LR: A beginner how do you practice with 7sage problem sets

Giant Panda

Dear Sir,

I just started LSAT and now entering the 3rd week.

Progress is being made. But I guess I practice differently and was wondering what you think about this? Please let me know your perspective.

So, traditionally, I guess most students will time themselves: 1:27 per question. But I don't understand the logic behind that if you are at the very beginning.

Instead:for each of the problem sets, of course, I follow the general steps, but then I do something different:

1) I try to translate the words into a diagram
2) I WRITE out each answer and exactly WHY I think some are right and some are wrong
3) I blind review with the words that I wrote to match how the "profesisonal-JY" arrive to there wrong or correct answer choices
4) Of the questions I get wrong, I then type them into word and go more in-depth why my brain's neuron went off track

The reason why I do this is because, as a professional golfer, it doesn't make sense for some one to begin going to the course and hit 18 if in the first place the person only knows how to hold the club or just have the ball hit.

Please let me know your thoughts.

Seriousbird

I don't time myself when j do questions. My general approach is, do the lesson, take notes, really understand the logic, drills, quizzes, and then do the question types from the Cambridge 1-38 LR set (that said, I don't think that's available for sale anymore). I do the questions in sets of 25 or 50 and then review. I time myself for LG though and am slowly working my way through RC.

I figure by the time I start PTing (hopefully within 2 weeks), my accuracy will be fast from the drilling and reviewing.

I think your approach overall seems sound, I think it's more important to initially understand the logic and reasoning behind the questions, and with time your accuracy will improve along with timing.

Hope that helps!!

stepharizona

If you are brand new, dont worry about introducing timing yet. Your goal when drilling is to understand the process of completing the question properly and with accuracy.

It sounds like you are studying in a text book manner and you'll have a really deep understand of the test. Nice job!

twssmith

@"Giant Panda" said:
The reason why I do this is because, as a professional golfer, it doesn't make sense for some one to begin going to the course and hit 18 if in the first place the person only knows how to hold the club or just have the ball hit.

Too funny! I actually wrote but didn't post how learning how to play golf and starting to study for the lsat can be analogous because I didn't think it would resonate with most of the community. imo, your instincts are correct!

In a quick snapshot - Learn the different types of clubs and how to swing with them during the instructional phase, then focus on the driving range to be able to hit a specific shot that is similar to timing questions sets before you even think about stepping on to the golf course playing a round, ie. PT phase.

One of things that I wish that I had done in my early prep was to add a mini-PT phase post curriculum that was just taking a timed Section one at a time with thorough BR - i.e. playing just 18 holes instead of attacking an entire tournament at one time when you are just starting out. This will help build analytics for deficient areas to focus on and learn how to implement timing strategies per section and being able to shift between Q types especially in LR. Also, recording my practice sections and reviewing my performance has provided many insights for improvement to correct bad habits - i.e. sitting on a curve breaker question too long and missing out on easier points.

Forgive me for taking the golf analogy to another level, but I equate learning LG like putting. Doing games over and over again until the put finally sinks and becomes a natural habit will help expand your ability to adapt to similar puts(games) as you progress through the PT phase and some of the newer quirkier games.

One of the problems when it comes to practice rounds, there are infinitely more golf courses to test your skills than available PT's to gauge your preparedness so use them wisely.

As you move from stage-to-stage, please post questions regarding your status. Many of us have been around 7Sage skipping this current admissions cycle focusing on next year. I can write a whole book on Do Not Do's in prep so reach out to find out what new and ever evolving test taking strategies are being provided by the community to reach your desired score range.
All the best:)

twssmith

@"Giant Panda" said:
1) I try to translate the words into a diagram
2) I WRITE out each answer and exactly WHY I think some are right and some are wrong
3) I blind review with the words that I wrote to match how the "profesisonal-JY" arrive to there wrong or correct answer choices
4) Of the questions I get wrong, I then type them into word and go more in-depth why my brain's neuron went off track

This is a time tested strategy that has helped many people gain significant score increases. @"Accounts Playable" is renowned for his posts within the comments section of the curriculum, as well as others, for his exact breakdown for (almost?) every question. Because of his meticulous dedication to understand every question, he just scored a 174 on the June lsat!!
As @stepharizona said, you are on the right path:)

Accounts Playable

During the first stages of prep, I don't believe timing is that important. Nailing the fundamentals should be your goal. If it takes 10 minutes to do an "easy" game or 5 minutes to do an LR question, that's fine right now. Speed comes with understanding and practice. Don't worry, you will have plenty of time to practice when you take PTs. You golf analogy is spot on.

I also don't really think that timing yourself on individual questions is all that helpful of a statistic. LR sections as a whole are designed to take 35 minutes, so doing random questions individually timed isn't what you are really going to be doing on the real exam. In other words, one question might be designed to actually take 2 minutes to do, but another might be designed to only take 50 seconds. The average comes out to around 1:25ish, but the time it takes to do that marginal question is varied.