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Related Discussions
two weeks to go, PT scores dropping, need advice
@"Adam Hawks" @drbrown2 @TheDeterminedC
Guys, thanks for your help with my previous question about RC. I need more advice/assurance/tough love. My target score is 165+. Before deciding whether or not to write in June 2019 test, I wrote three PTs as diagnostic in the first week of study. I got 164(PT39), 171(PT45, supposed to be easy one), and 164(PT72). I thought that with ~25hr/week of study for 12 weeks, I should be able to hit my target score of 165+ safely. For some time, my goal seemed attainable. I did seven PT50s with average of 167(with only one below 165).
But now, I am getting more and more frustrated. Here are my recent PT scores with PT65 from today.
PT75, 167
LG(-2), LR1(-2), LR2(-4), RC(-6)
PT73, 165
LG(-2), LR1(-9), LR2(-3), RC(-5)
PT76, 162
LG(-2), LR1(-11), LR2(-4), RC(-7)
PT77, 167
LG(-4), LR1(-2), LR2(-4), RC(-6)
PT65, 163
LG(0), LR1(-6), LR2(-9), RC(-8)
For PT76 and PT65, RC sections were very difficult for me (i was not able to finish the last 2-3 questions). In both cases, an LR section followed. In both cases, I was lost during the LR: I spent a long time to finish the first couple of easy questions, I forgot about the strategies I suppose to implement (such as negation test for NA, etc.). The only thing I remember was trying to finish the questions. Well, I bombed the LR sections as well.
Besides wonderful suggestions about review/BR, any advice on how I should use the rest of two weeks more effectively? How can I prevent the after-shock effect of a particularly bad section?
Thanks.
Comments
I’m in a similar boat. Average for last 5 has been 167 and most recently I had the worst LR section I’ve had in months. I also average able -6 on RC. What are your BR scores on the tests where you underperformed? If they aren’t well into the 170s then they may reveal some weakness. Have you recorded yourself? Are you going back to questions you skipped or circled in LR? Are you trying to answer every question in RC? I’m only aiming for -3 on RC so I need to remind mussels i can absolutely miss 3 questions in that section. These are some of the questions you need to ask yourself. Also, where are you losing points on LG? Substitution questions? Or just careless errors? For me it’s careless errors so I’ve been drilling LG and focusing on being thorough with the rules.
Seems like you have a good handle on LG, so maybe just stay fresh with a section every day or 2. Do you have BR scores for those tests? During untimed BR did you figure out the question pretty quickly? If so, the time pressures of the PT and trying to maximize your score likely affected your concentration.
The RCs can be tough, but think about what your goals are. Are you trying to go -0 in RC and gunning for a 180? No. You should try to minimize the amount of collateral damage one difficult passage has on the rest of the passages. Read carefully so you don't have to return to the passage except for line cite questions. Skip questions you know will take you a long time or if you get stuck between 2 answer choices. Without time pressure you will read with more clarity, which will make the questions go by way faster, which will have less of a carry-over effect on your other sections overall. Skipping a couple of questions and guessing banks you 2-3 minutes to finish those last few questions.
Strategies for dealing with time pressures and bombing one individual section:
- Don't worry about your score! It is just a PT (which is the attitude you should have on the real thing). Meta analysis during the test is just a distraction that will mess you up on easy questions
- Don't try to go -0. Accept that you will miss a few questions. If you know them all and do get -0 or -1, you get a nice score bump
- Remember that you can still meet/exceed your target score after bombing 1 section by putting in average performances on the other sections
- Remember that you have the ability to go -0-2 in a section, so 1 bad section won't prevent you from even getting into the top few percentiles.
- Try individual timed sections of RC and LR with BR from the older tests. This way you aren't worried about the score and can focus more on fundamentals and timing.
@"Pride Only Hurts" @drbrown2
Thanks a lot for quick reply. I really need some input from you guys. After listening to Account Playable's podcast this morning (thank you @drbrown2 for introducing his BR method), I realized that my BR method is really bare minimum for LR and RC. With LG, I have been using fool-proof method with J.Y's explanation. Though, recently, I haven't really focusing on LG, and my score reflects it.
I put my BR score below.
PT75, 167/ BR172
LG(-2/0)
LR1(-2/0)
LR2(-4/-3)
RC(-6/-5)
PT73, 165/ BR169
LG(-2/0)
LR1(-9/-6)
LR2(-3/-3)
RC(-5/-3)
PT76, 162/ BR170
LG(-2/0)
LR1(-11/-6)
LR2(-4/-2)
RC(-7/-4)
PT77, 167/ BR173
LG(-4/0)
LR1(-2/0)
LR2(-4/-2)
RC(-6/-6)
PT65, 163/ not yet
LG(0/0)
LR1(-6/-2)
LR2(-9/?)
RC(-8/?)
How can I practice skipping method? I know I should really skip/not to spend a lot of time on certain questions. Even I spent a lot of time, I will not be able to get certain questions right. But how exactly can I practice this strategy so that I can effectively use it during exam?
Besides, for the next two weeks, how many PTs should I do? I am planning to do 3 of them in two 6-sections (which I typically do during PTs).
There are lots of resources on 7sage about exactly how to change your studies, so I'm going to focus on mindset here as I think this is playing big role. I've been in a similar mindset before that you seem to have right now. I suggest to stop looking at the numbers wrong per section as a definitive measure of your improvement, it's not helpful nor encouraging. When going over BR and timed answers, look at the positives of what you did well. Did you knock out a question in 20-25 seconds and got it right? What helped you be super confident on these questions where you preformed very well?
Right now, there are two perspectives you can take after these PTs leading up to June. 1) Only focus on the questions you're getting wrong and use this as the only marker of your improvement or 2) recognize and reenforce your improvement on the questions you get right and start finding out and fixing exactly what went wrong with the others---a more wholistic paradigm.
Perspective #1 is easy to fall into as the numbers are right there after the PT, but this interpretation is a flawed perspective for this test. Each test is different not only in what is being questioned, but also in terms of how hard certain questions are for you. Each passage also has different subjects and difficulties that will affect the overall score. You could very well be improving while LSAC just happened to have pressured those areas you need to work on. This is great learning opportunity!! Imagine getting a similar passage subject or seeing the same tricks they used in this practice test on the REAL one. You now are armed and equipped to succeed because you studied and fixed these failures. Other than being flawed, it's really unhealthy to have this mindset because it eliminates all the positives about you and your abilities on this test merely to focus ONLY on the negatives. You are in full control to take every learning opportunity here and improve from it, this is practice after all. Perspective #2 takes advantage of this truth and encourages us to get better in both the right and wrong answers we get. You got -8 on this section. That means you had roughly 18 or 19 small victories on other questions in the overall battle of the RC section. One of my favorite things that absolutely puts the biggest smile on my face is finding a question I confidently got correct that I KNOW I would have got wrong a month or two ago. These victories shouldn't go unnoticed in the face of a score that shows how many you got incorrect. These are the questions that are the real markers of improvement. And the incorrect answers here manifest themselves as opportunities to fix your understanding moving forward so you can increase the amount of victories you have in the RC battle on the June test.
Perspectives ought to be winning mindsets, those of improvement, determination, humility and opportunity. Anything less will hold you back. You can get more victories per RC section with a mindset change and some hard work. Don't fall into this negative trap, there are just too many things you are doing right and other areas where you can improve.
@TheDeterminedC - love this; thank you.
@Jane_lsat
If you are doing 2 big tests and covering 3 PTs, just spend the rest of the entire week that week doing BR and drills. Do an LG every day and rotate LR/RC every other day, with review. Your BR score is so much more important than your PT score, and you cannot do real BR if you check your PT score first. During those LR/RC individual timed section drills just make your mission to pre-phrase the answers when you can and get to 20 questions in 20-25 minutes (LR)/leave yourself with 8+ minutes for the last passage (RC). Don't worry about your PT scaled score. Literally ignore it. All that matters is timing and BR.
Btw there is a great webinar on skipping if you haven't seen it already
@TheDeterminedC Thank you!
@drbrown2 Thanks a lot.
I haven't seen the skipping webinar. Where is it?
Also, you are soooooo right. "you cannot do real BR if you check your PT score first." I have to admit that I haven't take BR as seriously as I supposed to. I was so into the Score itself rather than taking the whole PT/BR thing as a way of learning and improving.
@Jane_lsat Going into your first LSAT test, it sounds like your anxious. Don't be. If you have a bad test on test day, it's just one test and it will not diminish your prospects. You own this test, it doesn't own you.
It’s on the 3rd page of the webinars page. Go to recourses, webinars.
@drbrown2 I did not buy any 7sage course, so I cannot view the webinar. Too bad.... Is there any other places I can get some instruction on skipping? Thanks.
@Jane_lsat Going into your first LSAT test, it sounds like your anxious. Don't be. If you have a bad test on test day, it's just one test and it will not diminish your prospects. You own this test, it doesn't own you.
@"Adam Hawks" You are totally right. I am anxious and am also kinda burn-out. Thanks for your kind words.