc I write down the answer choice I need to look for in the answer choices. then i write out why A-E is incorrect and why only 1 answer choice is correct. I have found this process to be time consuming at first but also, ive learned to see patterns. Another reason that it has been beneficial is because when I watch JY's video explanations and see why I got a question wrong and what I did (such as the reasoning I used) to get that question wrong/right.

I also have a spreadsheet that shows me what questions I get wrong and what type of question types they are so that I can focus and drill that particular question type.

lakers1234

@emli1000 I actually do the same br method of writing all premise/conclusion and writing why an answer is correct or incorrect and also have a spreadsheet. hoping this all pays in the end and to reach my br score. thanks everyone

nicole.hopkins

@"Matthew LLC" said:
First, take a test under time pressure. Then come back the next day and take it without timing yourself. Make sure you can vocalize why one answer is correct, and the other four are incorrect. After completing your second pass, score it and analyze your problem areas.

Wow, this is a great idea. I might try to do this this weekend. I guess that's more or less what I do with BR but I like the way your method enforces BR'ing every question (and I like the next day idea). I won't do the whole cut/paste part of it BUT I dig it overall.

Hey @emli1000 where did you get that spreadsheet

emli1000

@lakers1234 trust me, it will!