Not sure how to study for the LR anymore... please help!

CrushLSAT

Hi All,

Just to provide some background information, I have been studying for about 5 months now, both on my own (using Powerscore trilogy and 7sage) and have recently completed a 3 months in-person LSAT course in the city I'm in. When I first started studying I got about 9 questions wrong for an LR section (untimed) and slowly improved to getting 5-7 questions wrong under timed conditions. I thought I was finally on the right track and was looking forward to seeing more improvements until when I recently started getting more questions wrong than I initially started (12-14 questions wrong both under timed and untimed conditions)... I realized that usually when I go back to the questions I got wrong, the correct AC was one of the last two AC's that I was contemplating between before I chose the wrong one if that's any good sign.

I am watching the videos on 7sage again as well as reviewing questions I got wrong but feel quite defeated at this point. I have postponed my September exam to December (thank God!) and am really hoping to get a great score (170+) in Dec. I've been really careful not to burn too many questions but at this point I'm thinking maybe I should go back to early exams (PT 7 to 18) and take as much questions as possible to solidify my understanding of all the core principles. My question is, should I go through the LR sections as an entire section or drill them by question types? Also, is there anything else you guys recommend me do for the month of September? Really appreciate your help in advance!

Nanchito-1-1

@jchoi225 said:
was one of the last two AC's that I was contemplating between before I chose the wrong one if that's any good sign.

It could be a sign of shaky fundamentals. I recommend you really take your time with br. Type out your explanations as to why each ac is right or wrong, then watch the video. Let the explanation sit with you for a while. Then revisit the curriculum if needed and drill weaknesses.

@jchoi225 said:
My question is, should I go through the LR sections as an entire section or drill them by question types?

All of 35 and down is for drilling. If you know you have a particular weakness, you should attack it. You find out if you have a particular weakness by doing full-timed sections/tests. These things can evolve with time.

CrushLSAT

Thank you so much for your response @nanchito! Btw, I've noticed people mentioning the term BR a lot on this board and was wondering what it stands for...? Also, I will definitely start reviewing questions I got wrong or found tricky more thoroughly by logging them. Thanks for your suggestion

Nanchito-1-1

https://7sage.com/lesson/the-blind-review-is-a-habit/

Br the method of test-taking review.

CrushLSAT

I watched this video before but didn't really take it to heart. I will take a look at it again and use the method. Thanks @nanchito!

Cant Get Right

Yeah, it seems like you've been trying to overwhelm the LSAT with brute force quantity. You've taken tons of courses, but it doesn't seem like you've done much quality studying. Videos and books and classes are resources, but I'm not sure I'd count reviewing them as studying. If you're not BRing, you've wasted every PT you've taken, and every section you've drilled. Go back and retake and BR everything you've done so far. Then, let your BR performance guide what you do from there. It will tell you where you are weak and where you need to focus your studying.

CrushLSAT

@"Cant Get Right" Thanks for your suggestion! I actually tried several LR sections I've done a few months back and still got 4-6 questions wrong from each section . I guess it just goes to show that reviewing each question I got wrong in detail and reviewing why the correct AC is correct in specific situations are better than just doing more questions...

Cant Get Right

Absolutely @CrushLSAT . And don't just review questions you got wrong. Do your review before you check your answers and review anything you're not sure about.

desire2learn

Something that 7sage is very helpful with also is seeing what types of questions you are struggling with. If you can identify specific weaknesses then focusing on the CC for those as well as doing some practice questions just in the areas you need work can be a big help.
An important thing here is your mindset. I too am trying to score high and have hit some rough patches where it seems like I'm not improving but what I have found to be most helpful is to remind myself that ultimately I am trying to add skills for law school not just hit a set score. If I work on skills and use missed questions as a realistic assessment of where I need more skills (instead of worrying because I can't seem to get them right) then the score will take care of itself in the long run. I feel like this takes a lot of the frustration out of the process and opens up a host of possibilities for actual learning improvement.
Additionally, how is your timing? If you haven't taken to heart the skipping strategy advocated on 7sage (CC and an awesome Webinar video) you really should). Working toward 25 in 25 (notice I said toward, not doing right away, after all, we are trying to add skills/improve skills) with the skipping strategy can make a big difference as well.
Hope some of that helps! You can do it, but work on the process of the learning and not the end product.