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Slower =/= Better?
LSATcantwin
Alum Member Sage ⭐
The last couple days I have been extremely busy, so I decided to do un-timed LR sections. These un-timed LR sections have been my WORST scores to date.
My normal timed LR is anywhere from -3 to -5.
My un-timed LR sections are like -7 or -8.
What does this say about my understanding of the test? Lately I sort of feel like I tackle this test with brute force and with much less technical knowledge. What I see happening with these un-timed sections is that I second guess my first answer many times, which ultimately makes me get it wrong. The last section I did 4 of the 7 I missed are ones that the right answer almost jumped off the page at the beginning and then after I read it some more fell out of love with it and changed my choice.
What does this mean!
Comments
Maybe you trust yourself timed and untimed you over process, and the trap answers are sounding better untimed.
I thought about this too. Shouldn't I have such a good understanding of the basics that untimed sections are like -0 though?!
This is scary! haha
I've been trying to remind myself that on the tough questions I probably won't love the correct answer choice and that's ok. I don't have to love it it just have to match the task and the argument.
Without the urgency of the time you arent forced to just trust your gut. I find as well i'm so sure of incorrect answers untimed and eliminate the ones that do sound to obvious or easy to me, but end up being right.
Very odd to say the least. I think it could be a number of the theories mentioned above. Then again, some people just perform better under pressure. I still think there is another explanation.
Are your BR scores lower than your actual timed exams? You'd think they might be considering this? I obviously doubt it, which leads me to believe something else is up.
This is gold. Questions 15-23, if I like the answer, it's probably the wrong answer!
A big revelation I had regarding this same concept was that questions on the LSAT --especially harder ones -- never seem right. They are right just by the virtue that they are not wrong. It's a very odd concept to wrap your mind around when it comes to a test, but that's why POE is so important on harder questions.
I completely agree with @MichaelTheArchAngel When you're under the pressure of time, you have to answer the question quickly, around 1:20 or so depending on the question, how many are left, where you are in the sections, etc.... When you are un-timed however, you have all the time in the world. You don't have the sense of "I need to answer this and move on" but rather "hmm A looks good, but so does this B, but E also sounds kinda right". Over analyzing and not trusting yourself could definitely be the defining factor.
When I BR my scores lower every time. I go from a 168/169 to a 165 after BR. I know which questions stump me, look at them during BR and then change my answer to a wrong answer.
I've sort of abandoned BR and changed it to a method I prefer. I grade the exam and then the ones I get wrong I mark, but do not look at the right answer. I then review the question to see what is going on.
I think this might be the root of the issue, or very close to it. I've noticed that when I have extra time, I spend it trying to find LSAC traps. This inevitably leads to over thinking, which-leads to a missed answer. Under time pressure my mind is much more surgical and runs its process quick. It goes through the questions and AC and says ---- No fails here, No fails here, Yes does XYZ for the argument, No Fails, No fails here. ---- Then I move on.
Untimed I go in circles trying to convince myself that the right answer cannot be right because I think it is right, so it has to be wrong, and this answer choice has something subtle I am missing so it has to be right etc etc
Yeah, this seems like a simple case of you having the time to talk yourself out of answers. Almost like you're trying to outsmart the LSAT. This is still very odd to me. I'll try to think about what could cause it and as a few tutors I know....
I'm working with a tutor hopefully starting this weekend!!
Awesome idea! Great investment! I've literally never heard of anyone regretting using a tutor for the LSAT. For the SAT, GMAT, GRE, etc., I have, but not for this test. The amount of knowledge you can learn from someone more advanced with this test in only a few sessions is unreal!