Focusing on PTs is a nightmare

lndesantis902

Hello,

So I've been studying with 7Sage and the LSAT trainer book nonstop since I got home for the summer and I plan to take the LSAT in January. I study roughly 5-6 hours per day, and I've started taking weekly practice tests. However, I am having a really hard time focusing on the screen in front of me. The words on the sections often blend together or zoom in and out of focus. I spend more time trying to concentrate on the screen in front of me than answering the questions (I plan wearing my blue light glasses during test day). This has resulted in much lower scores (most of my LR and RC timed sections are between -4 & -7 when I do them on paper), and I don't know what to do. I am going back to college next week so I will have even less time to study this or fix this problem. Does anyone else have this problem or have tips on how to fix this?

TLDR: I can't focus on the PTs and would like advice on how to fix this.

darman45

Had the same thing happen to me a few times.

For me, I think it was anxiety about doing poorly on the test. I usually don't struggle with things like this but I think that most people who are on your study regimen have put pressure on themselves to do well. And so that pressure ultimately does take a toll.

I haven't completely gotten rid of my anxiety while test taking (I think a small amount is good), but something that has helped has been taking timed sections. Before, I would drill maybe like 10-15 questions at a time. Maybe even 25, occasionally. But actually sitting down and just completing one LR section from the June 2015 test, for example, has made things feel better because I'm able to simulate aspects of the test without worrying that at the end of all of this, I'm going to have another PT score. PTs are good, but they're snapshots. And only taking snapshots of your progress is eventually going to give you a bunch of the same thing, because there's more to LSAT practice than the fact that it's 4 sections, 35 min each, one after another.

The timed sections have also been helpful because I feel less concerned about how many mistakes I'm making while I complete them. When I take PTs, I inevitably end up trying to mentally keep tracking of how many mistakes I think I've already made, and that adds to my anxiety about already failing before I'm even done the whole thing. By taking timed sections, I'm trying to do my best, but learning is more at the forefront of my mind than it is with a PT. And then when I do take a PT, I can assure myself that I have the stamina for this, I've practiced whole sections already, and I can remember what my strategies are a little better.