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Improvement Advice

harrismeganharrismegan Member
edited November 2014 in General 2074 karma
With the December LSAT approaching, I have yet to reach the 170 mark. I sit between a 161-165. I know that's not ideal, but I'm still working to improve.

My LG is between 0 and -3.
My reading comp and LR suffer the most.
I'm just wondering if people have tips on how to best study for these from here on out.

For Reading Comp, I'm going to go through a full 35 minute 4 passage a day to improve upon technique/skill.
For LR.... I'm unsure. I consistently get from 4-7 wrong on each LR section. When I go through BR, I can get that number down, but I'm still consistently at least 3 wrong.
Should I focus on reviewing the question types (to which there is no specific pattern of *most types wrong*), or should I focus more on doing old, timed, sections? So I can work on under pressure circumstances. I think that's where I lack most. My mistakes are not reading correctly, rushing, ect.

I think I haven't grasped the whole "you should try and answer them right instead of answering them all" concept. Does anyone have a strategy for this? I find I'm weakest at NA, PF, and PR... should I just circle the Q when I see them, not attempt, and come back if I have time, or try to attempt?

Thanks!!
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Comments

  • joegotbored-1joegotbored-1 Alum Member
    802 karma
    Hi Harris,

    I struggled with LR for a while and got that to be my best section... which is awesome because there are two of them! If you're already good on LG, then LR is where you likely stand the best chance of increasing your score.

    I would look into drilling questions by type for a few days and then going back to full timed sections of LR. Drilling gets you to a point where you know how a certain question feels and what they're looking for. As an example, I couldn't get a Main Point question wrong if I tried. Moreover, I don't even need to read the whole stimulus usually...I read until I find the conclusion/MP and then stop, scan the answers for the same or similar wording, bubble and roll on. Takes maybe 10 seconds.

    That took a little time to get to that level, but it makes a huge difference since there are usually 2-5 of these on any given test. If you can get NA and SA the same way, then you'll have more time for those longer PMR and PF questions.

    Cambridge sells the questions by type in a pretty cheap package. You can start on the types you hate (they're ordered easy to hard in each type) and as you progress they'll become more challenging. For some, JY will have videos, for others (since these are pre PT-35) you might have to work it out on your own or read a student's explanation.

    By doing NA questions maybe 10 in a row followed by SA questions 10 in a row, you'll see how they're different which will make them WAY easier. Promise!

    PF and PMR are just long. They're not bad, just time consuming. You'll get there!
    Good luck.
  • nomee180nomee180 Alum Member
    32 karma
    Megan, thanks for starting this thread! I'm in the same boat.

    Joe, thanks for your feedback. Very helpful! I've actually gone back to drilling from the Cambridge packets for individual question types andI was wondering if you (or anyone else drilling from the Cambridge packets :) ) could shed some light on how you approach drilling. By that, I mean, do you generally work through all of the questions straight, or maybe split them up into chunks? Do you set a time limit for answering a set of questions? Do you blind review?

    Thanks in advance!
  • harrismeganharrismegan Member
    2074 karma
    I think I won't be purchasing any new material, but I think you're right. I am writing three practice tests F/S/S, so I'll work on drilling the question types! I think speed is a problem for me too, since I feel the need to rush through stimulus to get through questions faster, but I'm sure that'll come with ability!

    Thanks for your help! Good luck to you both :)
  • James RayJames Ray Alum Member
    186 karma
    megan I also think you are taking practice tests too close to each other. How can you expect to take a test one day, review it, look up all the lessons, sharpen your skills and then see solid improvement on the next day. I think you are overdoing it on the testing, that is just my opinion.
  • harrismeganharrismegan Member
    2074 karma
    :( I would agree,
    However my schedule only permits me to take them on those days. I work a full time job, so unless I wake up at 330 and take one before work... I have to take them after work. And I don't think either is conducive to the test conditions/my mindset when I'm doing the exam.... in the AM I'll be tired. in the PM i'll likely be just as tired.

    Do you suggest doing this over putting them on the weekend?
  • jdawg113jdawg113 Alum Inactive ⭐
    2654 karma
    Quality over Quantity, if you can take one each day and full review each and understand it, ok maybe it wont be so bad... but if you will burn urself out or dont have enough time to properly review take one Friday, review it into Sat if need be, maybe drill weaknesses with good review of drills and hit another PT Sunday and Review that and if u dont finish, continue the review over the week when you can... You also dont wanna finish the PT and jump right in, take a break, eat lunch or something then come back refreshed...
  • joegotbored-1joegotbored-1 Alum Member
    802 karma
    Harris,

    You don't need to buy any extra material. Before I got the Cambridge packets (for convenience and laziness really), I just used old exams I'd already taken, printed them, cut them up and organized by type. I did NOT time myself at all. I worked them in groups of 10 and always switched to another type after 10 of one or another. I didn't BR them since I gave myself enough time to find the right answer, but I did review them if I got them wrong. When I did, I'd watch JY's video to see why I got it wrong then put it back in the pile to do again later.

    In terms of PTs, I too work full time and before my first test back in September, I was doing 4-5 tests per weekend. You're not overdoing it. Once you get good, you only really need to BR questions you weren't 100% on and that number declines as your ability improves. I'm now doing 2-3 a week for my retake in December.

    The speed absolutely comes in time. Drilling w/o time will make LR so much easier under timed conditions. You'll still get stumped from time to time, but you'll know you're stumped and be able to skip those and move on.
  • amj521001amj521001 Member
    45 karma
    Harris, Megan, and anyone else using the Cambridge packets --

    Do the packets take all of their questions from a limited number of tests? Your advice on getting the packets sounds pretty solid and I think I'll get some, but I just want to make sure I don't affect my future practice tests by drilling questions before I see them on a preptest.

    Thanks is advance!
  • harrismeganharrismegan Member
    2074 karma
    @joegotbored-1,
    I have printed out the MC/MSS/MBT/MBF question types and prep test June 2007 and Prep test 36.
    I highlighted those question types for both of the exams and will be doing those ones this evening.

    Tomorrow evening I will be doing PSA/SA/NA/Flaw.
    Wednesday I will write a practice test in the evening. (I decided to spread them out).
    Friday I will take the day to review. Work on more practice of the weaker question types.

    Saturday re write. Potentially Sunday re write.

    Thanks for the tips :)
  • Dillon PGDillon PG Alum Member
    140 karma
    No word on RC? I'm getting too many wrong on that section...
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