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PT Guide - Nov LSAT-FLex
A.Bilenkey
Member
Hi Everyone,
I'm on here hoping to get some suggestions for which PT's to cover in my limited four weeks until the November LSAT-Flex. I finished the CC about three weeks ago and I am writing the November LSAT-Flex (may write the January as well depending on how it goes). Since finishing, I have been using PTs 1 - 36 for LG foolproofing. Concurrently, I have been reading Ellen Cassidy's The Loophole book to improve and solidify LR skills – I am on track to finish the textbook by the end of this week.
So far, in this order I have taken PT 37 (Actual Score: 153), PT 36 (Actual Score 157; BR Score: 162), PT 38 (Actual Score: 161; BR Score: 167). Per that schedule I have only been completing one PT a week, and focusing on the LR book (and doing Basic Translation Drills) and Foolproofing LR. I am pleased with my progress and have learned a lot from the forum/webinars this week I am excited to put into practice (ex. LG tiered-skipping strategy, LR Cookie Cutter review, LG "if" strategy etc). I am hoping to ramp up to two PTs a week (while drilling in the days between) in the next three weeks leading up to the test which only leaves about 6 PTs. My question is, which 6 PTs should I do? Should I do the most recent PTs 7Sage has (PT 84 - 89)? Or should I try to do a PT from the 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, two from 80s? And I may write the test again, so I would just have to work around the PTs I complete now, during Nov - Jan study if that is the case.
I know the test slightly changes throughout the PTs. I've heard from friends say that post-PT 70 LR is wordier/more confusing, post-PT 55 RC comparative passages are introduced (which I have not done yet), and that LG get easier near the end? I feel like it would be ideal to just do all the PTs chronologically, throughout time, but in reality I have 3 weeks.
For context, my diagnostic was a 146 (June 2020), my goal score is a 165.
Thank you for any input!
Comments
following
Definitely be sure to do some from the 80’s as those will be the most relevant. With that being said for the flex they have been using material from the 50’s all the way up to the 80’s. In any case make sure the PT’s you’re doing have comparative passages (which start at the June 2007 test I believe), as well as rule substitution questions in LG (which I believe start in the 50’s).
Overall I would sample tests from the 50’-80’s. So maybe you can do one from the high 50’s, one from the 60’s, 70’s and then 2-3 from the 80’s.
The late 80's are markedly different in my opinion. I really think they helped me to grow and break the last plateau. The difference between earlier PTs and those in the late 80's (I only say late 80's because I have not gone any from 80 to 86) is that the hardest questions are hard because they give you what at first seem to be 5 all poor answers. This felt very different to me than the 50's through early 70's in that on those tests the hardest questions were those that had multiple answers that looked attractive. Being forced to justify an answer both during the test and during BR that at first looked bad forced me to think about the questions differently. BR with a study buddy. For real, it's great. I would suggest, of you want to pick one, 88 is a good one. 87 destroyed me and my confidence until I was able to BR with by partner that night and it was what made me feel like I turned the corner to break the mid 170 plateau. Maybe if you do that one do it not right before the test.
Also, massive props on that 9 point score increase success since finishing the curriculum. That's very impressive. Keep it up!
@Logician thank you that is a helpful breakdown I think I will follow!
@VerdantZephyr great suggestion, I will definitely be doing PT 88 and maybe using PT 87 as drilling material that's more recent. Appreciate the props, hoping to!
Thank you!
I have heard from powerscore that they recommend PT 85 and 86 as good ones to drill for their similarity to current testing! Good luck
First of all, that's amazing progress!
I'm the exact same boat as you, PTing around mid 150s, BR around 162, and a goal of 165 -- planning on taking the Nov. exam! I'm trying to close my actual/BR gap, would you be willing to elaborate on the LG tiered-skipping strategy, LG "if" strategy, or other strategies that helped you close this gap so quickly?
I also completed the Loophole a couple of weeks ago now, and since then I've been drilling, foolproofing LG, and taking ~2 PTs a week with thorough BR.
I would recommend taking at least a couple from 60s and 70s, as the flex has pulled sections from different eras, not solely PT80-89. The logic games in the 50s are good drill material as well...to me they feel more challenging than the 80s but ymmv. 3/4 of PT 77-80 have misc. games as well which are nice to be exposed to in a practice scenario.
I am in the exact same boat as you. My diagnostic was 146 in June 2020 and now I am BRing at 162 with a 154 score. Although my ideal score is 165, I would be happy to surpass 160 so I am really trying to close that gap before November. 160 is well above the median of the school I want to attend so I am hoping a 160 is in my cards because it would really help my application. I would love to know those LG tips you learned or any other tips people have on closing the BR score gap. Good luck to you on your November test!
@sammychews and @gigi_m1308 nice to hear from people in a similar place! I have a really similar routine and trajectory as you both.
I have honestly just been spending my free time in the 7Sage forum and stumbling on threads of tips mainly for LG and LR.
For LR I came across the idea of "25 in 25" (feel free to look it up in the forum) which is a strategy for students already comfy with LR (-3 to -4). Round 1: you try to do all 25 questions in 25 minutes, flagging every question you don't feel 100% certain on and harder questions or really long ones (people also talk about figuring out your own personal threshold for this). Round 2: for the next 5 minutes return and take out the "lowest hanging fruit" so maybe confirming an AC you weren't super sure about, remove flags from questions you now feel certain about and don't want to re-visit for Round 3 etc. And then Round 3: next 5 min tackle the significantly harder questions and finish. A lot of people think this "25 in 25" is arbitrary, which I think I agree, but the principles behind it are interesting to apply. Especially because the longer you tend to spend with a question the less likely you are to get it right (said JY in a Live Commentary session I was watching). People who studied for this test back when it was on paper could have cool notation techniques to better indicate the difficulty of the question flagged but I am just doing the normal flags with digital version. I tried this today and did still find it challenging. I completed the section with only a couple minutes to spare so I don't think I'm quite ready for all 3 rounds I detailed above.
LR Cookie Cutter review is another concept I came across where when you are looking at your collection of wrong answers in BR (for a PT or Timed section) you carefully consider each question you missed or had trouble with and categorize them into "cookie cutters". Which means identifying what the argument structure was (ex. argument by analogy, correlation-causation, phen-hyp, problem solution) so you can better see the underlying structure of all LR questions on the LSAT and better-target your weaknesses. You can also do this, and some people will say you should be doing this, for wrong ACs.
LG "if" strategy is also talked about quite a bit in webinars/JY but essentially its when you start a game, quickly preview the questions and complete the conditional questions first (ex. if A is in group 2 what MBT?) because it usually forces you to draw new boards. Then tackle the "naked questions" last, the one's that just as what CBT or MBT or CBF with no additional premises. Use the boards you drew for the conditional questions to help with the naked questions to eliminate wrong ACs and sometimes it'll give you the right one.
Oh I also just started "warming up" before I do a PT. Wasn't something I was doing before and thought it might be good after listening to JY recommend it. I would recommend choosing a very easy and short routine, this morning mine was a bit difficult and long, not really helping me feel the confidence boost I needed nor the pacing I wanted to start to feel. Just a thought if you're not already trying one out.
I hope that was helpful and gave a bit more insight. Good luck to you both on the Nov test! I appreciate your comments!
I am also taking the November Flex. My suggestion to you is to do the 6 most recent prep tests you haven't done. In my experience, the newer tests can be significantly more difficult.
If I were you, I'd concentrate on the 70s and 80s.