LG still not clicking...

J. Tharp

Excuse me while I vent and ask for encouragement.

During my diagnostic, I did fairly well on LR and RC and totally failed LG (70-80% correct on LR and RC and 27% on LG...) 4 months later... I'm really not fairing that much better with LG. I've completed the CC months ago, have been employing the method that many of us use, trying to go through every LG and keeping track of my time on a spreadsheet. I felt like I was getting a lot better and recently during a full PT I completed 3 games with almost all questions correct and I got through about half of the last game. However, on my most recent PT, I just completely failed LG, doing hardly any better than my diagnostic (although I greatly improved on my LR and RC scores).

Anyway, I don't really know what I'm asking for. I know what to do. I'm going to revisit the CC and keep trying to get through all of the LG before test day (Dec). I guess I'm just hoping others have had a similar experience and could offer encouragement that they eventually had a moment when it "clicked". I just don't understand why I'm not getting any better. I understand the foundations. I follow JY when watching the videos. It's just that when I'm confronted with some variation that I haven't seen before, I totally freak and want to give up.

legal_name

I think it's important to step back and analyze which games scare you and try to sort them into a general category. For me, it was in-out games. The second I processed that two group grouping games were in-out games, I felt more confident in recognizing them later on. It's important to be able to recognize how the test makers can disguise a "game type" you know and are very familiar with. If you are like me, it's generally the anxiety alone of not being able to recognize the game type because of some minor detail that gets you. Be flexible, they are lately really loving their hybrid games. Also, if there is an acceptability question - glance there for a quick hint as to how the set up may look (even if it's a partial). This doesn't always work, but has helped me in the past.

Also,

I would really recommend exhausting a game of all possible solutions. What I mean by that, is that there are generally different approaches to solving a game. I.e. splitting game boards, brute force, solving for all possibilities etc. Try to focus on the games that really got you. Solve them in every way possible. It'll help you see the inner workings of the game and then give you a better idea why the testmakers had to ask the questions they did - if that makes sense.

conraddnoronha

Hi @"J. Tharp" . Initially LG was my weakest section too. But now I get 0-2 incorrect. Just hang in there and practice. At first practice them un-timed, then re-practice the test if you get anything wrong. Most games are similar. Once you get the hang of it, you'll be able to go through the games really fast. Best of luck!

J. Tharp

Thanks so much for this advice! @legal_name

legal_name

You're welcome @"J. Tharp". Best of luck!

draj0623

So a few months ago I scored a -12 on an LG section and I learned the most from this awful experience. I focused on the types of games that crushed me on that section and drilled like a mad man. I promise you that if you put in work, this section is conquerable! I'm now ranging -0 to -4.

BinghamtonDave

For me, LG has required more work to nearly perfect than any other section I have worked on on this exam. A ton of work. I don't want to suggest anything less than that, LG has required more practice and more review to get to -0/-3 range than almost anything I have done in my entire life. I've had to scratch for every point. Fool proofing, untimed games, over 100 timed sections, you name it, with LG I have been there during this journey.

One thing that I have tried that really gave me a boost is something a little bit out of the box. I have blindfolded myself and had my fiancé read the games to me and I talk her through the set-up/keeping track of pieces/managing inferences. That was what really allowed me to hone in on games. Keeping track of those things in my mind and talking her through the games without looking has forced me to remember everything and juggle these things in my mind in the most efficient way possible to answer the questions. I know it sounds out of the box, it sounds rather bizarre to be honest, but it has worked for me!
*Note here that it is important that my fiancé has almost zero familiarity with the exam, she is going to nursing school. This is important because I don't want someone doing this with me that makes the inferences known, or proceeds with a setup that holds advantages over the one I had in mind.

Try it will an easy game. Try it with PT 2 Game 1.

Nanchito-1-1

@David3389 that's insane. I love it! I must try this!

@"J. Tharp" Repetition and practice is key. If you understand the foundations really all you have to do is find out which kinda game or a particular game that messes you up then kill it. Come back in a few days/weeks and kill it again.

Play around with sections you took already. Especially for games 35 and under. Just with those alone, you be able to recognize patterns better and clean up your sketches. Take 1,2,3,or 4 games undertime, or overtime to take the pressure off and see how you do anyway. Practice skipping methods for games and questions.

When you freak, dont panic. Gain control of the situation by taking a few breaths. Maybe come back later and do a different game. If it's the last game, and it's open ended sometimes you just have to brute force it, but look at where you can save time in the other games. Try and shave time off the easy ones and get under the target time for them.

Alex

@"J. Tharp" said:
I guess I'm just hoping others have had a similar experience and could offer encouragement that they eventually had a moment when it "clicked".

I can relate, let me tell you. I began and missed 20 on my diagnostic. I've prepped the hardest/longest with LG and it is still the section that feels least intuitive for me. It gives me anxiety because I know that if I get stuck, I'm screwed.

At one point, before I found 7Sage, I accepted that on the real LSAT I would miss half the LG questions and decided that meant I needed to go -0 on LR and RC. I literally was so bad that only missing -12 was a goal of mine when I began prepping in June.

One day I decided to check out a couple of the free 7Sage videos on YouTube. I eventually signed up for a course and spent most of July fool proofing games. It finally clicked for me after I spent 3 weeks fool proofing every game from PTs 1-38 multiple times. I was painfully slow at first, then I got a bit faster. Some days I would get so discouraged, feel like an idiot, and bang my head against my desk. How could I get an A in a college level Calc class and not figure out "games"?

I found that when I started approaching LG like a math equation I began to do a lot better. Just follow the steps that the course taught me. At this point, I knew how to diagram the games, but answering the questions is what I needed the work on. I began keeping set ups and just working through the questions multiple times for certain games that gave me trouble.

Part of me began taking getting better at these dumb games as a challenge. After a while, it almost began to feel like an actual game or puzzle. Dare I say, fun?

When I began doing this I realized that one way I could save a lot of time (I'm talking shaving 1-3 minutes off per game) was to be smart when attacking the answers. I kind of began pre-phrasing LG questions to an extent. I knew that LSAC will often exploit the key inferences in a game. So keeping this in mind, I focused on answer choices that contained the key inferences. I no longer needed to go through every answer choices or brute force nearly as much as I had been doing. I would laser focus in on a couple and surely enough with some practice I got good at seeing which ones to even consider. It didn't always work, but more times than not it did.

Between this and memorizing the inferences from fool proofing hundreds of games over the course of almost a month, I got much better and arguably just as important, more confident with games.



You can do it!

AutonomousBarnacles

I was seriously exactly where you were just a month or two ago - I can totally relate to how you feel. I will so though that all of the advice that you have heard both on this discussion and in other posts is 100% dead on; you just need to trust the process. I kept looking for a silver bullet that would make LG completely clear up for me and I never found one. I was waiting for a moment where I could 'feel' or 'sense' something click and it never came. I listened to the advice and methods that people suggested on here and all of a sudden it just happened. I didn't have an "A-ha!" moment and I didn't feel any different one day versus another; it just sort of happened. Trust yourself and trust the process and I'm confident that it'll eventually click for you. You WILL get there, you just really have to push yourself and stick to your guns.

J. Tharp

Thanks so much everyone! Seriously, I needed all of this encouragement/advice. @JamesKent3
@"Alex Divine" @nanchito @David3389 @draj0623

desire2learn

@"Alex Divine" said:
When I began doing this I realized that one way I could save a lot of time (I'm talking shaving 1-3 minutes off per game) was to be smart when attacking the answers. I kind of began pre-phrasing LG questions to an extent. I knew that LSAC will often exploit the key inferences in a game. So keeping this in mind, I focused on answer choices that contained the key inferences. I no longer needed to go through every answer choices or brute force nearly as much as I had been doing. I would laser focus in on a couple and surely enough with some practice I got good at seeing which ones to even consider. It didn't always work, but more times than not it did.

This is something I picked up from watching so many of JY's videos that has helped me a lot as well. Understanding what is likely to be the answer in CBT situations or being aware ahead of time that a specific rule is likely to be exploited. JY shows this time and again in his video explanations. You may have to go through 100 or more of them before it starts to become ingrained as a habit but it certainly saves a lot of time.

Alex

Exactly! Like for CBTs, more times than not the CR will involve a floater if there is one. I definitely went through 100 games before I realized it, truly understood it, and implemented it. It's been a big advantage shaving all the time I used to spend brute forcing the answer choices.

Not Ralph Nader

@"J. Tharp" sorry for late comment, you are among those fortunate few who did not max their LG yet and still have time before December. I find the below approach very helpful,. Try to use the timer and force yourself to complete all the four games. I hope it will help you.

@nader.parham said:
Personally I find it very helpful to max my LG score within a short amount of time using an approach which is based on many great advices on this form my suggestion is that while you are working on your timing implement this approach as well. I am a ELS student and started LG with -16 and managed to reach -2 to -0 using this and I do not see any reason why you would not be able to do it faster than me. After fool proofing LG Bundle, take LG sections of PT 1-35 under time and watch J.Y explanation after completing each section but this time when you watching focus mostly on how he teaches to perceive the right answer choice (instead of brute force) and try to implement his suggestions on the next section.

Do not get bog down on one question (take a hint if possible) but if you find one super difficult and you are confident about your master game board, skip the question answer others in that particular game then come back to it use your other set ups you drew; if nothing works finish the section and if you have extra time come back to it. The ultimate goal is to be able to systematically answer any questions so when under exam pressure you just follow your system. You need to develop a system that works best for you. The system I am trying to follow is like

1- read the question set up the sketch try make obvious inferences
2- check answer choices
3- If still confused take count of the items write them near questions and go through the rules one by one make inferences
4- check answer choices
5- If still stuck, SKIP the question
6- After I have done all other questions I will take another try at it by only checking the question against all of my sketches (I do not try to make inferences again unless I already finished the section)

Pacifico Logic Games Attack Strategy

https://7sage.com/discussion/#/discussion/2737/logic-games-attack-strategy

J.Y fool-proof guide

https://7sage.com/lesson/fool-proof-guide-to-perfection-on-logic-games/

Online Stopwatch with Loop-countdown
http://www.online-stopwatch.com/loop-countdown/