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I Need Help
I feel so defeated right now, and I need some advice. I've been studying for this exam for a little over a year, and I feel like I need to reexamine my study methods. I've taken 23 PTs (including my diagnostic) in total, with an average PT score of 155. The following is my breakdown of the averages for each section: -7.1for LR / -7.9 LG /-10.6 RC. Looking at these numbers in conjunction with the amount of time I've been studying makes me feel so inadequate. I feel like crying as I write this, but I feel like I need to be as forthcoming as possible.
I've tried to follow all the wonderful advice given on this forum and it has, without a doubt, helped me to better understand the underlying concepts of this test. On a positive note, my BR score has been in the high 170s for the past 10 PTs I've taken, an indication, if any, that I'm grasping the concepts. I think it's important to note that I am very meticulous with my blind review method. I have literally hundreds of pages of notes and explanations for problems I've missed. Nevertheless, I still find myself struggling to perform at my best during PTs. I've attempted to remedy this by taking timed sections in between PTs, as well as drill specific question types. I've also implemented skipping strategies during timed tests which has allowed to get through all the questions with a couple minutes to spare at the end of each section. I have seen some improvement in my score. I have been scoring lately in the high 150s with even a couple of PTs in the low 160s. This has been a confidence booster, even though they maybe outliers.
I'm starting to think I just have really bad test anxiety, but I don't want to chalk it up to that just yet. My frustration has led me to try and control other aspects of my life with the hope that it would give me some edge during PTs. For example, I've picked up meditation, I've started going to the gym regularly, and I've completely cut out alcohol from my diet. I'm not sure if these changes have helped, as I've been unable to discern any drastic changes in my score since I've implemented them.I'm struggling to not succumb to feeling so defeated, but it's really hard not to.
With that said, I'm determined to not give up. I've invested waaaay too much time. I just feel rather desperate right now and need some advice. My BR score does give me hope that I'm understanding the material, for the most part. I just don't know what the fuck is happening during my PTs. Does anyone else have similar struggles?
Comments
How do you do with confidence drilling? Also, you might look into getting a tutor and filming yourself take a PT so that you can see where you are wasting time and where you should just go with your gut and move on to the next problem.
How do you BR?
You may have taken this as far as you can on your own. That certainly doesn't mean you can't improve from here, though. Have you considered a tutor? 7Sage has a handful of approved tutors here https://7sage.com/discussion/#/discussion/16199/list-of-forum-titles
@Ohnoeshalpme , thanks for your response. I have not done many confidence drills, so I will start implementing more of them in my studying. I do notice that I circle a lot of questions during PTs, a possible indication that I'm still not confident in my answer choices. Perhaps more confidence drills can improve this area and help me better gauge the right amount of confidence I need for questions. Also, I will take your advice on filming myself take PTs. If I still don't see improvement I will strongly consider getting a private tutor. I really appreciate your advice.
@NotMyName, In regard to BR, I follow the 7sage method. I circle questions that I'm not 100% confident on, this includes circling questions that I'm unsure why the wrong answer choices are incorrect. I do this for LR, RC, and LG. After I take a PT, I will get a clean copy of the questions I circled and write out explanations for each question. I really try to focus on why I got a particular question wrong. I also try to gauge and correct any faulty reasoning or thinking that may have led me to not be 100% sure about an answer choice. After writing out explanations, I check to see if there was a specific question type that I circled more frequently. I then print out drill sets for that particular question type and do a bunch of those, usually untimed. This approach has worked, as I find myself only missing about 3 - 4 questions total for an entire exam during BR (still missing tough curve-breaker questions). However, these improvements have not translated well under timed conditions.
@Ohnoeshalpme did mention doing more confidence drills. I'm hoping those will help some. I will strongly consider a tutor. Thank you so much for your advice!
OP, what was your diagnostic score? If you take the average of all your exams that's a little bit misleading, isn't it? What was your diagnostic compared to the average of your most recent 5 exams? That might give a better perspective.
@anonclsstudent , my diagnostic was a 151. You're right, taking the average score from all PTs is a bit misleading. My average for my last five PTs is a 157, so I have improved, just not at the pace that I'd like. I think maybe focusing more on timing may help, this is an area that I only really practice during actual PTs. Perhaps more timed sections and confidence drills will help improve my performance under timed conditions, as @Ohnoeshalpme mentioned.
Thanks for your reply.
@Ignatius Actually, our stories are damned near identical, give a point or two here and there. My BR is going up and up, but my timed PT scores are not going up as fast. I've been in a rut lately. I know part of that is environmental. I have a knack for finding the worst, noisiest, most distracting places (that shouldn't be, but turn out to be) to take these PTs in. The last one, for nearly an hour, I had a hard time even hearing myself think! LOL
But, I know it's also the timing. The timing kills me. I think that will improve, in time, just as our scores have been improving since the beginning. It's just maddeningly slow sometimes, and it seems like plateaus before breakthroughs are very common. I've read a number of posts complaining of plateauing. They usually break and scores go up.
When are you testing @Ignatius ? I'm signed up for June, and I know the stress (combined with some life BS) has been eating at me, too. I imagine that does awful things to our PT scores. Our BR's are showing that we know the material... we just have to get it out of our heads quicker and not fall for trap answers when pressed for time.
Stay with it. The potential money saved is worth the struggle.
Hey there -- I totally understand the stress and the frustration of feeling like you're not improving. I think everyone else here has given you some solid advice so I don't have much to add. But I wonder if you might benefit from taking a break? I don't know when you're planning to take the exam, but a few days off might really help. Maybe you're a bit burned out.
But from what I understand, you have a good grasp of the concepts since you have a high BR score. It seems like you now need to look at strategy/timing to help bridge the gap. Have you watched the post-CC strategies webinar?
Other than that, I highly recommend foolproofing if you haven't already. LG used to be my worst section and FPing 1-35 helped me get to -2 average on LG. There's also a tone of miscellaneous games in the early PTs, and there's been a re-emergence of such games on newer exams.
As for RC, I saw a lat of score improvement timed after I got into the habit of writing low-res/high-res summaries, main point, primary purpose, and author tone for every passage during BR. During the test itself, I stopped writing and worry while reading, and just look for a broad structural understanding and quickly summarize the main point in my head before attacking the questions.
Again, definitely take a break if you haven't already. Other than that, don't lose hope! This test is learnable and hard work will pay off!
It's comforting to know I'm not the only one. I'm registered to take the LSAT in July, so I still have some time for improvement. I do need to work on studying more efficiently, and I could probably take more breaks throughout the week. Thanks for your reply, and best of luck studying!
@"Habeas Porpoise", I could and should take more breaks. I will take your advice on that. I will also revisit the post CC strategies webinar. I've watched it once, but that was a while ago. It'll be good to get reacquainted with the tips in that webinar.
As for LG, I've foolproofed all games 1-35, but I will revisit those. I try to do at least one timed LG section a day to stay fresh, and I usually perform fairly well (-3 on average). However, it's another story during timed PTs.
In regard to RC, I've started to focus much more on hi/low res summaries. However, I will admit that my studying in this area has not been as substantive compared to LR and LG. This is probably due RC being my least favorite section. Nevertheless, it's still apart of the score, and I'm honing in on making progress here, too.
Thanks for your input! I really appreciate it.
Hi @Ignatius! It sounds like you really are working hard! I had to come look at the forums just now because I wanted to see if I'm cracking. We have similar study methods and diagnostic: 151 and I was hitting high150s in PTs. Until today. I just bombed PT 37 so hard it's laughable. I would be in shock but I knew it was happening as I took it. I do well on drilling, and then get to the tests and whoa, maybe I have more test anxiety than I think? Maybe I'm burned out...diminishing returns? Hilariously I did better today on LG than LR. No idea HOW that happened. I'm taking the test in June. I'm going to breathe and reboot. I do find that meditation helps. I just ran a half marathon last weekend and kept saying to myself: if I can do this, I can kill the LSAT. I've got this! You've got this!
Thanks, @NicoK331 !
Nico: PT 37 was one of my worst, too. Good BR, but really crappy score.
You need to find the patterns in what you get wrong. If you are falling for common mistakes, such as misreading or getting the opposite answers, then you need to make note of that. Go over your last 5 PTs and analyze the mistakes you made. Categorize your mistakes. Be conscious of them when you take your next PT. I am taking a guess here, but I feel like you are making the same mistakes over and over again. I am considering your gap between your BR score and actual score as evidence of this.
During my BR I will make a note of why I missed each question. What I'm not doing is categorizing these mental errors, nor am I consciously reminding myself to not make them again. Thanks for your advice! I will be more rigorous with my BRing.
I kind of have a similar story to you, Ive been studying for well over a year and sadly to say ti feels as though Iam wasting my time completely I feel like I've seen no improvement at all even during BR I have so much anxiety and find myself constantly having the right answers and changing them to the wrong ones because I don't know how to stop second guessing myself. Would you tell me how. you go through your BR ?
@Ignatius
@MarieChloe, I understand your frustration. It's very difficult to study for long time without seeing substantial improvement. We are similar in this respect, and it is especially difficult when you work and only have a limited window of time to put in quality studying. I want you to know that I've been going through all this, too. You are not alone.
In regard to BR, your BR score is indication to me that you may need to revisit the core curriculum, but don't worry, it is all very learnable. It just takes time and patience. It took me about two solid runs through the CC and countless notes before I felt truly comfortable with the strategies and concepts. This was even after completing Mike Kim's LSAT Trainer, lessons and all.
With that said, this is how I BR the LR section of my PTs :
1. I get a clean copy of the exam and review the questions I circled during my timed take. (I usually reuse the PT and erase my answer selections to save paper). Using a clean copy is important because it prevents any influence or bias your initial answer choice may have on your BR answer choice.
Qtype
How do I approach this question type?
What's the Premise? ( if qtype requires you to analyze the premise i.e. Flaw/SA/NA, etc.)
Conclusion? (if qtype requires it)
Analysis ( this is where I try and be critical of the argument before I enter the answer choices)
Answer Choice Analysis ( this is where I write out my explanation for why each answer choice is correct or incorrect).
After I write explanations for all the questions I circled during my PT, I check my answer choices. If I still got a question wrong even after BR, I look at the explanation videos to figure out where I messed up in my line of thinking for that particular problem ( this is also an area I need to spend more time on ) It's important, as others have said many times on this forum, to figure out why you got tripped up on a question, even after BR. Was it a misreading of the stimulus? Was there a confusing referential phrase that you didn't get? Was it the conditional logic that confused you? This step is crucial. Figuring out what tripped you up allows you to hone in on that one problem area. From here, I will usually print out a drill set and attempt those question types all while being conscious of my previous mental errors.
And that's pretty much how I do it. I just wish I'd start seeing some improvement in during my timed takes when it counts. I'm strongly considering getting a tutor.
Best of luck with your studying!
Thank you so much and same to you I will try using this method suing clean copies for BR and see how it helps me.
Hi @Ignatius I always get drastically lower scores when I’m stressed or tired (like today... 156 when I usually score around 162- devastating still). You can do this. I used to get those scores and now I stepped back and eliminated all the crap out of my life that was taking out of my mind energy. I think that’s important. If you understand the concepts well then it’s mostly about the nerves and the confidence I think. Make sure you have a cut off time where you say “you’ve done enough hours” take a break and do something totally different for the rest of the day without thinking about it. Also make sure you’re getting like 8 hours of sleep, at least that’s important for me. Taking time in nature is also a mind saver.