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Studying Between PTs

nelliebertramnelliebertram Alum Member
in General 19 karma

Does anyone have any recommendations as to how to effectively review/study in between practice tests?

I recently finished the core curriculum. I plan to take the August and possibly October LSAT, and am aiming for a 167+. My most recent PT score was 159 with a BR score of 168. Currently, I’m taking one practice test per week each Saturday, blind reviewing the same day, and reviewing the whole test on Sunday. Monday through Thursday I take one timed section per day and blind review. Friday I review all the sections. I work full time.

I also just ordered The Loophole by Ellen Cassidy so I will implement that as well, but if anyone has any suggestions as to how I can improve my study plan I would really appreciate it! I just don’t know if this is how I should be going about studying, or if there are other things I should be implementing.

Comments

  • Achen165Achen165 Member
    656 karma

    You should do drills of your problem areas— game type, LR question type (with special attention to any of the highest yield areas—as identified by your PT analytics) , RC passage topic type/etc.

    I would consider a more intense review strategy that spans more than a single day. Really break apart the exam, analyze your errors, watch explanation videos with valuable insight that you feel could be implemented to future PTs.

  • Tempore NovissimoTempore Novissimo Alum Member
    103 karma

    @Achen013 said:
    You should do drills of your problem areas— game type, LR question type (with special attention to any of the highest yield areas—as identified by your PT analytics) , RC passage topic type/etc.

    I would consider a more intense review strategy that spans more than a single day. Really break apart the exam, analyze your errors, watch explanation videos with valuable insight that you feel could be implemented to future PTs.

    I had this same problem and I agree 100% with this. First off, though I don't know how extensive your BR process is, I would say you can expand on your BR process and really analyze the questions you got right/wrong. Don't only focus on right/wrong questions but also questions that took a long time to figure out (even if you got them correct). Also, watch J.Y's explanation videos and match it up to how your real-time and BR thought process was.

    Keep a log of the questions you got wrong and 3/4 days after you finish BR, create a problem set with these questions and try taking them again. If you got it wrong again, then review your thought process.

    Drill your problem areas. If its 4/5 star questions, see where you mess up and drill some 4/5 questions. If it is a specific question type, don't be afraid to review the CC and then do some problem sets.

    The Loophole is a great book! I am still reading through it but its been a great tool to supplement during non-PT days. If you have the means, a tutor is also a great option to have during the week.

  • TheresaAnnTheresaAnn Member
    109 karma

    I think that's a good amount of studying time considering you are full-time. I find it most productive to review longer than I BR honestly, I usually spend a few hours BRing then a couple days going over each LR question writing out explanations. Usually by that point the only questions I have wrong are the ones I wouldn't get right no matter how much I BR'ed. I learn just as effectively by seeing the correct answer, thinking it over, then hearing what JY's video has to say. I suggest sticking with your plan, but if you don't see improvements in the timeframe you are hoping for, I would stretch out your test, BR and review over a few days rather than two. Good Luck!

  • LanceB02LanceB02 Alum Member
    edited April 2020 55 karma

    When you guys BR, do you BR every single question or only BR the questions you did not answer (if any) and the questions you flagged during the test. I thought the other questions that you felt 100% on you don’t need to BR. Of course, you should still review the entire test throughout the week but a 100% BR is not required according the J.Y.’s methodology. Correct?

    I’m trying to balance speed and efficiency with in-depth review but also not without ‘over reviewing’ a test and moving too slowly.

  • nelliebertramnelliebertram Alum Member
    19 karma

    @Achen013 said:
    You should do drills of your problem areas— game type, LR question type (with special attention to any of the highest yield areas—as identified by your PT analytics) , RC passage topic type/etc.

    I would consider a more intense review strategy that spans more than a single day. Really break apart the exam, analyze your errors, watch explanation videos with valuable insight that you feel could be implemented to future PTs.

    Thank you for your insight! When I review I always make sure that I write down why each incorrect answer is wrong and why the correct one is right. I mainly do this for questions I got wrong on Blind Review after watching JY's explanation video. I'll definitely take more time with this process though to make sure I'm fully understanding what's going on with the question.

  • nelliebertramnelliebertram Alum Member
    19 karma

    @johnjyoo said:

    @Achen013 said:
    You should do drills of your problem areas— game type, LR question type (with special attention to any of the highest yield areas—as identified by your PT analytics) , RC passage topic type/etc.

    I would consider a more intense review strategy that spans more than a single day. Really break apart the exam, analyze your errors, watch explanation videos with valuable insight that you feel could be implemented to future PTs.

    I had this same problem and I agree 100% with this. First off, though I don't know how extensive your BR process is, I would say you can expand on your BR process and really analyze the questions you got right/wrong. Don't only focus on right/wrong questions but also questions that took a long time to figure out (even if you got them correct). Also, watch J.Y's explanation videos and match it up to how your real-time and BR thought process was.

    Keep a log of the questions you got wrong and 3/4 days after you finish BR, create a problem set with these questions and try taking them again. If you got it wrong again, then review your thought process.

    Drill your problem areas. If its 4/5 star questions, see where you mess up and drill some 4/5 questions. If it is a specific question type, don't be afraid to review the CC and then do some problem sets.

    The Loophole is a great book! I am still reading through it but its been a great tool to supplement during non-PT days. If you have the means, a tutor is also a great option to have during the week.

    Thank you so much! This helps me plan my review process a bit better. I haven't done much drilling so I'll be sure to bring more of that into my schedule.

  • nelliebertramnelliebertram Alum Member
    19 karma

    @TheresaAnn said:
    I think that's a good amount of studying time considering you are full-time. I find it most productive to review longer than I BR honestly, I usually spend a few hours BRing then a couple days going over each LR question writing out explanations. Usually by that point the only questions I have wrong are the ones I wouldn't get right no matter how much I BR'ed. I learn just as effectively by seeing the correct answer, thinking it over, then hearing what JY's video has to say. I suggest sticking with your plan, but if you don't see improvements in the timeframe you are hoping for, I would stretch out your test, BR and review over a few days rather than two. Good Luck!

    Exactly! My BR process takes a few hours as well, and when I review I typically write out the explanations for the questions I got wrong on BR, but also watch the explanation videos for every question I got wrong in the timed and BR sections. I'll definitely monitor my improvement, or lack thereof, and adjust my review process according to that. Thank you so much for your help!

  • nelliebertramnelliebertram Alum Member
    19 karma

    @LanceB02 said:
    When you guys BR, do you BR every single question or only BR the questions you did not answer (if any) and the questions you flagged during the test. I thought the other questions that you felt 100% on you don’t need to BR. Of course, you should still review the entire test throughout the week but a 100% BR is not required according the J.Y.’s methodology. Correct?

    I’m trying to balance speed and efficiency with in-depth review but also not without ‘over reviewing’ a test and moving too slowly.

    Once I finish the test, I wait a few hours and relax then head back in for BR. As I move through the questions, I will usually remember how confident I felt in the answer I originally picked, so for those questions I felt confident on I will just select the same answer choice without reading and analyzing everything all over again. If I start reading the stimulus of a particular question I did not flag, I'll spend more time on those as well as the ones I flagged. So I do go through every question (there's no question I don't re-read), but I just won't spend any time on it if I feel 100% confident in my answer choice.

  • LanceB02LanceB02 Alum Member
    55 karma

    Thanks!

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