Score inconsistency and mental blocks

0hbergine

I am taking the LSAT on Friday (Aug. 12) and have been having trouble with logic games. By mid-July, I was often getting -0 to -2 on LG sections, both in PTs and in drills. However, in the last two weeks, my LG performance has gotten worse, ranging from -3 to -6. This usually happens in PTs; when I drill, I still get around -2 or -1.

My problem doesn't seem to be with the setup (I practically always set the games up how JY does in each explanation video). I also nearly always get -0 on BR, so I think I am understanding the material well enough. My problem seems to be something more psychological: I think I'm psyching myself out and can't perform under pressure.

Does anyone have any tips for issues with psyching yourself out or something similar? It's very frustrating because I know my goal score is within my abilities!

JD__2528

If test-setting is what's causing the problem, I know it's a scary thing to waste PT and generally not recommended to study so much right before the exam, IF you are going to do some drilling I would actually put them into actual PT-setting (grab them from PT85+, practice on law hub or standard test version, meditate before the section starts, even intentionally making yourself anxious and starting the section from that very state, etc).

Something that helped me was doing a blind review on a test-setting (35mins timed) and see how you perform. If you're able to get through faster and more accurately in your natural relaxed pace, it could be a good reassurance to yourself that with a relaxed mindset, you will in fact have enough time or focus to crack the game properly.

I'm currently doing this for my LR because my score recently dropped due to psychological factors mainly. I'm taking August LSAT too.

Best of luck!

Matt Sorr

Totally feel you. I really think that once you're proficient with LG, the mental aspect is half the battle. I've found a couple of things help me with keeping my confidence high and not psyching myself out too much:

First, I like to remind myself that most logic game in existence have a setup that really cracks the game open. For many games, you can split boards or make inferences that greatly simplify the game. Just think of how confident you feel about a game if you redo it after having watched JY's explanation video. Then, for games that aren't really splittable, or "rule-driven" games, I like to remember that the largest tool in the test writers' playbook is the shock value. They're banking on you freezing and/or freaking out when you feel like you can't make inferences or split your board. Nine times out of ten, for rule-driven games, simply making sure you follow each rule, keeping calm, and being smart about trying out answer choices can get you through the game under the target time. For rule-driven games that are legitimate time-sinks, that's okay. The game was intended to suck up time, meaning the other games in the set probably won't be quite as difficult.

Second, I like to redo a couple of games I've mastered or an entire LG section I've completed in the past before taking a new section. This really helps me to reinforce the points from my first tip, that most games, when approached correctly, are extremely manageable. Completing a game or an entire section way under the target time reminds me just how doable all games are if you stay calm and trust the work you've put in.

I hope this helps! Go crush the August test!

jjplane1117-1

im having the exact same problem! i was scoring - 4, -6 2 weeks ago and suddenly i forgot everything and im getting -11 on each practice section! starting to get super nervous for friday and that itll be this way on actual exam day:((((