Need advice - PT vs. individual timed sections

Comments

• 1 Like

  Paul Caint Alum Member ⭐

  November 2017 3521 karma

  I think that is a great strategy! Yeah 2 full (35 minute) sections + BR should be enough for each day of the week, and I agree that you should only fully PT once a week.

  At the same time, I think you shouldn't actually do a PT until you are proficient at timing in your individual sections. So if you find in this first week of doing timed sections that you aren't finishing the entire section, don't do a PT at the end of the week.

  Once you're consistently hitting time - with accuracy - on timed sections, then move on to PTing
• LivePumpkin Free Trial Member

  November 2017 edited November 2017 270 karma

  Thank you so much for the detailed and quick reply!

  Also, which PTs I should use to drill? I have all 1-82. I am considering using 60-69 for drills and maybe use 70-82 for PTing?

  Lastly, do you have some form of strategy for LR, like a 10 in 10 type strategy?

  • I will keep updating this post with my progress so someone in the future can (hopefully) make use of this!
• 2 Likes

  Paul Caint Alum Member ⭐

  November 2017 3521 karma

  Hmm...depends on how long you're planning on studying for. When are you taking the exam? I think maybe @"Alex Divine" or other mentors could give you better advice on how to space out the PTs.

  Yeah I do a 10 in 10 type of strategy, but only on the first 10 questions a given LR section since those are typically the easiest questions. I know after 10, and especially by 15 I will start slowing down.

  I think for 10 in 10, and I've heard others do this too, is a good time to really train your "prephasing" skills. As in, instead of trying to eliminate wrong answers, you should be able to anticipate the answer. This doesn't necessarily mean you have to perfectly predict it, but it means when you see the right answer you should just be able to circle it and move on. Don't waste time looking at the rest of the answer choices, be sure of yourself

  Hope this stuff helps and others can help you as well !
• Alex Alum Member ⭐

  November 2017 edited November 2017 23929 karma

  @LivePumpkin said:
  Hi everyone,

  I have been at the stage where I have consistently been going -1 to -3 on untimed LR and RC for a while. Now, I have decided to start transitioning myself into timing; however, I am not sure what the best approach is from here.

  I am wondering about what the general consensus is regarding PTs vs. timed individual sections. Should you be doing more of the latter and less of the former? I am considering making a schedule of doing mostly timed individual sections (i.e., 1 LR and 1 RC one day and 1 LR and 1 LG another day) throughout the week with BR? And then, at the end of the week doing a PT? I have read on this forum and several others that constantly taking PTs is not the best way to improve your score; PTs are much better for building stamina. Taking many individual timed sections and thoroughly reviewing them, on the other hand, is much better. Lastly, I think it is worth mentioning that I am fortunate enough to have a lot of time to dedicate to studying.

  What are your thoughts? Thank you so much!

  Hey Pumpkin,

  I totally subscribe to the strategy of doing timed sections rather than a ton of full PTs. I'm not saying this will work for everyone, but it's been my experience that you can get just about everything you would from a full PT by taking the test as individual timed sections. You will lose out on getting practice with endurance with this approach, so you'll want to aim to take a good amount of full PTs at some point. But I've found the beauty of taking timed sections is that I can review them right after while everything is still fresh in my mind. Furthermore, taking full PTs can take a herculean amount of time an energy. it's nice to be able to take timed sections without having to dedicate 4 hour chunks.

  Ultimately, though, many people who have scored very high on the actual exam think taking tons of PTs was invaluable to their success. So I would plan to sit down at least ~15-20 times for full, proctored PTs. Ideally you'll want to save the newer tests in the 60s, 70s, and 80s, for these. I think using some of the 40s and 50s and even some of the 60s (depending on your timeline/score) may be fine for doing individual timed sections. Just be careful not to blow through the finite amount of tests. There's close to 90 released LSATs and if you're planning on studying for a long period of time, running out is easier than you'd imagine. Especially if you're cannibalizing a test per week ON TOP of doing a PT. Depending on where you are at in your studies, you may not need to much material. You want your schedule of PTs to remain flexible. So if you don't have any reason to believe you have improved since you're last PT, it's probably more productive to work on something more targeted than another PT.
• Alex Alum Member ⭐

  November 2017 23929 karma

  @LivePumpkin said:
  Thank you so much for the detailed and quick reply!

  Also, which PTs I should use to drill? I have all 1-82. I am considering using 60-69 for drills and maybe use 70-82 for PTing?

  Lastly, do you have some form of strategy for LR, like a 10 in 10 type strategy?

  • I will keep updating this post with my progress so someone in the future can (hopefully) make use of this!

  Oops. Sorry I didn't read this post before I replied.

  • When do you plan on taking the test?
  • Where are you currently in your studied? (Have you completed the CC, foolproofed, how are you scoring?)
    -Aim to save 20 of the newest tests for full PTs. I think it's more or less ok to use the rest of timed sections/drilling. But that also depends on how far you are from your target score. If you're still quite a ways off you may want to consider using 1-35 for drilling until you're closer to your target score. Than start digging into the more valuable newer tests.