What is the proper sequence: CC, problem sets, PTs

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  drbrown2 Alum Member

  May 2019 edited May 2019 2227 karma

  @wngdwaf_1

  Long comment incoming...

  Phase 1
  1) Take the diagnostic PT (timed, always timed)
  2) Don't score it yet! (don't ever score a practice set, practice section, or practice test until you've reviewed the whole thing)
  3) Blind review (this takes a long time! See @"Accounts Playable" episode from the 7sage podcast to get an idea of what proper BR looks like)
  4) Score test, look at questions you missed (try not to look at right answer, but look at the question to try to figure it out yourself)
  5) Watch video explanations and make notes of questions that you misread/misunderstood the writing, or if you misunderstood what you had to do for that question stem, or if you translated the conditional logic incorrectly

  Phase 2 (LR)
  1) Work through CC. Take time to practice conditional logic mapping and labeling arguments correctly
  2) Do practice set at end of each question type (untimed, don't score yet!)
  3) Blind review that set (label argument, write out why right answer is right and wrong answers are wrong)
  4) Score set, look at questions you missed (try not to look at right answer, but look at the question to try to figure it out yourself)
  5) Watch video explanations and make note of how you could have solved question differently if you got it right, or why you got it wrong
  *You don't have to do all the practice sets if you feel comfortable with the question type. You can always come back and do more later on

  Phase 3 (LG)
  1) Work through CC LG section
  2) Practice individual game types
  3) Print out LG sections from PT 1-35 (and your diagnostic test)
  4) Read up on fool proofing method. See @Pacifico guide from discussion forum
  5) Do games over and over and over and over over the next month or so. Try setting up the game using different style game boards, splitting up the game boards using different split nodes, etc. Make sure to divide your time so you are still practicing LR while you are fool proofing. Use a stopwatch and make note of the timing for each game vs. target time from the video. Return to game later on to see if you can
  *You can/should continue to RC portion of CC while you are still fool proofing. You can move on to Practice Tests while you are still fool proofing. Keep fool proofing up until you are consistently getting -0 to -2, and fool proof any new game from a new PT until you have it down

  Phase 4 (RC)
  1) Work through CC RC section
  2) Practice low resolution summaries and high resolution summaries
  3) Begin by doing RC untimed so you can get used to the types of questions being asked
  4) After doing an RC passage/questions, Blind Review before scoring
  5) Write out a summary of each paragraph (low res high res like from CC), write down the Main Point, the various viewpoints, the tone of the passage, the purpose of the passage, the structure of the passage (how each paragraph relates to the main point)
  6) Watch video explanation
  *RC work is hard and time consuming, but if you start writing down the summaries and structural components of each passage you do during BR, you will naturally look for those things when you read under timed conditions. Questions mainly test us on those structural components, so the questions will become much easier and faster

  Phase 5 (PTs)
  1) Take PT (timed, don't score it yet!)
  2) Blind review
  -LR just review questions you weren't sure of during actual test, or if a particular question took you a long time to figure out and was a time sink
  -LG review each game using a stopwatch and try to figure out a better way of setting up
  -RC review just like detailed above
  3) Score test, look at questions you missed (try not to look at right answer, but look at the question to try to figure it out yourself)
  4) Watch video explanations and make notes of questions that you misread/misunderstood the writing, or if you misunderstood what you had to do for that question stem, or if you translated the conditional logic incorrectly
  5) Reflect on weaknesses in your understanding. Spend a couple of days drilling those weaknesses, returning to the CC, and doing more LG fool proofing/RC work
• fycw2068 Alum Member

  May 2019 404 karma

  The previous post is very detailed and seems like a solid plan.

  I actually took my first diagnostic test blind, without ever opening an LSAT book (under timed conditions). I personally found it helpful because it helped me get a feel for what I was getting myself into. I simply scored it, but didn't review the answers.

  After I went through the curriculum (a combo of 7Sage CC and powerscore books), I took the diagnostic again (about 2 months later?), and it honestly felt like a brand new test to me. I was glad I had some sort of a benchmark that showed progress/improvement because it fueled my confidence to keep studying (and it's always exciting to see improvement!)