How do you study as you follow the program?

goalis180

Hey guys,
So I have bought the 7sage's lsat starter, and I am wondering how do you study as you follow the program? Do you drill specific question types while studying? or do you just continue to watch the videos until the end after learning about everything, and then start drilling?

bstew2002

I recommend following the syllabus as it is scheduled, i.e. watch videos then drill.

goalis180

Do you not think that it may be beneficial to learn the question type, then following drill that specific question type?

inactive

That's what the Syllabus does!

goalis180

Yes, it does. But I do not think that just 10 questions is enough. I already bought all the specific question type drill packets, should I supplement with the drill packets everyday for the question types that I learned, or just wait until the end of the course, and then practice the question types then?

nicole.hopkins

@goalis180 Sure, I think that's a fine idea. Superb, even. Those packets are from the "safe" tests (the ones not reserved for PT's): I say, go right ahead and drill til your heart's content.

Now, you don't need to do the whole packet (and why not save some for when you come back around/revisit course material?). Don't want you to burn out on the QT's that have so many appearances. But I guess in theory there's no major harm. Later in your prep (once you've learned all the material) it becomes important not to favor practice in one section over/at the expense of the others, but for now, I think it's good to get in as much practice as you can to set your habits up well and ground yourself in fundamentals.

Just my 2¢—it sounds like you've got the right idea of implementing/practicing what you've learned right away, systematically and in an order that makes sense (I.e. The syllabus).

Pacifico

I went through lessons in the syllabus as prescribed. Especially for LR videos with questions, I started solving the questions and then watching the videos. For LG and RC I completed the individual games and passages within each section. If by the end of each section of lessons I didn't have a good feel for those question types then I would do the first problem set. If I did well on that I would move on. If not, I would do the next problem set. I took this approach to preserve the problem sets for drilling later in case any problems arose during PTs.

goalis180

@nicole.hopkins I think I might do like 10 questions per question type I learn everyday. Do you think that is a good idea? People have been telling me to save the questions for the end, mix the question types together, and just do it like timed sections. @Pacifico I never feel good on any of the question types because as soon as I miss one question, I still feel like I do not understand something. For me personally, I do not feel like I did well until I get -0, which unfortunately has not happened yet, and therefore I constantly want to continue to drill.

Pacifico

For sections with more than five questions I usually feel comfortable moving on if I can get -1 or less and understand why I got the one wrong... If it really threw me enough to make me second guess my skills overall in that area then I hit the problem sets. If I'm getting around 7 out of 8 or better then I feel good enough to move on. It's definitely not a hard and fast rule and more an intuitive feeling it out type of thing. As Mike Kim talks about in the Trainer, I try to see the forest and the trees so in doing the curriculum I tried not to get too bogged down overfocusing on one question type on my first run through because I felt it took away from other areas.

nicole.hopkins

@goalis180 said:
I think I might do like 10 questions per question type I learn everyday. Do you think that is a good idea?

Sure ; do this. Lots of people have opinions. You won't lose anything either way. Keep in mind that you can always get the books with tests 1-35 and take those timed sections for extra practice once you've drilled/learned all the QT's. That's a win/win/win.

@goalis180 said:
I do not feel like I did well until I get -0, which unfortunately has not happened yet, and therefore I constantly want to continue to drill.

Make sure to blind review all of your drilling at this early stage (and every stage) and to write out your thought processes: WHY are the 4 answer choices wrong and WHY is this answer choice right? And be sure to keep all of your BR write ups ... not only will they eventually be a great reminder of how far you've come, but you can keep track of tricky concepts/hang-ups and address them as you discern a pattern.

Keeping it to ~10 Q's should enable you to do some really quality BR, and that's where the learning takes root.

goalis180

Thanks, I actually bought all of the prep tests out there lollol. I invested at least $1,000 into my Lsat prep. I have all the question specific drill packets, the trainer, all the PS bibles and workbooks, and the Manhattan prep Logical reasoning bible. I also blind review, however I usually just discuss why 4 answer choices are wrong, and one answer choice is right out loud, but I will start writing them down just so they stick to my memory.

Admiral Yummy

@nicole.hopkins: "Keeping it to ~10 Q's should enable you to do some really quality BR, and that's where the learning takes root." Excellent advice!