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When to bubble in answer choices

Sheri123Sheri123 Alum Member
in General 1196 karma
For those that have taken the LSAT actual exam before, what works best for you, to bubble after you answer each question or to bubble after each page, or two pages? Thank you in advance.
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  • PacificoPacifico Alum Inactive ⭐
    8021 karma
    After each page.
  • PacificoPacifico Alum Inactive ⭐
    8021 karma
    Question by question is a time suck and breaks up momentum, and two pages risks more bubbling errors or forgetting to do it at all. Page by page keeps a steady rhythm to it.
  • Sheri123Sheri123 Alum Member
    1196 karma
    Great thanks so much Pacifico!
  • Ddowns0325Ddowns0325 Member
    56 karma
    I haven't tried your method @Pacifico but recently I've bubbled after each questions and sometimes I mis-bubble and lose a point :(
  • c.janson35c.janson35 Free Trial Inactive Sage Inactive ⭐
    edited December 2015 2398 karma
    I think the breaking of momentum is an overstatement, but really it's personal. It would terrify me to bubble after each page, so I methodically bubble after each question. (Side note: I bubble after each page when I enter answers into the 7sage app and my error rate is so much higher than transferring by question; I've never made a bubbling error on a test, but doing it by page into 7sage grader I probably make at least one error every 3 tests). You could make the same argument about breaking up rhythm on behalf of taking longer to bubble an entire page. The counter-argument for this is "it allows you to reset/get your mind right for the next set" but I could say the same for bubbling after each question: taking the second to bubble after each adds a nice finality to the question, gives you a brief pause to collect yourself, and provides you momentum into the next question.

    All of this is to say there's no right way; each camp has their arguments. We can all agree on one thing, though: transferring all answers at the end of the section is :'(
  • PacificoPacifico Alum Inactive ⭐
    8021 karma
    At the end of each page I just glance over the answers and think "B,A,C,C" and quickly bubble it in so I feel like that is faster than shifting back to the answer sheet. I am also left handed and the less time my hand is near the answer sheet the better because I will start to smear the graphite... To say nothing of the ants I had to deal with.

    Bubbling at the end of each section is totally cool as long as your proctor gives you your test back during the break.

  • kennedybjkennedybj Alum Member
    697 karma
    bubbling at the end of each section is totally cool as long as your Proctor gives you your test back during the break
    saw this done when I took the October LSAT. Definitely a terrible idea to wait until the end of section to bubble in.
  • Sheri123Sheri123 Alum Member
    edited December 2015 1196 karma
    Didn't someone post that the proctor had forgotten to give a 5 minute notice and one of the guys taking the test had not done any bubbling and got the proctor to give him the test back during the break to fill in the answer sheet? Or am I just dreaming?

    Thank you dexterdowns, c.janson35, and Pacifico for the feedback on this.
  • GhoorchGhoorch Alum Member
    57 karma
    I just wanted to add that I was mis-bubbling quite a bit during my PTs. One really good tip I read was to bubble every time you're about to turn the page, their reasoning was that it is a natural point of rest because you're turning the page anyway and it saves a few more seconds.
  • Sheri123Sheri123 Alum Member
    1196 karma
    Thanks Ghoorch, that makes sense.
  • sarkisp23sarkisp23 Alum Member
    374 karma
    For LR I do every page as well. But for games or passages I bubble in at the end of the game/passage.

    If you do happen to missbubble (say by rushing and either not colouring within the lines or not fully filling it in) you can tell them to mark it by hand right?
  • PacificoPacifico Alum Inactive ⭐
    8021 karma
    Yes you can request a hand grader. I believe they will do this automatically if they notice a bizarre pattern (e.g.- all the answers are shifted down one number).
  • allergicallergic Alum Member Inactive Sage
    246 karma
    I bubbled after each question and I think it helped me avoid making errors, but I think the most important thing is to use the same method for all sections. When I started studying I bubbled answers for the games after each game and everything else question by question and that caused trouble for me.
  • allergicallergic Alum Member Inactive Sage
    246 karma
    @Pacifico where did you hear about them doing it automatically? I thought it was only done upon request and you had to pay $100. Also, I thought you were out of luck if you made a bubbling error like that.
  • pritisharmapritisharma Alum Member
    edited December 2015 477 karma
    I bubble after each page and when 5 minutes are left , after each question, so as to not miss bubbling a question I have already solved.
  • kennedybjkennedybj Alum Member
    697 karma
    @Sheri123 I posted about the proctor giving the test book and answer sheet back to a test taker during the break.
  • PacificoPacifico Alum Inactive ⭐
    8021 karma
    Only saw a story about it on TLS so I have no actual verification other than a rando on the Internet.
  • splitterhopefulsplitterhopeful Alum Member
    340 karma
    Hate to say it, but... I have no set way of bubbling. I kind of go by whatever method seems natural at the moment. But I always do a quick little double check matching answer and question #.
  • MrSamIamMrSamIam Inactive ⭐
    2086 karma
    Personal preference. I've tried both methods. For LG and RC, I bubble after each game and passage, respectively. For LR I bubble after each question. Try both ways and see which is quicker and more comfortable for you. I would consider doing 1 page using each method, and timing yourself. Obviously this isn't an exact science...but I suppose it's worth a shot.
    If you're not taking the LSAT tomorrow, try doing full PTs using each method.
  • shainabarbershainabarber Alum Member
    109 karma
    On a related note, the first thing I do when starting a section is mark next to the last question number. The answer document has more spots than needed. I flip to last page and put a dot next to the correct number on answer document. I have such anxiety about getting to the end and being "off" with marking answers. Marking which question number is last saves me a little bit of worry and stress.
  • c.janson35c.janson35 Free Trial Inactive Sage Inactive ⭐
    2398 karma
    @shainabarber one of the hidden "secrets" of the LSAT... At the beginning of each section they tell you how many questions are in the section. Right under "Time--35 minutes."
  • Jonathan WangJonathan Wang Yearly Sage ⭐
    edited December 2015 6869 karma
    Chiming in with another option - I personally bubbled at the end of every spread of 2 pages in LR, after every passage, and after every game. With today's formatting, that can just be simplified to "after every spread of 2 pages".

    Rationale - I found that bubbling every ~quarter of the section interrupted me the least when I was in a groove, and I used the longer breaks this afforded me to really take my time with making sure my bubbling was correct, that my numbers matched up, putting in a brief meditation exercise or at least a deep breath before flipping the page, etc. I think eventually it became a habit for me to associate every page flip with a certain set of automatic tasks that I would cycle through, and that helped me mentally automate a good portion of it and thus free up brain cycles throughout the exam.
  • twssmithtwssmith Alum ⭐
    edited December 2015 5120 karma
    @c.janson35 I realized it would be a great tool to recognize the # of Q's in the section, and @shainabarber I like the idea of having a finishing mark on answer sheet to ensure no errors - will work on both concepts:)
    It makes complete sense to bubble as you turn the page which can also provide a moment for a second glance at skipped questions to give them one last shot if no time to revisit, but my instincts keep overriding the concept where I bubble each individual question under timed PTs, argghh -
    Fortunately, I have time to incorporate these strategies before June to figure optimum for me. Thanks for all of the great input!!!
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