Guessing on answers

Comments

• canihazJD Alum Member Sage ⭐

  November 2020 8460 karma

  Never a complete blind guess... maybe between two answers in 1-2 questions per section, which is almost always a product of time constraints - in BR you can figure out what you were missing. At 170+ you should have at least some idea what's going on in every question IMO. Your example of getting stuck is where you need to skip the question. You will definitely get stuck no matter what, so get comfortable skipping and collecting all your easier points first. This, combined with your BR, will allow you to get a realistic evaluation of your conceptual knowledge, which you can then use to improve your proficiency and thereby, your speed.
• ekw9 Core Member

  November 2020 30 karma

  Yeah usually I can narrow it down to 1 or 2 but I am SO stubborn about moving on without being sure. That makes sense! Thanks!!
• canihazJD Alum Member Sage ⭐

  November 2020 8460 karma

  I believe to consistently perform above 170, skipping is a must. When you move on you get to process that question in the back of your mind, and come back to it with fresh eyes. I often find the answer to be magically obvious on the second round.

  https://7sage.com/webinar/skip-it/
• 2 Likes

  VerdantZephyr Member ⭐

  November 2020 2054 karma

  To clarify what @canihazJD said, don't just skip the question, flag and come back. I also very much agree with this.

  I will give you my experiences with this. I started with a 165 cold diagnostic, but that was more a function of a high reading level, a very logical mind, and being generally good at tests. I did not understand the LSAT itself necessarily. When I started I was much more likely to guess on questions. I am good at guessing, they were rarely totally blind guesses (though I occasionally had those) but there were complete guesses. As I got better and had more exposure my guesses stopped being complete guesses at all. This coincided with reaching a 175ish average, but was not because of it. Rather I was averaging that high because I no longer had complete guesses. I began to understand the context of questions better. When I had a choice between two answers that was very difficult usually I could identify why and why not I liked the choices specifically and make an argument for them. It was not always the right argument, but I knew why would be wrong or right before answering. This was a function of exposure and understanding. After a while at that level with some excellent BR buddies I began to understand their thinking and understanding and that helped me to understand questions in new ways myself. Guessing became even rarer and I got that extra point on my average that is so hard in the 170's.

  I think, to reduce the amount of pure guessing you do, you need more exposure and understanding of what each question is testing. Being able to attack questions from multiple angles also helps a lot. I BR'd with two main people. One swallowed the CC whole and could regurgitate any of it. The other was more like me, a keen reader with a logical mind. I benefitted from my time studying from both, and learned to view the test from my perspective and both of theirs. Just before the October test, I went back to all the questions that had given me a ton of trouble and I never felt I understood. Suddenly they made sense even when they never did before. That is thanks to perspective on the test and being able to view it in new ways. Know when you are blind guessing, and take note. You do not understand that question. Learn that problem in or after BR. Save it away. But also realize when you have stopped blind guessing almost completely and be proud of where you are. It means you have spent a lot of time with this test. Time, understanding, and exposure, is what takes blind guesswork out of the equation, not intelligence or even technique.
• canihazJD Alum Member Sage ⭐

  November 2020 8460 karma

  @VerdantZephyr yes definitely come back! Good post and thanks for the emphasis.