170+ in BR but 165s in actual

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• 1 Like

  jssctmln Member

  October 2020 11 karma

  I'm in the same boat as you--following!
• 3 Likes

  Chris Nguyen Alum Member Administrator Sage ⭐ 7Sage Tutor

  October 2020 4582 karma

  Essentially, yes, you need to focus on not losing your "sh*t" during timed

  Here are some things in my strategy that I use to improve in LR.

  1) I am always on high active reading and engagement mode. I read slow and try my best to process everything to make sure I truly understand the stimulus AND the answer choices. (Sometimes people forget that answer choices are hard and take time to process, too!) You might think reading slow is a waste of time, but it's the exact opposite. You're more confident in what you're reading which lets you be more aggressive and fast, and you're less likely to make silly mistakes.

  2) Because I'm trying my absolute best to process everything, I only get to read the stimulus once. If I do not understand what I read, I immediately skip the question. (It's harder than you think to actually do! Your instinct is to reread, but it will be a waste of time. You already tried your hardest to engage with it, so it's a waste of time to reread. Skip and come back after you attempt everything else.)

  3) While reading the answer choices, I almost never go back to read the stimulus, unless it is to clarify a detail that will only take NO MORE THAN 5 SECONDS. Trying to go back to grasp a logical relationship or connect inferences is never worth your time. If you understood the logical relationship you would've understood it the first time!

  4) In cases where I eliminate all of the answer choices (crap, right?), I skip the question. DO NOT go back and reread every answer choice again. Absolute waste of time, assuming you're following rule 1, which you should be!

  5) If I eliminated some answers but I'm down to two or three answer choices: Reassess each answer choice with an open mind (no biases is important! You can't be against or for any specific answer choice) and choose which answer you think is best. If you still don't know, skip and immediately move on.

  I hope this helps! Good luck studying! pm me if you have any questions I can answer.
• 2 Likes

  VerdantZephyr Member ⭐

  October 2020 2054 karma

  I would think you just keep trying to prepare the way anyone in that score range would. Most everyone has a gap between their BR and PT score, there is just never enough time to give each problem all the thought you should. If you keep working and keep improving at the test you will get faster and your BR should go up as well. At that level I strongly encourage you to find a BR buddy and do PTs together and then BR them afterwards together. Working together through each problem with a partner that also understands the test well can really help you to approach problems you struggle with in new ways. You are making progress, nearly there. Keep at it.
• 1 Like

  VerdantZephyr Member ⭐

  October 2020 2054 karma

  I also would say that @Christopherr 's advice is good with the caveat that it is not for everyone. If you are trying to improve speed definitely give something like that a try, but it it doesn't work for you after several attempts do not force it. It also think these strategies are definitely dependent on if your ultimate goal is 170ish or if it is 175+. I often did the opposite of most of that advice, with the exception being flagging things that are taking too long and coming back. With that said, I am not suggesting my approach as better. I think for most people Christopher's suggestion is the better method, I am just pointing out that you need to experiment to find what works for you and remember that strategies on the LSAT are contextual and should be very different if your goal is 170 or lower than if your goal is 175 or higher.
• trishues Member

  October 2020 130 karma

  Exact same situation - following
• 1 Like

  chanyounglee Member

  October 2020 95 karma

  @Christopherr and @VerdantZephyr thank you so much for your responses. Like you guys suggested, I'll try experimenting with the way I go through LR. Speed definitely has been a factor, so I think I need to play around with that a little more. I also read the stimulus carefully but not the answer choices themselves at times---will try to fix that as well. Hopefully trying out your suggestions will help in making the jump to the 170s! (I'll be so happy when I do haha).
• VerdantZephyr Member ⭐

  October 2020 2054 karma

  @chanyounglee You are very welcome. Hopefully they help you.