Dat Inconsistency Doe.

Faaabs93

Hello everyone.

So I've been studying for the LSAT daily since the beginning of May. I plan on taking the October 3rd LSAT, and my diagnostic was a 145.

However, thanks to BasedJ.Y., I've improved significantly. My problem, however, is that my preptests can be inconsistent. I've taken about 9 PTs now, and my scores range from 157-171, with the average being 163.5. There will be times where I'll score multiple mid-high 160s, and then my next PT will be like a 158.

With test day creeping up, I'm starting to get nervous. My goal is only to achieve somewhere between a 160-163 (obviously higher is better), and the law firm I work for told me that they're only scheduling me 1 day a week from now until the test, so I can focus on things (and thus have ample time to devote towards evening out this inconsistency). But I, under no circumstances, want to score under a 160, and my recent PTs of 158 scares me.

My inconsistency tends to be in logical reasoning. For example, on the preptest I just did I went: 22/28 RC, 21/22 LG, 15/25LR1, 20/25LR2, 20/25LR3(EXP). I often average between 20-22 per logical reasoning section, but there's just times where, like on this present PT, I just shit the bed entirely.

What does everyone here recommend? I plan on doing 3 preptests and blind review a week from now until the test. Should I expect my LR score to even out after all of the BRs? I've gone through the curriculum many times, but it seems as if my IQ will just drop to -3 randomly during an LR section.

Pacifico

@nathan.fabiano said:
IQ will just drop to -3 randomly during an LR section.

Doesn't matter... it's not an IQ test... But seriously, the most important question is how is your BR? If it's 170+ then really focus on raising that and eliminating confidence errors and hone in on any patterns in questions you're missing (not just question types but similar structures, etc.) and then beyond that just use the analytics to fine tune a bit for the LR. If your BR is below 170 you need to check your analytics to see if you're making too many confidence errors or getting destroyed by a particular question type. 9 PTs is nothing, I just passed 10 last week and am only starting to hit my stride, but your BR needs to be 170+ to keep going full steam ahead.

Faaabs93

So I did my first 5 section PT today (the ones explained above were 4 sections), got a 165 with a 170 on BR.

I notice that, even on my Blind Review, I get most assumption family questions wrong (Flaw, Necessary Assumption, and PseudoSufficient, primarily).

I've gone through the 7sage prep for this section, and have read Powerscore's LR bible. I just don't know where to turn next? I've even reviewed the LR bible and the 7sage lessons for this section. I always end up narrowing it down to 2 possible answers, my justifications for eliminating answers will be the same as the explanations from this website, but I tend to miss the subtly that makes the right answer right.

Where should I turn next? I've done the Cambridge drilling packets too. Altering how I approach these questions will take me from mid-165 to high160/low170, but I just don't know how to fix my comprehension.

nicole.hopkins

@nathan.fabiano you're ready to take a bunch of PT's. Just take, take, and retake if need be. And don't forget to take some breaks At this point, a combination of PT's, BR, addressing weaknesses that emerge as trends, and self-care are what you need to do to break into the 170's. One sure sign that something is amiss if your BR scores don't increase . But, come back and ask more questions if you find that to be the case.

And I recommend group study (BR calls) as well.

Pacifico

If you haven't already done so, I'd pick up a copy of the LSAT Trainer by Mike Kim since the Flaw stuff is probably worth the price alone... Flaw questions should be automatic since determining flaws is the basis of almost every type of LR question. Shore up those first and you should see some improvement across the board. If you can't identify flaws then you're setting yourself up for failure.

c.janson35

If you are having the most trouble with these, then make sure you BR all of them. When doing so, really focus in on the relationship between the premises and the conclusion for N/S assumption questions.

For SA--if there is a gap in the reasoning, don't move on to the answer choices until you can articulate the gap and predict what form the right answer will take. This is a key determinant for success for SA questions--you have to recognize where gaps exist and what you can use to fill them in to prove that the conclusion will always follow. This takes some practice, but put your best effort into this stage because it will take you a long way.

For NA: each argument has multiple potential necessary assumptions, and once you truly understand what necessary means then it will be easy for you to start predicting them. Think of what must be true if the argument has any chance at being valid (which is subtly different from what would make the conclusion valid). Use the negation technique on the answers that seem to look like they match your predictions, or if you can't eliminate an answer. A lot of times NA won't actually "help" an argument--it just saves it from being an absolute loser--and so the correct answer can take a form that you may not have anticipated or that may seem completely random. What should be clear, though, is that if negated, the correct answer should destroy the argument without a doubt.

The act of predicting answers in BR is a great technique, and once you get good enough, you'll do it more and more on the real thing. It forces you to have a deep understanding of each argument, rather than rushing through it to get to the answers. When you BR, don't move on to the choices until you have this full understanding--you'll be better for it in the long run.

nicole.hopkins

Man, someone give @c.janson35 a gold star for this post ... Solid stuff here.

Faaabs93

Thank you everyone for all of this help!