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Frustrated with Plateau
luchiswagger
Alum Member
In August, I hit 159 in one of my preptests. I took the LSAT and unfortunately bombed it, scoring a 153 or so. My goal has been a 170+. After a break from studying, I resumed studying around mid to late October to prepare for the January LSAT. Since then, I've been averaging a 157-159. My BR also remains between 163-164. The highest BR I've ever gotten was a 168. I'm starting to feel that day was just luck. I panicked last week and shifted my exam date to February. As you can imagine, this feels pretty heartbreaking. I took a PT today, scored a 158. BR 163. I've been consistent and thorough. I spend 4-6 hours of my day studying. Sometimes more. I don't know what to do anymore. I'm starting to fear that maybe this is my limit. While I don't want to accept that, it may just be a hard pill to swallow. It's pathetic but I can't help but cry right now.
To break down my progress, I average a -5 to -2 in LG, -9 in LR, and a -10 in RC.
My goal this December is to bring LG down to a -0 which I think I am on track doing and LR to a -5. I fluctuate a bit too much with RC to get comfortable but I will try to work on my time when reading passages more as I noticed time is a my limiting factor there.
Most of my frustration lies with LR. I would appreciate any tips. I've read various forums and have incorporated these tips into my regime but after today I don't know anymore.
Comments
Hey! Take a break for today and maybe tomorrow and just do some self-care! I completely understand what your going through, you're not alone in this - what your feeling is normal and apart of the studying process - I'll dm you and we can chat some more! I was in your place a few months ago so I'll let some advice
First, take a few days off. If you're taking PTs frustrated you won't see much if any improvement.
Getting LG to -0 is definitely a start, but in order to break 170 you can't really be missing -10 on RC, so I would focus a lot of effort in getting this down. It seems like you know you fluctuate too much, but you need to ask yourself how you fluctuate so you can fix it. Is your inconsistency a time issue or an understanding issue? You need to develop a strategy that works for you, if other people's RC advice doesn't help, don't use it! There is a ton of (in my opinion) subpar RC advice on the internet (highlighting/reading questions before passage.. etc) that I see many people try to implement and see no improvement and then subsequently get frustrated with themselves instead of the strategies they are using.
I would:
Develop a target time per passage (ex. 3:30)
Work on your low res summaries if this helps you understand the passage better.
Practice getting questions correctly without having to reference the passage each time... just general speed.
All of this should put you at around 8:30 per passage +- some for the easier or harder passages, but try to remain as consistent with this as you can.
Lastly, split your LR and RC into separate days and do LG every day until -0. Focusing on LG and one of LR/RC at a time when you study will help decrease frustration and burnout.
Thank you so much. I'll be sure to split LR and RC, and try to develop a method that works with RC. I often take notes with RC but I'm starting to notice it sometimes slows me down. I'll be sure to update this forum with any changes.
Context: I got a 166 two years ago (screwed up two games that I shouldn’t have) but even then I was PTing anywhere from 2 to 3 points higher in the weeks before I took the real thing. Resumed studying a year ago, on and off (life got in the way) and plan to take the exam in February. Since I began taking practice tests once every few weeks, I’ve been much more consistently PTing in the 170s, and got a 177 on my most recent PT (40). Also I used to get anywhere from -6 to -4 on RC and now get around -2 to -0, so I hope this advice is helpful.
First, consider postponing or even canceling your test date. You don’t know if you’ll be ready in February, you only get a finite number of attempts at the LSAT, and you don’t want to risk wasting an attempt on a score you’re not happy with. If you cancel, don’t sign up for another date until you’re consistently hitting your desired score range (I’d say until the average of your last five practice tests is within that acceptable range). Not only are you not yet within that range, but you don’t know how long it’ll take for you to get there, so having a fixed test date that’s only a couple months away doesn’t help you. You need time to get better.
Second, for RC I would drill 1 RC passage every day, untimed. Do not rush, and do not look at the clock. You MUST take as much time as you need to read/understand the passage, answer the questions, and to review answers and explanations afterward. You should understand the passage well enough that for certain questions you should be able to make a vague prediction about the right answer before even reading the answer choices. For example, when you see the main idea question, come up with your own quick summary of the main idea before diving in. Same with questions about, say, the author’s attitude to something discussed on the passage.
Your problem is most likely not speed, but understanding. The only cure for that is to make a habit of reading for understanding and to force yourself to predict the answers to certain questions. This means forcing yourself to read carefully and to think about what you’re reading. In other words, aim for comprehension (of the passage) and accuracy (when answering questions), and ignore speed. As you keep doing this daily you’ll naturally understand things faster, which means you’ll naturally do all the questions faster while getting more of your attempted questions right.
This is the only approach that worked for me, both with passages and sections. I tried highlighting, I tried improving my reading speed, I tried strictly timing myself for each passage, and none of that worked. Only when I accepted that maybe I just didn’t understand the passages as well as I should have, and started ignoring speed and reading for understanding, did I start regularly getting -1 or -0. As I hinted, I do the same thing with whole sections: ignore the clock, read for understanding, guess on the remaining questions in the last five minutes, then continue reading for understanding and answering questions until my time’s up. This daily untimed drilling + one or two RC sections a week is what improved my score on this section well beyond what I thought was possible.
I got better at LR with the same method: I did a set of 5 LR questions every day, untimed. With each question I’d take as much time as I needed to understand the passage/argument. If it was an argument I would ask myself if the argument was valid, and if not, I’d try to identify the flaw before I even read the question. That way when I actually read the question it’s much easier to predict what the answer might be. I took my time reading the answer choices as well. During review I wouldn’t move on from a question I had trouble with until I fully understood it, or until I reached out for help. My approach to LR sections is the exact same as with RC, and just like with that section I reliably get -2 to -0 on LR now.
Finally, when reviewing RC or LR questions you had trouble with and got wrong, ask yourself:
Did you run out of time? Did you fail to read carefully? Did you misunderstand any of the answer choices? Did you not understand some key aspect of the passage/argument/question? The point is to make you more aware of your own error in reasoning on that question.
I’m not sure how long this approach will take you, but that’s why I think you should postpone or cancel your scheduled exam: so you can give this approach time to work and you can build confidence via several good practice test scores before you take the real thing.
In sum:
Postpone or cancel your test date. Don’t sign up for a new one until you’re consistently PTing in a range you’re happy with.
Drill 1 RC passage a day, untimed. Take as much time as you need to read and understand the passage, to answer the questions, and to review each question. Do not gloss over a question until you fully understand it OR until you’ve reached out somewhere for help in understanding it. Do 1 or 2 timed RC sections a week in the same manner: take all the time you need to read and understand the passage and to answer the questions, guess on remaining questions at the 5 minute mark, then continue working through questions in the same manner until time is up.
Drill a set of 5 LR questions a day, untimed. Take as much time as you need to read and understand the passage/argument. If it’s an argument, ask yourself if it’s valid and, if not, identify the flaw or shortcoming in it. I recommend doing this before you even read the question so that you can make a loose prediction about the right answer whenever possible. Do 1 or 2 times LR sections a week in the same way you’d do RC: take your time, guess on the rest at the 5 minute mark, then continue working until time’s up.
When reviewing questions you had trouble with or got wrong, ask yourself:
- Why is the right answer right? Why didn’t I pick it?
- Why is the answer I picked wrong, and why did I pick this answer?
I hope this helps. Let me know if you have any questions, and since I could use the practice feel free to DM me with any LR questions you ever have trouble with.
Hi all,
Always happy to see the 7Sage community remaining so vibrant and helpful. I took the test back in 2019, got my dream score, just graduated from Harvard, and have been tutoring for many years now. I faced the same issue back in my LSAT journey and see the same situation many of my students now. So, just wanted to add to the great advice already offered so far.
Many test takers dutifully learn the CC; apply the methods; take PTs and religiously BR. So, why aren't they seeing the gains?
The answer is: they lack an effective time management & skipping strategy. In other words: You know the test but do you know how to make the right decisions to maximize your time?
Let me give you an example:
We all know the situation. In any given timed section, you feel confident for about 12 questions; feel pretty ok about 5; and maybe 50/50 or unsure about the rest. If you're finding this is consistent throughout the timed sections you are taking, guess what? it's normal because the LSAT is an extremely well-designed test. So, the question is: How should you respond? The good news is standardized tests can be beaten with standardized methods and solutions.
It's hard to break it all down here but my advice to everyone who is is stuck on a plateau to start implementing a skipping strategy that they can execute consistently every section. Some questions you should be able to answer are:
In any given LR section, your goal should be to get all the points you can get in the first pass, and aim to get about 50% or more right for the questions you skipped. That's how you get to the sweet spots of -2/-3.
Happy to chat with anyone who needs some advice for how to implement their skipping strategy!
Everyone above me has already offered really solid advice, so I'll just leave you with a couple points that might be helpful.
LR: Try the Loophole by Ellen Cassidy. The loophole tactic + powerful/provable spectrum did wonders for me.
LG: Foolproof! (I'm sure you've heard that before.) Foolproofing took me from -12 to a consistent -1.
RC: Try splitting your time 70% passage, 30% questions. If you have a solid understanding of the passage, most questions will go shockingly fast and you'll rarely have to look back.
Good luck, friend! You can do this. DM me if you'd like more info.
Read "The Loophole in LSAT Logical Reasoning" by Ellen Cassidy. I was leveling out and this book literally gave me hope. Ups the LR score and RC score.
Grind on LG, that's all about drilling. Or, if you find LR and RC to improve enough, wait till after the June '24 LSATs when LG is no longer a part of the test.
I'll pop in here for advice here as well. I took the LSAT in August and scored a 140 after only one month of hardcore studying due to work and school. I'm finally finished with school for the semester and am shooting to bump my score up a few points. My goal is anywhere between 150-157 because I think my work resume can float me. I haven't completed a full prep test yet due to my schedule, but to bump the few points up, would y'all suggest just doing prep tests 2-3x a week?