How to break through a plateau?

taylor_michelle

Hi friends,
I appear to be in a bit of a dilemma. I'm registered to write the Sept. LSAT and have been practicing steadily for about two weeks. I'm scoring consistently around 168, which I realize is fine, but I just can't seem to break through that plateau. My struggles will either always be in logic games or reading comp, but sometimes I get 100% on reading comp so it really just doesn't make sense. My gpa is low enough that if I want a chance to get into a decent school, a 170 would really be an asset. Does anyone have any advice on how to break through and gain 4-5 points before the exam?
Thank you!
Taylor

Sprinkles

@chartiertaylor said:
and have been practicing steadily for about two weeks.

Have you just began your studies? If so, getting a 168 is extremely impressive with only 2 weeks of prep.

runiggyrun

@chartiertaylor - congrats on scoring 168 after two weeks of prep!
I don't think you're at a plateau - 2 weeks of prep is (should be) at most 4-5 PT's, so you're still getting used to the test.
It might be helpful to tell us in a bit more detail what exactly you've been doing for these two weeks - are you just taking PT's, are you reading some books, are these two weeks of PTing after finishing some kind of studying curriculum, etc. so we can tailor the advice more to your situation.

Cant Get Right

If you’ve been studying for two weeks and you’re at a legit, timed 168; you don’t need to be aiming for 170. You need to be aiming for 180.

taylor_michelle

Thanks guys. I've just began studying, and haven't done any formal curriculum. I've just been doing tests and watching some 7sage logic games videos. I also read through a little bit of an exam kracker book on logic games, but my performance in the sections just seems so inconsistent! 168 is indeed my timed score, and i've done six tests. I often get 100% or really close on the logical reasoning, and then I either bomb the RC or logic games.

Nanchito-1-1

@chartiertaylor wow, that's pretty awesome. How do you study and drill?

taylor_michelle

I do tests, mark them, and then review. I've just started doing the blind review method, and I totally see the advantages in that. I also watch videos for almost every single logic game since that's where I tend to struggle.

runiggyrun

That's pretty awesome! I think a systematic approach to games would help you a lot (7Sage is great, and I especially found JY's approach to in/out and grouping games to be the best of the bunch by a very long shot, but the LSAT trainer is also pretty solid, although not nearly as detailed, and I'm sure other books could be useful as well). Then, after you get a good grasp on some fundamental concepts of LG, I'd do the FoolProof method where you do games repeatedly at increasingly long intervals to start internalizing the repeating patterns).
For RC, make sure you read for structure rather than detail and for thorough understanding of the topic, and use the Blind Review process to your advantage. You've obviously got a good grasp of logic and you can read well if you're able to be nearly perfect on LR, you just need to go through your answers on RC and figure out the tricks that the LSAT writers use to make wrong answers wrong. They are not that different from what they use in LR, and practice, especially thorough reviewing, should greatly help.
Good luck!

taylor_michelle

I should add that I did do about a week of prep two years ago focusing almost exclusively on logic games, so I think that has helped my score up until this point as well.

Nanchito-1-1

Are the pt's recent? a mixture?

taylor_michelle

@nanchito the most recent that i've done so far is 57, other than that I think i've done 7, 9,11, 19, and 20...or something like that anyways.

BruiserWoods

jesus christ. you're a unicorn. and you're CERTAINLY not in a plateau. Go through the curriculum and blind review method. you'll break 170 in no time.

Nanchito-1-1

@BruiserWoods said:
you're a unicorn

Seems like it, its power is giving me goosebumps. If you're hell bent on sept and you see weaknesses in games, id try and get that time per game down... way down, like 3-4 mins for simple ones. Maybe revisit some of those games that gave you a hard time.

BruiserWoods

Nicole Hopkins

@"Cant Get Right" said:
If you’ve been studying for two weeks and you’re at a legit, timed 168; you don’t need to be aiming for 170. You need to be aiming for 180.

Wow word

Nicole Hopkins

@BruiserWoods said:

LOL!!!

Sprinkles

You have approx 3 months to increase your score by roughly 22 pts to get a 180. Shoot for the stars! I'm actually looking forward to seeing what you end up scoring in September haha all the best!!!

BruiserWoods

@"Nicole Hopkins" SHUNNNNNN THE NONBELIEVER - SHUUUUUUUUUUUNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

stepharizona

@BruiserWoods said:
@"Nicole Hopkins" SHUNNNNNN THE NONBELIEVER - SHUUUUUUUUUUUNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

I literally just spit my drink out... thanks @BruiserWoods hahahahahaha

BruiserWoods

@stepharizona anything to make it through the work day, i suppose

stepharizona

@BruiserWoods said:
work day

I dont even know what those are anymore I just have LSAT days...

BruiserWoods

@stepharizona consider yourself lucky. I have to study and maintain a 9-5 *cries*

Alejandro

You can't be in a plateau after 2 weeks of studies. You are in a privileged position! Make sure you don't waste any more preptests and focus on the curriculum. After you take a dive into it, especially the logic games lessons, you can get back to PTing and expect your scores to soar.

taylor_michelle

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA guys I came on to here so frustrated and i'm literally just sitting here laughing my a** off. Thank you! Also, what do you mean when you say the curriculum?

BruiserWoods

@chartiertaylor I guess I made an assumption that you had bought a 7sage package. There's a whole curriculum where J.Y. lays out different foundations of logic and how to attack different question types. I see now you don't have a paid account, so you won't be able to access them.

If you're not planning on purchasing an account, at the very least look up J.Y.'s Blind Review method series on youtube. I guarantee you will have a better understanding of the test if you follow that approach. It's the one that most of us here, especially top scorers use.

Also, you're welcome.

Alejandro

i would recommend you purchase the starter package at least. Even if it is just for the logic games lessons. You will be golden with those. You can also reference RC and LR lessons when needed.

Sprinkles

Also have you taken any timed practice tests?

Liz L 123

Echoing everyone else's advice but let me add my own experience to put you at ease. I started off with similar scores to you in the beginning of my prep. I had a breakthrough after a few weeks to 174, then a bunch of variation over a couple months before breaking into the high 170s. I averaged 178 on my last 4 tests and am taking the LSAT on Monday with high hopes! So my point is don't worry about a plateau, even a high plateau. You can and will go higher with systematic practice. Logic games are the low hanging fruit, as I'm sure you know. With reading comp and logical reasoning I found it helpful to do a written review after every PT with an explanation of why I missed each question and a summary at the end saying what I needed to change in my approach. Then I'd reread the summary before each PT. If you're bombing RC sporadically, pay attention to what was different on that test (did you lose track of time? misread questions? get misled by tone when the question was about content?) Just my two cents. Good luck!

taylor_michelle

@montahar i've only ever taken timed tests.

taylor_michelle

Thanks @llagerfeld , that really does put me at ease actually!