Blind Review vs. Actual

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• visualcreed Member Inactive ⭐

  May 2015 326 karma

  For LR, I check Manhattan's LR forum that has explanations on all the LR questions. Of course if you have the Ultimate Course here I think you can watch the review videos here. That way I know what I'm getting wrong and why. For RC, if you're still getting a bad score untimed it might be you need to try to find something that can explain how to read for the LSAT. I use Manhattan's RC book and the Trainer. It kind of pointed me in the right direction and it worked for me. I still could get faster but at least I can get the correct answer with enough time.
• Pacifico Alum Inactive ⭐

  May 2015 8021 karma

  I wish I had a gap that wide but I hate second guessing myself so my BR is always 2-5 points higher than my score, without fail. Anyways, how many PTs have you taken and how many do you have left? If you're PT'ing in the 160 range and BR'ing in the mid 170 range then that is a pretty big swing and it sounds like its mostly a timing issue, which can mean different things for different sections. For LR it likely means you are struggling to translate the skills into intuition, but you're more than capable of reasoning out the answers so it's just a matter of consolidating whatever your process is there. For RC it might just be that you need to read faster without losing comprehension so you have more time to spend on questions. As an aside, does the stress of the timing get to you and then go away during untimed BR? If so, then some type of stress management measures may be in order.
  
  Are there specific types of LR questions that trip you up? If you're struggling in one area or say a family of areas (e.g.- NA/SA/PSA) then I'd suggest drilling hard on that. Also, how much time have you taken off lately? I've seen a lot of people on here and TLS that sound like they're burning out so if that's the case then I'd say take this weekend off, relax and start next week with some problem sets and then dive back into PTs and see if that doesn't get anything going. If that fails, then you might need to consult an alternate source like the LSAT Trainer or the Manhattan LR forums as @visualcreed suggested just to give yourself a different perspective.
• xegendary Free Trial Member

  May 2015 26 karma

  I'm sorta having the same problem. I can almost always BR in the high 160s/low 170s, but fall almost 20 points when doing it timed. It might be a stress thing, but how do I fix it?
• 3 Likes

  btdean82 Alum Member

  May 2015 edited May 2015 24 karma

  @Pacifico I am at PT 159, and I would say I have taken 10-12 Full PT's. 75% of Course. My score range is very large. Even if I do not limit myself the first time to 35 mins I still miss a lot on the first time. Basically when I take the test the first time my score ranges between 150-158. I then circle the questions I got wrong without looking at the correct answer and re answer them and I get in the 170-177 range. I also review the questions that I got right but circled because I had trouble with. I am constantly in the back of my mind thinking about the time on the first pass, even if I am not actually taking the test timed, but when I'm blind reviewing the correct answer just makes since and I don't have a hard time picking it out. I just don't know how to close the gap, and get the correct answer the first time.
• 1 Like

  brna0714 Alum Inactive ⭐

  May 2015 1489 karma

  @btdean82 You may need to consider reviewing your work (either via a clean copy or the ones you circled as difficult during your first time through the PT) without knowing which ones you got incorrect. This may give you a more accurate idea of where your true strengths and weaknesses lie.
  
  If you're having trouble deciding between two answer choices and then you know for certain that one of them is wrong, it makes sense that you'd then be able to answer correctly a high percentage of the time. What this process is missing, however, is that mental exercise of justifying or disproving answers without knowing any information for certain. I've found that this is where I make the most improvement. You (speaking generally of course) have to allow yourself to struggle through and then at the end either reinforce your correct understanding or eliminate your incorrect understanding.
  
  Just as an aside, I used to struggle when there were 2 answers that looked appealing until I stopped comparing them against each other and started taking each one and comparing it back to the stimulus. It's got to relate to the CONCLUSION in the correct way (depending on the stem) but this can become muddy if you spend too much time comparing answer choice to answer choice.
  
  I hope this helps!
• 1 Like

  btdean82 Alum Member

  May 2015 edited May 2015 24 karma

  @brna0714 I think you are absolutely correct. I never thought of it this way. By me knowing which answers are wrong even though I don't 100% know which one is correct I have a much higher chance of getting it right when I was already between the two answers in the first place. I am going to try it with taking the test first pass, circling any question I cannot eliminate all four wrong answers, and then go back like you suggest and justify my answer before seeing the wrong answers. I think I am more excited about finding out how many I got right or wrong, which is ultimately hindering me from truly understanding what I do and do not know. Thanks for your observation and tips.
• brna0714 Alum Inactive ⭐

  May 2015 1489 karma

  @btdean82 No problem! I can definitely understand being eager to know your score. What I normally do is enter my answers and find out my score but I don't mark the questions that are incorrect. I also try not to look at the section breakdown (although I sometimes can't resist). I don't think knowing your score overall will skew your BR score much but knowing which questions were wrong definitely will.
• 1 Like

  Pacifico Alum Inactive ⭐

  May 2015 8021 karma

  If you're finding out which ones are incorrect then you aren't blind reviewing, you're reviewing with new knowledge and are only choosing from four answer choices. Especially for questions that you pared down to two answer choices then you are highly likely to get it right the second time around. I wouldn't even check your score at all, just go back through to each question you circled while taking the test, then take as much time as you need to find the right answer. By doing it this way you will be predisposed to sticking with the same answer choice if you are a generally confident test taker, and so it will be more difficult to put ego aside and drill down to the right answer. You've got a lot of PTs to go, so I'd definitely shift strategies now and really blind review. Also, forget all those BR scores because they are not a good indicator of where you're actually at since you were only choosing from four answer choices. I know it's tough to delay gratification but it's absolutely necessary to the process (and if you can delay gratification now it will make waiting for your real score that much easier).
  
  When I BR I just take that toner friendly page from the beginning of the LSAT printout and make four columns, one for each section. I then go through the test and write down the numbers of each question that I circled because I wasn't 100% on. Say you have circled 20 questions in a given test, and you can then make estimates about your score based on that, which is useful to gauge how good you are at knowing your limitations. If you average say 5 questions wrong that you don't BR, then you would know your ceiling for actual or BR results is in the mid 170s range. As much as you can, you want to minimize the number of questions you get wrong but don't circle. Next you look at the difference in the number of questions you change the answer for during BR, versus the ones you don't and see how much success you have within each group. If you are only changing 5 answers per test but still getting 15 of those 20 wrong, then you need to work on changing that dynamic. I know this might seem kind of convoluted so if you have any questions about this feel free to hit me up anytime.
  
  If you're going for June, I'd say take a PT ASAP and do a real BR so you know where you stand. Then take a couple days off to let that new reality sink in and finish the rest of the 7Sage lessons you haven't done. Then go back to 2-3 PTs a week and taper off by the week before the test. If you're going for October, take a PT now and do a real BR, then finish the 7Sage course, take another PT, then I'd race through the whole curriculum again before drilling your weak spots and resuming 1-3 PTs per week. You have plenty of time until October and plenty of PTs left so take your time and find out where you're really at.
• emli1000 Alum Member Inactive ⭐

  May 2015 3462 karma

  I would recommend getting a copy of the Trainer for LR. It will have close the gaps. Also, with your score I would suggest drilling more practice problems on specific question types.
• nicole.hopkins Inactive Sage Inactive ⭐

  May 2015 7965 karma

  @brna0714 said:
  Just as an aside, I used to struggle when there were 2 answers that looked appealing until I stopped comparing them against each other and started taking each one and comparing it back to the stimulus.
  

  *THIS* was a critical step for me—both my testing and studying: it's just a better way to practice thinking (and to think, in practice ). I forget where I got that tip—was it @"J.Y. Ping" or did I just imagine him saying this wise thing to me? Manhattan perhaps?