Speed? BR?

Katherine-2

Hey guys! I just finished core curriculums and did some PTs. I know you all do blind reviews, but so far I haven't done them yet. As a non-native speaker, I feel like my biggest problem is not the correction rate but the speed (I just can't finish!). How does BR really work? Or is there any advice on speed? Thanks ~~!!!

BruiserWoods

AHHHHHHHHHHHH. I think I speak for most of the people who will comment here when I say that BR is the SINGLE, MOST important factor that has gotten me into the 170s.

Pleaseeeeee do not do another PT until you BR the ones you have already taken. BR is the process by which you go through all the questions on the PT that you weren't 100% certain of. You must do this before you score the test. There is a BR video series that J.Y. has. I'll look for the link. It tells you how to BR and also why it is so important. There are lots of tips and tricks to save time, but, in my opinion, the most important and reliable way to get faster is to BR the hell out of your PTs. To the point that you could do the question again in your sleep, and to practice with as many PTs as you can to simulate real test day conditions.

There are also a few fabulous BR groups that you could join in on to see other peoples' thought processes as well. @"Cant Get Right" is the BR group leader; he can add your name if you're interested

Katherine-2

Sure! I'd love to. It's just I could never finish the RCs so I basically did like 4 full PTs and kept practicing the RCs in other PTs.... Gosh!!! Feel like I wasted so many PTs!!!!

BruiserWoods

It's okay. As long as you learn every single drop of information you can from the PTs, it's not a waste. Go back through untimed with a clean copy of the passage. Read through every single word. Understand the passages. Then go to the questions. Don't go check which ones you got wrong already. Just start a clean one and try to pretend it's the first time you're doing it when you get to the questions.

Katherine-2

@BruiserWoods what do mean "untimed"? I did PT 61-65 full length, and 66-71 RC so far, i thought I should just restart from 66 as if I never did the RC part and do full length timed test and BR again. And, I basically always have 3-4 questions in RC, and almost a whole passage of questions left after 35mins per section( I know, it's horrible!), so should I finish doing it after test time and BR all questions?

Cant Get Right

It’s all good @"Katherine-2" . Use PTs 1-36 to drill individual sections if you need. Everything above that, save for full, timed PTs. And I definitely agree with @BruiserWoods that if you want to work on speed, you need to BR. Speed does not come from moving fast, it comes from understanding the logic upon which the test operates. I actually go way faster when I slow down a bit. That sounds like a contradiction but here’s what happens: When I’m trying to move fast, my comprehension suffers. I save time on the front end, but once I start actually trying to answer the questions, I frequently have to revisit the stimulus or passage because I didn’t grasp the information on as deep a level as is really needed to answer the questions. When I slowed down a bit, I was able to really process the information and burn through the answer choices. So it’s okay if you’re not the fastest reader. If you can read at a reasonable pace that will allow you to comprehend the information, that’s the pace you should be reading at.

That being said, reading at a good pace is not enough. Once you get into the question/answer choices, you’ve got to have mastered the logic to the extent that you can identify the correct answer quickly and confidently. This is where speed comes from. Logic is a universal language, so you are at no disadvantage at all when it comes to the logic. Take advantage of this as a potential equalizer. All day every day, I’d put my money on an ESL student with mastery of Logic over a native speaker with only a moderate grasp of Logic. Comprehending the information doesn’t do you much good if you can’t execute quickly. With an elementary grasp of conditional reasoning, for example, anyone can work through a sufficient assumption question. The first step would be to translate the passage into logical language, identify the gap, fill it, translate it back into English, and then identify that within the answer choices. This takes a long time. When you’ve truly mastered conditional reasoning, this process happens as you read. It becomes second nature to the extent that it’s almost subconscious. Someone made the analogy to riding a bike which I really liked: It’s difficult at first because you don’t really know what you’re doing. You have to consciously direct every muscle to maintain balance. Once you’ve got it though, you never think about it again. It’s all still happening but you don’t have to consciously control it. This is the level you want to reach with logic, and this is where LSAT speed comes from. If you’ve mastered the test, then spend an extra minute on an RC passage if you need. If you’ve comprehended the passage and mastered the test, you’ll gain all that time back and then some as you burn through the questions.

The way you gain that mastery is by first, earning a firm grasp of the logic from the curriculum; second, PTing with a thorough and meticulous Blind Review; and third, using the BR process to identify and eliminate your weaknesses.

Katherine-2

@"Cant Get Right" thanks! the reason I'm using recent PTs for individual section practice is that there's been some changes for each section over time (take RC for example, the comparison passage (Psg A & Psg B only appears in 50+ PTs). I'm worried whether PT 1-36s really help or indicate a correct direction for practice.

Cant Get Right

The test has evolved, but the logical principles that the test is built on hasn't. Much of it goes back to Aristotle actually. So even though the test has gone through some changes, the early PTs are still a huge asset. It's all the same logic. Save all the rest of the later PTs. They do have slightly more value because they're recent and closest to what you can expect on test day. You're still learning though so you don't want to waste that extra value by using those tests for drills.