Retaking in Dec- Different Approach

[sht]

Hi Everyone,

I wrote the September LSAT and retaking the December one so I am looking for advice on how to improve my score this time around. Before September, I was scoring around 152-155 on practice exams and decided to go for it anyways and got 159 on the actual test. I did terrible on the RC section which had never happened before on practice tests. Generally, the games were my weaker section. Since September I've taken a healthier approach to studying (eating better, working out, etc) instead of locking myself in a room for 12hrs/ day.

Since getting my score back I've gotten 162 on a practice test and 168 on another one. The breakdown of the last one I wrote (168) is: LR: -3, LG: -6, LR: -4, RC: -4. I ran out of time on LG and the second LR and missed two questions each.

I'm happy to see this increase but I'm wondering if anyone has any advice on how to sustain it and make sure test day will be at least 170? How do I maintain a consistent RC score and improve my time on LG? Do I keep taking practice exams and reviewing what I'm getting wrong (my current approach) or does anyone have another way that worked for them?

Thank you!

[Jonathan Evans]

Hi, sht,

Good job, and I'm happy that you are observing some across-the-board improvement in your score. You must have a good grasp of the core concepts of the LSAT and how to achieve good accuracy given adequate time.

We are now not too far out from the December LSAT. At this point you need targeted practice to ensure close to 100% accuracy given adequate time for any given question. Thus, you must diagnose your performance through a careful analysis of your work and ascertain if there are any systemic weaknesses in your work. Discern whether these weaknesses are conceptual, strategic, or related to timing.

If they are conceptual, study the underlying principles or content that will help you improve your predictions, analysis, and accuracy. Apply these concepts through targeted practice. You could use one of our LSAT Bibles (https://www.powerscore.com/lsat/publications/#lsatprep) for instance. Be sure to spend as much time reviewing your work as you do doing the questions initially. Make sure you are working on making excellent prephrases for all questions.

If your issues are strategic, consider your application of your prephrases to the answer choices. Are you aggressive in eliminating incorrect answers. Are you engaging in a precise, detail-oriented analysis of remaining "contender" answers. Are you doing the necessary work returning to the passage, returning to the stimulus, diagramming scenarios, or rereading the question necessary to guarantee a correct answer? From a wider vantage point, are you approaching the sections themselves strategically? Are you doing questions in a constructive order? Are you doing LR sections in two passes? Are you saving your hardest AR game for last? Are you doing questions out of order in RC situations in which you have a poor grasp of the main point/primary purpose of a passage, working incrementally from more local to more global questions? There are many ways in which you can improve your strategy.

Many of these questions of strategy relate directly to improving timing. Good timing is predicated in large part upon excellent prephrasing and doing the appropriate questions in the appropriate way at the appropriate time. You need to push yourself to find efficiencies in your performance through timed drills that cover the gamut of easier to harder questions. You need to challenge yourself to answer questions accurately in less time than allowed to give yourself a cushion. Through practice with timed sections, you need to develop an internal chronometer of where you are at any given point when doing a timed section and where you need to be.

Lastly, you need to make sure you have the endurance to give the LSAT 100% of your focus for 100% of the test. Do not burn yourself out doing, as you mentioned, 12 hour drop sets of LSAT practice. Make sure your practice is targeted and balanced with the rest of your life. When you get mentally fatigued, you are just as bad off are you are when you're physically fatigued any trying to exercise (for instance): your performance drops.

I hope this helps.

[sht]

Thank you for your response! Really helpful! I appreciate it.