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Endurance issue or do I need to go back to core curriculum lessons

nfrankinfranki Member
in General 13 karma

I just completed all of the core curriculum and started taking timed practice tests. Throughout the core curriculum I rarely got individual questions/problem sets wrong, but as soon as I try to take a practice test, I panic and everything seems a lot more difficult. Is this something that others have experienced and that just gets better with taking more full practice tests or is it indicative that I have some sort of gap in my base knowledge (aka should I focus on core curriculum material or hope that I get better with just taking more practice tests and increasing my endurance)?

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  • AudaciousRedAudaciousRed Alum Member
    edited August 2019 2689 karma

    You know, when I took my first PT after finishing the CC, and it only went up a couple points from my diagnostic, I was distraught. Seriously. Ready to throw my laptop out the window level of mad at myself. But here's the deal: The CC teaches you the basics. It teaches you how to think about things. It does not give you the insights that come from analyzing your thought patterns (why did I fall for that answer?), nor does it give you the practice that comes from seeing a new form of a question for the first time, or from the repetition of doing logic games over and over again until you start seeing the patterns of the games and know how to tackle them. No one can just give you that knowledge. 7sage has a ton of resources and friendly folks that can help you while you practice, tho. JY's video explanations have been invaluable to me, as have my interactions with others here.
    It's like reading your lab assignment, and actually doing the experiment. Without reading the lab assignment, you'd be totally lost. But, doing the experiment is a whole lot trickier, and you will encounter nuances and little things that no one could foresee or teach you. The LSAT changes all the time. The CC gives you the basic understanding of the concepts. Practice gives you insights that build on the CC.

  • garbage.floodgarbage.flood Member
    186 karma

    What I've been doing, and it seems to really be helping, is continuing to do a PT w/ Blind Review every 1-3 days, while studying flashcards every day for about 20 minutes. The flashcards are a compilation of the most elemental parts of the curriculum (i.e. vocabulary, logical indicators, valid argument forms, invalid argument forms, erroneous arguments, & question stems and the mental steps they trigger). I also do a set of 2-3 logic games each day. That way you're keeping the curriculum in mind while you blind review, which appears to be the best way to improve your score. I think the trick here is to engrain the concepts introduced to you through the curriculum so deeply into your thought process that you begin to "intuit" the answer choice. That's whats beginning to happen to me anyway. I take the PT, feel uneasy and unsure for the duration of the test (as the time limit prohibits a methodical 'proving-out' approach), then Blind Review the PT and find I still (for the most part) agree with my answer choices (but for reasons that are much more clear to me). I think what's so interesting about the LSAT is that the time limit forces you into a state of feigned assuredness. You MUST move on, even when you don't have complete clarity and confidence in your answer choice (apart from maybe the logic games).

    What I'm saying is, rest assured. You're not alone in being completely tripped up by this test. You might find Malcolm Gladwell's podcast on Revisionist History, in which he attempted the LSAT, informative and comforting. I certainly did.

    Keep it up and you'll do great!

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