Seeking advise on drilling method

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• 4 Likes

  allison.gill.sanford Alum Inactive Sage

  February 2016 1128 karma

  First of all, way to tackle the core curriculum! Congrats on hitting that huge milestone! I appreciate your dedication to mastering the fundamentals, you seem to be approaching much of this in what I consider to be a smart way.
  Your next phase of prep is to begin PTing and then very quality BR review. You won't need to drill for a while. I suggest beginning to use the PTs 40 and up that you already own, do those as full timed PTs. Mix it up so you're doing one from the 40s series, the next from the 50s, then 60s. Mix in the 70s later since there are less of them and you want to save at least some of those for later in your prep.
  As you go along and identify weak spots (it will take you some time gathering data to identify what you are not great at yet - maybe 7-10 PTs before you can tell), then you can begin drilling. I woudl suggest you just mix up the materials from 1-38 so that you are drilling LR if your weakness is LR, or drilling RC if you struggle there. Just make your own packets with the right amount of questions/passages for a full section. This won't totally mimic the actual test in terms of the difficulty spread, but it's better than drilling the bundles by type or difficulty.
  Another option is to buy 1-38 again, in their original test format. I know thats dumb to pay twice for it, but it's an option you could consider.
  Here is my HUGE caveat to all of this, however: you must complete the LG bundle, especially if you want a top score. If you haven't done this already, start drilling hard core. Do all the games from 1-35 with JY's foolproof method, follow Pacifico's attack strategy here: https://7sage.com/discussion#/discussion/2737
  
  Best of luck as you push forward!!
  
• Heart Shaped Box Alum Member ⭐

  February 2016 edited February 2016 2426 karma

  @allison.gill.sanford Thank you for the response Allison, I have actually attended your webinar last week and it was very helpful! Thank you for taking the time sharing your valuable experience!
  
  So sounds like LG is okay to start drilling right away, and it's okay to drill just by the type first? My thinking is try to master one type of game at a time by drilling that specific type at the beginning, once I get better or after completing the whole LG bundle from 1 to 38, then start doing whole sections on LG. Does it sound okay..?
  
  With LR and RC, they don't really have the original test format available as a bundle for 1 to 38, they all have been broken down by types. They do, however, have them for sale "individually" PDF version, but...that's a lot of money buying 1 to 38 individually again! lol Especially after spending over $500 purchasing what I have right now. Do you by any chance have a source of those older PTs in the original format that is relatively more economical?
  
  Last question, I don't know If I'll have the endurance and ability to just start PTing the full PT at this point yet..I wish tho..do you think it might be better for me to start with doing "sections timed" first, after I build up some skills and endurance, and the start full PTs? Or you still think doing full PTs first and then drill is a better approach for my situation?
  
  I really appreciate your advise Allison and will not take it lightly. Thanks again!
• allison.gill.sanford Alum Inactive Sage

  February 2016 1128 karma

  Glad to hear the webinar was helpful for you!
  Yes, start drilling LG right away. It doesn't matter much IMO if you drill initially by type of game, I think I started off by foolproofing the games I was exposed to in the core curriculum and then moving onto the rest of the bundle (games from 1-35, BTW, not 1-38, though that's a small difference).
  You just want to eventually maximize exposure to different game types, and master how to make inferences.
  Make sure you're watching JY's videos for games after your first attempt to solve them, then go solve again afterward and try to make the inferences he does. Work through as much of the bundle as you can (depends on your prep time and personal goals here), and then after you master discrete game types, you can test how you do on whole LG sections timed within your PTs. If you hit issues, we can help you troubleshoot from there.
  There's not a better option for purchasing PDFs of whole tests that I am aware of... unfortunately. I bought some of mine from everylsat.com but they seem to have folded. You could look into buying the books, might come out to less per test, but I recommend you just use the material you have (start working with the 40 and up tests) and only worry about buying more if you run out of fresh material and need to keep PTing.
  I wouldn't recommend delaying the PT phase of your prep in order to drill LR or RC. You should, however, tackle LG first because the learning process is different for LG. If you start PTing without pretty solid LG skills, you might create bad habits on that section.
  You could take a month to drill the LG bundle, or even longer if you need the time (also depends on when you want to take the test), and then move onto PTs. Ideally, you move onto PTs when you're scoring -0 - -3 on LG consistently. It takes a while to get there. I started PTs before I hit this point, figured that out, and went back to the LG bundle to drill more. I also worked some LG timed sections from earlier tests to have fresh material, and usually added an LG section to PTs as my 5th section because that is where I needed the most practice. You can tailor to your needs.
  But other than tackling LG, you should not delay moving into the PT part of your prep. At some point you have to get very good at taking this test in its actual format, and nothing preps you for that like PTs. It's just a smart use of your time to take many of them. You have to build the stamina to focus throughout the entire test.
  Know, also, that at the point you're 10+ PTs into your prep, you have prepared much more thoroughly than the majority of LSAT takers. So no matter how those first few go, you're putting yourself in the best position you can for familiarity and good habits that will serve you well on test day.
  Feel free to reach out if you have more questions!
• 1 Like

  Heart Shaped Box Alum Member ⭐

  February 2016 2426 karma

  Yes, I totally agree. I did the same when I was going thru the LG sections in the core curriculum, which was part of the reason why It took me so long. LG so far seems like my weaker spot as well, so I was literally doing every single game 10 to 15 times and repeat 2 0r 3 times again the next day before moving on to the next one. The first a few times are the most miserable ones since I was new to this, and was having a real hard time absorbing the inferences and processing them, but then it gets a little better after doing it 10 times. So that, along with re-watching the videos over and over in between, it was r-e-a-l-l-y time-consuming..but I thought it might pay off in the end. And after listening to your great insight on webinar, now I know it will pay off! Oh, I liked your laptop background btw lol
  
  So I will take your advise and start drilling every single LG in the bundle right away. Should I also do some LR and RC at the same time here and there, or I should just focus on LG alone first for the following month until I completely master them? And if I do need to also do some LR and RC on the side just so that I don't forget, and since I also do not have them in whole section format from 1 to 38, I'm assuming you suggest just do the LR and RC whole sections timed from 40s and above? Or just doing some LR and RC by the type from 1 to 38 is okay since the main focus is LG, they are just on the side so that I don't master LG at the expense of completely abandoning LR and RC?
  
  Again, thank you so much for taking the time giving me such detailed instruction/advise Allison. I really do appreciate it whole-heartily. All my life, I had to work extra hard to fight for the things I want. Nothing I get has ever been easy for me. but I have accomplished so much bc of that. With the LSAT it's the same, I don't diagnose in the 150s or even low 160s right away like those "beast" candidates. I really wish tho and very much admire them. But I believe I will get there. It might take me a little longer, (I know it will) or I might have to suffer a little more in the beginning, but I will conquer all the hardship and make my dream come true in the end. Thanks again Allison, you are awesome!
• 1 Like

  allison.gill.sanford Alum Inactive Sage

  February 2016 1128 karma

  You are so sweet! I'm happy to help, I benefitted so much from the forums when I was starting in my prep.
  I definitely relate to your experience with those first few painful drilling experiences with LG. It's the learning process! You are teaching your mind to solve a very particular kind of puzzle. You'll get better, faster, it will maybe even become fun one day...
  I don't think you need to do much RC and LR maintenance while you drill the LG bundle. It probably won't be a big deal to put those down for a while (especially if you already did the problem sets in the core curriculum). For me, it wasn't an issue to put them aside and focus on LG, though it did feel less familiar when I came back to it, so I reviewed a bit of my notes from the core curriculum about how to solve different LR questions.
  If you want to be working some LR or RC on the side, I would suggest you don't use PTs 40 and up. You want to save those whole tests you own for your PT phase of prep, they should be totally fresh material. You could just work the bundles that you got from Cambridge, but again I don't think you need to drill RC and LR until you take some PTs and figure out where you are struggling.
  Your attitude toward the test is awesome! I know you are well on your way to reaching your goals! It's a long road, but you are right that perseverance and smart study tactics will be very key.
• Heart Shaped Box Alum Member ⭐

  February 2016 2426 karma

  I completely agree and It makes me feels better to know that 100% focusing on LG will not be detrimental to other part of the exam, cuz i'm that kind of person. When I "multitask", I tend to perform not as well as attacking them one by one giving my all. At least not at the beginning. I believe I will be able to handle them all simultaneously later on when I get better, so yeah, for now, I will just focus on 100% mastering the LG bundle first.
  
  Thanks so much Allison! It's great to hear your insight that is coming from effective learning process and fruitful outcome. I will keep you posted for sure. Thanks again!