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Related Discussions
My raw score only improved by 5 Points...
When I took my diagnostic exam I scored a 151. With the following breakdown:
+11 LG
+17 LR
+17 LR
+14 RC
Raw Score: +59
I studied for two months and I recently scored a 154. With the following breakdown:
+15 LG (+19 BR)
+19 RC (+20 BR)
+12 LR (+13 BR) (I usually get 17-20 right when I practice timed LR and 22-23 BR)
+18 LR (+18 BR)
Raw Score +64
My BR Was +70
I'm frustrated because I only improved by 5 points. Am I being unreasonable for expecting a bigger jump? My goal is to be scoring in the 160s by June, thoughts?
I haven't looked closely at the analytics yet because my brain is fried (just finished the exam). The only thing I want to add is that I cannot believe I got +12 on the first LR section. I haven't gotten below 20 in about a month so I'm shocked by this. I'm thinking it was nerves since it was my first section. I'm not sure. I would appreciate thoughts on the +5.
Thanks!
Comments
I think you could absolutely improve 5 points just by going hard on LG and getting it to down to -0-2.
Your LR BR scores show that you could improve a lot by focusing on what you don't understand.
+5 is really good for your first post CC PT.
What concerns me is that you’re skipping BR. Don’t skip BR.
@"Cant Get Right" I didn’t do BR the day of the diagnostic because I didn’t know what it was. I took it before I did the curriculum.
I consistently BR everything when I’m practicing now. My BR LR is usually +22-23 and my raw LR is usually +17-20
@noonawoon how doable is -1/-0 on games. I always here success stories with ppl barely missing anything on games and I hear it’s the most doable to get -0 but it just seems so out of reach.
Side note, I have done all the core curriculum for LR, LG but not RC.
Having the numbers after just finishing the exam kinda made it sound like you hadn’t, but I see now where you mentioned your BR score. How long is it taking you to BR a test? Finishing BR in close proximity to having just finished the exam is a red flag in my experience.
@dlstudy1
-1/-0 is very doable on games. You just need to practice foolproofing as many as you can. I don't find that foolproofing takes too long once you start getting used to the games.
@"Cant Get Right"
If I do one timed LR section, I usually take a 30 minute break or so for a snack then do the BR.
Today I took an hour break after I finished the exam before I blind reviewed.
Would you suggest more time between?
I think +5 is really good especially just after CC. I am in the middle of LG CC. I would like to ask how long did it take you to see an improvement on your LG section and how has been your study schedule? Keep up the good work!
Yeah, if your brain is fried by the end you've got to do something to pace yourself better. Fried brains don't learn.
Is this after 2 months of CC? 5 points isnt bad in two months, although you can improve a lot more through LG specifically.
After I complete a PT I typically wait a day or, sometimes even several days later to BR. When I first started studying I only reviewed the questions I got wrong, or the questions I flagged. My progress was slow and often frusturating. I watched videos after the test and convinced myself that I understood. Truthfully, at that time, my understanding was very superfical. . I didn't make much progress this way. Now my BR process looks like this:
Games:
Re do all games. If I didn't split the game in the first place, try splitting or making worlds.
If I did split, try splitting on a different rule
Check abbrevations and expressions of rules, can I better represent visually?
For games, I do expect that with unlimited time I should be able to score perfect on this section. Maybe -1 if a careless error
After the test is completed and scored watch how JY completed the game, most notably set up
LR:
For each question I translate the question into my own words. I identify the conclusion and premises and the core argument looking for the gap or loophole in the reasoning, which I note. This is my pre phrase. I look at how I approached the question and how I should have approached the question. I note my confidence level. I do this even with "easy questions" or questions I got right as well. Again, when I first started I thought if I got a question right that the question had taught me everything it could and now I realize that that is very wrong. I spend the time even on question 2 because I need to understand question 2 confidently and quickly so I will have time to work on harder questions. How you review and your goals for each question and section is very different at different stages of prep. For now, you should be focusing on accuracy and understanding why each answer choice is right or wrong. For one section I can easily write out 10 pages ( in answer choice format, so I am sure this could be condensed).
Reading Comp:
I re read the passages, sometimes I translate some of the denser text into my own words. I really focus on reading activley and understanding structure as well as how the sentence I read relates to the sentence previously and where I am predicting the next sentence or remainder of the paragraph to be heading. I try to have some pre phrase before looking at answer choices, but try to be really critical of answer choices at this point ( too strong, factually inaccurate ect).
Often after I have done all this, I then review a section with a BR group so this is also a great way to articulate your reasoning and learn from others. Other people will be way more critical and also helpful to you than you will be to yourself. Sometimes I mix up how I BR a little bit and do something call Camo Review.
I am sure some of this seems like overkill to you, at one point it did to me too. I thought doing more tests was better and I wouldn't make the same mistake again. I did. But I have honestly made massive improvements with a through review as well as doing BR sessions.
@"Cant Get Right" I usually feel fine and unaffected after full practice test + an hour break with some food, but if you suggest more than that between the exam itself and BR please advise.
Side note, I'm only reviewing the questions I flagged during BR ~9 questions per section.
Should I be reviewing each question? I noticed someone mentioned that they do that above.
@bichadna_2018
After I completed CC and full proofed about 20 suggested games (I can't recall specifics now but you can find the suggestions in a CC lecture by JY), I am confident that I can accurately complete 19-21 questions correctly untimed. At this point, I'm struggling with speed but I'm prioritizing accuracy over the games right now.
For example, on my most recent practice test (yesterday) I made it a goal to get through 3 full games accurately versus 4 full games under the time limitation. This allowed me to take some pressure off of myself since I had not yet done a full timed LG section for practice prior to my practice test.
I study before work for about 4 hours 2-3x a week and most of Saturday and Sunday. On the days I don't study before work I go through my wrong answer journal for LR. When I get questions on LR wrong, I make sure to review the question, write down why I picked my answer, if I was struggling between two and I also diagram it if I can. Then I write down what is wrong/right about each answer choice. Lastly, I read the explanation online. I have found 7Sage, Manhattan Prep and PowerScore explanations online to be helpful. I have even re printed these same I questions and cut them up into "flash card" type things and place them all in a bag. So on the days I don't study before work, I try to select as many as I can out of the bag and review it before I head out. I try to repeat this before bed on the same nights. Typically, I'm only getting maybe ~15 minutes of "studying" in on these days, but it's better than nothing I suppose. Plus, it feels less stressful to review previous work on days I only have 15-20 minutes to spare.
I work full time, so studying on weekdays are difficult. What has helped me is a strict and disciplined routine. I go to bed very early each night (between 7:30PM - 8:30PM), no exceptions. This way I can wake up as early as 3:30 AM and study 4.5 hours before work (2-3x/week, I may up it to 4x soon since I was so upset with only getting +5 on my recent practice test).
I hope this helps.
@FindingSage @"Cant Get Right"
Thanks for the encouragement. I can now see and envision a world where -1/-0 on games is possible. I'm going to make this a goal of mine.
Could you share with me some ideas as to fool proofing games? About 1.5 months ago when I was still learning the curriculum, I simultaneously experimented with the fool proof method for games. As suggested by JY, I fool proofed tests 18-26, I remember feeling really good about majority of them at the time, but I got wrapped up in the curriculum shortly after this. I haven't fool proofed games since.
Would you suggest redoing this set now that I have the CC under my belt?
Additionally, are there any other sets you would suggest I fool proof?
If you’re aiming for -0/-1 with consistency, you need to do a lot more. Read the thread by Pacifico titled “Logic Games Attack Strategy” for a good methodology. As a start, do all games from 1-35. From there, see how you’re doing and reevaluate for next steps.
Just by getting to the point where you are going -0/-1 and maintaining what you are doing can put you close to 160. As suggested look up Pacifco's logic game stratetegy. I fool proofed most of the games in prep tests 1-35. It is time consuming and I will warn you those games are weird. You will see many easy sequence games and such as well but the hardest games are found in prep tests 1-35. The best thing I learned from working on those sections was to master the easier games. You need to attack them and finish confidently and quickly so you have time to try the harder games. Many times while doing this I felt I wasn't getting any better or just wasn't getting it. It does get better and on the plus side makes the newer games sections look much easier
Oh man... I know this pain. Post CC, I improved a whole 3 Lsat points from my initial diagnostic, which was the same as yours. I wanted to rage quit on my computer right then and there. I felt like I wasted a couple months. But, I didn't, and I'm glad for that. And you shouldn't feel bad about this, either. The CC gives you the basic tools, but it takes a lot of practice with those tools to get anywhere. Like taking a painting class. Yeah, you saw it being done. You know what the brush and the paint is. But until you put in some hours, you're not going to be doing real super work.
I went through the CC again a second time and slowed down. I was so worried about making better time and not "Do I understand this?" If you can't look at a problem and tell someone else why each answer choice is wrong and why the correct answer choice is the only one that could be right, then you don't have a full understanding. I didn't. And it took me quite a while before I started getting it. But once I started getting to that point, my score improved. I gained over 10 points and hit the 160's. Probably could have gone higher with more time, but I came within 2 points of my goal and ran with it. I'll be in school this fall
If you watch an explanation over and over again and still don't get why an answer is the way it is, ask the 7sage community! They're very helpful, and someone may be able to say it in just the right way that it suddenly clicks. I had a few moments like that where I needed to hear someone else's explanation. That's totally okay.
The others here make a great point about the games, though. It really is an area that you can get -5 or lower on with some practice. If I could do it, I know you can. I was absolutely failing that section in the beginning. It takes work, but once you get to that point, you'll be picking up a lot of points!
I absolutely agree with @"Cant Get Right" on the 1-35 games. You'll get a taste of just about every game setup possible in the first 35 games. When you can get to a point where you start reading a game and you know instantly how that game board is going to start to shape up (is it in a row? two rows across from each other in a neighborhood? ordering? in-out? in-out with sub categories? chart? circle?), you're on the right track. Do enough games and you'll start seeing the same patterns over and over. The Dinosaur toys in the shop display game? You'll see something similar to it in the Dog Show game from Lsat 2. Both are in/out with subcategories with just a few tweaks that make them different. If you can do one, you can probably tackle the other pretty well. There are multiple versions of the same types used over and over again in the tests. Learn them, practice them and when you see a game just like an older one in a new test, you'll be all over it. This takes time, but it's well worth the effort.
Good luck! You can do this!
@AudaciousRed Thank you so much for that explanation of your journey. It gave me hope and was encouraging. This past week I've been sort of stewing about the +5 gain, I like the idea of redoing the CC and the idea of checking if I know why each answer is incorrect.
I'm reviewing my test 36 right now and I'm realizing that the first LR section was really tough for me. While the second LR was not as tough. I'm also feeling like this LR 1 section was was one of the tougher LR sections I've seen thus far. Which clearly explains why I bombed LR1.