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PTing and Blind review

Pink DustPink Dust Alum Member
edited April 2017 in General 403 karma

Hi guys, so I need some clarity on PTing and Blind reviewing. So far I have taken only 3 PT and have gone thru the CC twice + the LSAT trainer. So far the scores have been 148, 150, 154 (slowly making my way up sadly LOL) (my diagnostic before I started studying was about 136). Blind review scores are in the 160s. I think the timing aspect really threw me off first time on the PT and I have been trying to get a handle of it. Per section, I am guessing a solid 6 questions at least for LR, and about a whole passage for RC usually because i'm out of time. LG is good - I can do all the games on time, usually -2 on games. I am taking a PT once a week.
However, I really want to be PTing in at least low 160s (which is my blind review score right now). So I am really confused as to how I should get my blind review up at this point.
I try to drill and practice as much as I can from old PTs before I take the next PT and watch all the explanations for the PT I took. I also review concepts in the CC. I have also been writing out explanations for questions that have me confused between 2 answer choices.
Is there anything else I should be doing?? Thank you for the help!!!
Side note; love how helpful 7sage community is as this exam can be really frustrating.

Comments

  • NotMyNameNotMyName Alum Member Sage ⭐
    5320 karma

    Hi Pink Dust. Ya gotta be thrilled with the increases you've already seen -- 136 to 154 is fantastic! And I'm also pretty jealous of your LG abilities lol.

    I think the timing aspect really threw me off first time on the PT and I have been trying to get a handle of it. Per section, I am guessing a solid 6 questions at least for LR

    Are you using a skipping strategy for LR? You may also consider taking a week to focus on cookie-cutter questions from sections you've already seen. Once you are able to recognize these and answer confidently, your pacing should increase significantly

    about a whole passage for RC usually because i'm out of time

    How long does you initial read take? How long does it take you to answer the questions? How do these times vary depending on the subject (politics, history, science, etc)? Are you using a methodology (notation strategy, memory method, etc)?

  • JustDoItJustDoIt Alum Member ⭐
    3112 karma

    Hi there!

    As @jkatz1488 mentioned, congrats on your improvements! It seems as though RC is an issue for you and that is okay! I would definitely advocate you to check out some of the work by @"Accounts Playable" and @TheoryandPractice. I will provide some links that really helped me below.

    To summarize a little bit of what has helped me with RC, you want to be typing up a short summary of each paragraph, the main point, the author's tone, viewpoints in the passage, and the structure. This will help you to throughly understand what is going on. Next, I would strongly scrutinize the question stems and the answer choices. This is my biggest issue. It is so easy to take an answer choice for granted because you think it is saying something that it actually isn't. I would recommend scrutinizing each and every word because sometimes an answer choice sounds right but it just isn't because it is worded in correctly or has differing degrees. Set small goals for time, such as 4.5 minutes on your read and 4.5 minutes for questions. Yes, I know this is longer than allowed but just get comfortable before you go faster (also note that some passages are designed to take more time than others).

    I would also say to keep drilling both LR and RC. Keep identifying your weaknesses, isolating them, and drilling them. This will be the key to your improvement in LR specifically. Don't keep PTing. Stick to about one every two or three weeks. BR it hard and drill just as hard. PT's are finite resource and you want to use them as a gauge of your progress, which doesn't need to be gauged very often. It is more important to get better at your weaknesses and that is better achieved through drilling.
    Hope this helps!

  • JustDoItJustDoIt Alum Member ⭐
    3112 karma

    I forgot to add them! Here they are!

    https://7sage.com/discussion/#/discussion/10749/my-rc-strategy-that-got-me-to-0

    https://7sage.com/webinar/davids-six-tips-on-doing-it-right/

    As David mentions, read the comments under the passages. This will give you a foundation going forward.

    Oh and also, as he mentions, type everything. EVERYTHING! This has been incredibly helpful for me with LR. I literally type my reasoning for almost every LR question that I circle. I type the stimulus using active reading, type my anticipation, and an explanation of each answer choice. Sorry, I know this is a lot. Let me know if you have any questions!

  • Pink DustPink Dust Alum Member
    403 karma

    @jkatz1488 said:
    Hi Pink Dust. Ya gotta be thrilled with the increases you've already seen -- 136 to 154 is fantastic! And I'm also pretty jealous of your LG abilities lol.

    I think the timing aspect really threw me off first time on the PT and I have been trying to get a handle of it. Per section, I am guessing a solid 6 questions at least for LR

    Are you using a skipping strategy for LR? You may also consider taking a week to focus on cookie-cutter questions from sections you've already seen. Once you are able to recognize these and answer confidently, your pacing should increase significantly

    I haven't been skipping much but maybe I should just go thru the section first and try that strategy.

    about a whole passage for RC usually because i'm out of time

    How long does you initial read take? How long does it take you to answer the questions? How do these times vary depending on the subject (politics, history, science, etc)? Are you using a methodology (notation strategy, memory method, etc)?

    For initial read it takes 3-4 mins and then another 4-5mins on the questions. I seem to be spending too much time on the questions. I found that notating or the memory method hasn't really helped me much. Either I understand the passage and it goes fine or all hell breaks lose and I am left confused.

    @JustDoIt said:
    I forgot to add them! Here they are!

    https://7sage.com/discussion/#/discussion/10749/my-rc-strategy-that-got-me-to-0

    https://7sage.com/webinar/davids-six-tips-on-doing-it-right/

    As David mentions, read the comments under the passages. This will give you a foundation going forward.

    Oh and also, as he mentions, type everything. EVERYTHING! This has been incredibly helpful for me with LR. I literally type my reasoning for almost every LR question that I circle. I type the stimulus using active reading, type my anticipation, and an explanation of each answer choice. Sorry, I know this is a lot. Let me know if you have any questions!

    Wow, thank you so much for these links!! I'm gonna check it out!! I really appreciate your help guys :) thank you!

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