Does this happen to you??

Artak Mamikonyan

I was just wondering if anyone else goes through this... Sometimes, 1. while taking a PT, I lose concentration during certain portions of the test, which end up hurting my score. Does this happen to you? How do you stay focused throughout the entire test? And 2. During Logic Games, the time pressure makes me miss questions I should have easily gotten correct. When i go back to BR, it really confuses me how I miss some of the questions because I completely see my mistakes when I BR. Anyway, this is pretty frustrating because when I have days where I focus better, I usually score at the higher end of my range, and it's just frustrating to not consistently score as high as I can.

BinghamtonDave

Yes, it has happened to me. What you have touched on above is something that is pretty normal actually: a combination of losing focus and time pressures forcing mistakes on us. The LSAT tests our ability to stay focused. It is an intense exam.

Sami

Artak, I think we all have had these issues at one time or another and continue to have them at a certain level. I think as you practice more and more, your focus should build up. I have also found doing a bit of exercise around 5:30 am really helps my energy and focus for a morning test. Also, have you tried taping yourself when you take a test. It has a lot of times made me realize where I went wrong in the thought process.

Artak Mamikonyan

@David3389 Do you have any tips on how you get past that trap? I tried drinking lots of coffee before I take a PT but that didn't really help with focusing in the later sections of the test since the coffee tends to wear off by that point.
@Motivated For the most part, I stay consistent with a 5 day a week workout routine. However, I think the taping idea may be helpful to see where I go wrong. I have realized though that I tend to lose focus most if there is an RC section later in the test. If RC is in the first two sections, I usually focus fine but it becomes a greater challenge once it is in the later sections of the test.

BinghamtonDave

It's subjective and multifaceted in my estimation. You have to try things out to see what works for you my friend. Have you tried drilling single sections from pre-40 PTs just to get your timing and focus down? Try drilling pre-40 single sections, focus on focusing and getting into a rhythm, know when you are spending too much time on something, develop an awareness of when to skip, develop a conscious decision to dedicate focus to every single question. Then try 2 sections at a time from this pre-40 range. Some people disagree with it, but I used everything pre-40ish as material to familiarize myself with the exam and drive home pacing strategies and build up my focus etc, because for the longest time: I just didn't have 4 sections in me.

If as you stated above you see your errors during BR, then the difficulty focusing might entirely be some combination of the difficulty focusing under timed pressure.

BinghamtonDave

I remember when I went back and did sections from the pre 40 era and it was a real breakthrough for me when I could stay entirely focused for a single section. It took awhile to get that process to 2-4 sections but these things progress. Good luck and stay in touch.

danielznelson

As far as losing focus particularly in LR, I try to take each section on my own terms. I do this primarily by picking and choosing which questions I want to tackle before others as opposed to automatically going in order. I would only recommend this on test day if you've practiced this a lot. I know many use various skipping strategies for questions that may strike them the wrong way, but I go a step further, moving right towards questions that seem more appealing like questions with short stimuli, for example. My strategy does come at the obvious risk of mis-bubbling, though I've never had that issue, and I am someone who has made plenty of bubbling errors in general.

With my strategy, I feel more in control and not as if I'm slogging through a section.

Artak Mamikonyan

@David3389 I'm currently in the process of fool proofing every LG from PT 1-35 and in the process of doing that, I'm really trying to not let the time pressure get in the way of making inferences BECAUSE when i BR those same games without the time pressure, the inferences come to me so easily because i give myself a minute to sit back and think about the rules, etc... whereas under the time pressure, i tend to not give myself that time out of fear that i will run out of time. But this only ends up hurting me because I kind of go into the games blind sometimes. I'll give myself a couple seconds to make an inference and if i can't, i just move onto the questions. I then end up getting like 17-20/23, and end up missing questions I could have gotten right had I took the time. Anyway, i appreciate your input man. I'll definitely try incorporating more single sections to see if that helps with my RC focus because that's the section I usually tend to lose focus on.

@danielznelson Honestly, my goal for any LR section is 20+ and I'm currently averaging around that during my PTs. Although I do lose concentration sometimes during LR, my problem with focus is definitely primarily during RC. (Especially if a particular RC section is towards the end of a PT.) Any advice on focusing during RC?

danielznelson

Aside from the more obvious tips like continued practice and engaged reading, I would recommend actively telling yourself you're interested in the passage, if you are not already. Acting the part can be a big help in your mind actually believing it.

In the same vein, try nodding after reading a particular point or wincing when you read a questionable hypothesis. I know that seems ridiculous, but doing this also keeps you engaged in more in control, as you're explicitly acknowledging your comprehension of at least parts of the passage.

Try to ask yourself questions as you go, inquiring about the main point of each passage and what the author is attempting to do. Active reading is arguably crucial to keeping on pace with RC.

You may be doing all of this already, so I apologize for any redundancy. Hope this helps!

Alex

Yeah I have definitely experience some disinterest at times while taking a PT. To combat it I usually just force myself to be interested and jump start my brain. Also I find doing some light exercise before sitting down to take a test helps a lot. Nothing major maybe just 50 push ups or something like that... Get the juices flowing.

Artak Mamikonyan

@danielznelson I actually am not doing most of the things you mentioned like constantly reminding myself that I'm interested in the passage. I actually think I'm going to try that on the next PT i take in the next couple days.I appreciate the input!

@"Alex Divine" Gonna try this during my next PT as well haha I'm willing to try it all as long as there is a potential benefit.

Alex

@"Artak Mamikonyan" said:
@"Alex Divine" Gonna try this during my next PT as well haha I'm willing to try it all as long as there is a potential benefi

Yup... even 10 pushups or something really light helps to get your mind focused!