Help!

[angicho]

I've been seriously studying for this LSAT since August and I have made NO improvements whatsoever from my diagnostic score. I drill a section a week and then go back and review all the questions, both right and wrong, in depth. I understand why the answers are right and wrong but when I move on to do another section, I DO NOT IMPROVE. Can someone please help me out? I don't understand why I consistently get the same low un-improving score. Any tips for a improvement would be appreciated. Thank you!

[Nikki Siclunov]

Hello Angicho,

Thanks for your question.

I unfortunately don't know much about you (yet!), or how you are preparing for this test, so I'm afraid I can only give you general recommendations on how to change your approach. At any rate, let me begin by saying that "drilling one section" is well below the minimum you should be doing each week. It's good that you're reviewing the questions you miss, but - quite frankly - if that's all you're doing, that is likely playing a role in explaining why your score hasn't improved since August.

Any improvement requires a concerted effort on your part, which includes, at the very least: (1) developing a solid conceptual framework that you can apply to each and every type of question or game on the test; (2) practicing that application on a variety of timed and untimed exercises using real LSAT questions; and (3) improving your stamina and focus by taking numerous timed practice tests. Generally speaking, an effective study plan for the test requires a time commitment of at least 10-15 hrs each week (if not more), spread over several months. One section/week is not going to cut it.

It sounds like you don't have a study plan set in stone, so let me suggest one that would be useful for someone who is not planning to take a prep course:

http://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/bid/315 ... -2013-LSAT

If you must take the test in December (and obviously, there are only 6 weeks until then), try this:

http://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/bid/321 ... -2013-LSAT

I realize this advice is quite general, but for me to give you specific feedback on what you should or shouldn't be doing, I need more information: what else have you done since August? What methodology are you using to approach the question types? Have you done a concerted effort to apply that methodology by focusing on specific question types and games in isolation? How many practice tests have you done? What is the range of your scores? What is your accuracy level for each type of section?

Hope this helps... Let me know!

Thanks!

[Dave Killoran]

Hi Angicho,

Let me add to Nikki's excellent advice with a point that might help how you view the approach you are taking. In our books and courses, one of the things we do when someone is still learning concepts is that we isolate individual ideas. By honing in one concept at a time, you can really learn that idea and comfortable with the ins and outs of the question type, concept, or method.

now, you may have started your studying off that way and only recently moved into doing individual sections. If that's the case, what I would suggest is returning to those areas that you know are consistently problematic for you. For example, maybe Flaw in the Reasoning questions get you every time. If so, go back and study those individually in order to focus on those without the distractions of other question types.

As Nikki, said, it would be great to know more about how you are studying, because then we can give you very specific advice.

Thanks and don't give up hope yet!

[angicho]

First of all, thank you Nikki and Dave! I wasn't expecting such a friendly replies. Thank you so much! As to how I've been studying, I did a diagnostic (153) and then I started off by going through all of the Powerscore books thoroughly. Then I started concentrating on individual types of questions in each section to analyze my strengths and weaknesses. For example, I realize I suck at inferences, strengthen/weaken, and assumptions in the LR section. So I went back and I concentrated on working on improving on those types of problems and found that the wrong answers I pick usually involve scope shifts. But the thing is, when I do the problems timed I still pick those same type of wrong answers. I think it might be the pressure of working under timed conditions. Then I go on to review the right and wrong answers. When I'm reviewing, I can easily pick apart the core and identify the premise and conclusion and see how the right answer attacks it and how the wrong answers don't fit in. Doing it timed, doesn't allow me to spend much time doing that.

After doing the LR, LG, and RC like this, I started doing practice tests. I've done about close to 20 and all my scores fall within the 151-154 range but I have scored a 164 and 167 on two of them but those are the only exceptions and I didn't approach those two any differently than the others PTs. Currently, I'm drilling a section a week, meaning LR questions for one complete week, and then RC the next week and LG games the next. And of course, I am reviewing all the questions thoroughly. I put in about 8 hours a day 5-6 days a week. My biggest weakness is the LR section. I get about 10-12 wrong in each section.

For the RC, I'm really comfortable reading the passages and locating the text in question and sometimes I do really well and other times don't. I think my problem with RC is analyzing what role each paragraph plays and keeping the author's opinions along with others' mentioned opinions in mind as well as making inferences based on their views and from the text. I get up to around 5-7 wrong and those are mostly inferences questions. If I can conquer inferences, I can probably start getting close to perfect on RC.

Finally for the LG, I'm fairly consistent getting about 2-3 wrong if I understand all the games and if I finish in 35 minutes. At my worst, I either run out of time or I find one game particularly tough and get all the questions for that game wrong.

I think my biggest problem is that I know all my weaknesses and I hone in on them and concentrate on doing those certain types of questions and while I get them right during drills,I still get them wrong on the PTs!! It's driving me crazy. I would get tutoring but unfortunately there is just no way I can afford that.

I'm sorry this is so long, I (am desperate) just wanted to be very thorough. I am definitely still going back and studying individual types of questions and I do stick to a study plan. And again thank you for your replies and I hope this helps you help me

[Nikki Siclunov]

Hey Angicho,

Thanks for your detailed response! I guess I misunderstood what you meant by "drilling one section/week". My apologies

Now that I have a bit more information about what you've done, let me address some of the points in your post:

1. It sounds like you developed a solid conceptual foundation by using the Bibles. That said, I don't think you were able to drill each question type as thoroughly as I would have liked. The Bible Trilogy is wonderful resource, but due to the constraints imposed by its format we couldn't add a tremendous number of practice questions under each question type. As a result, I think you moved too quickly onto timed practice tests. I don't mean to push you into buying even more books than you already have, but consider purchasing at least one of the question-type training we offer (make sure the tests don't overlap with the ones you've already taken):

• http://powerscore.com/lsat/content_publ ... _lrqtt.cfm
  
  http://powerscore.com/lsat/content_publ ... rqttII.cfm

2. You need to do at least one untimed test each week. Timing is a function of accuracy: the better your approach becomes, the faster you will be. By burning through 20 PT's under timed conditions, you deprive yourself of the ability to thoroughly analyze each question and recognize (1) when similar questions are presented in other tests; and (2) what makes a given answer choice correct or incorrect in this type of question. You didn't mention which particular practice tests you've taken, but for the next 6 weeks I'd focus on more recent ones (2008 - present).

3. Your score variance is too large.

After doing the LR, LG, and RC like this, I started doing practice tests. I've done about close to 20 and all my scores fall within the 151-154 range but I have scored a 164 and 167 on two of them but those are the only exceptions and I didn't approach those two any differently than the others PTs.

A "fluke" is a 156 when your average is 151. In your situation, you have got to figure out why two of these tests went markedly better than the rest. Yes, different exams emphasize different conceptual material, but such shifts cannot account for a variance of 15+ points.

4. Reading Comprehension seems to be going better than LR, but it sounds like you aren't absorbing the "big picture" as well as you should. This often stems from rushing to read the passage without pausing to mentally organize the information you read. Slow down! Take a mental break at the end of each paragraph and think, "what just happened? where is the author going with this?" As with LR, I would be doing both timed and untimed RC sections.

5.

I think my biggest problem is that I know all my weaknesses and I hone in on them and concentrate on doing those certain types of questions and while I get them right during drills,I still get them wrong on the PTs!! It's driving me crazy. I would get tutoring but unfortunately there is just no way I can afford that.

You may think you know what your weaknesses are, but question type accuracy is only one of several metrics to take into account. What is the difficulty level of the questions you miss? How about the reasoning paradigms that they contain (conditional, causal, numerical evidence, etc.)? If you tend to miss particularly difficult questions and tutoring is not an option, I'd give the Advanced LR course a try. It is perfect for students who are familiar with the Bibles and have mastered the basics of LR, but are still having trouble improving their accuracy on the medium-to-high level difficulty questions: http://www.powerscore.com/lsat/advanced ... reasoning/.

Also, start doing untimed LR exercises. If you miss 10-12 questions per section, but otherwise have higher accuracy levels, it is clear that you're sacrificing accuracy for speed on the practice tests: you basically spend 15-20 minutes in each section answering questions incorrectly! Thats a double whammy: you waste your time, and you don't get the points. Not to mention that you don't learn much from that experience either. It's great that you're reviewing the questions you miss, but I'd rather you didn't make the mistakes in the first place.

Speaking of which, how you review the questions you miss is also important. Rather than knowing what the correct answer choice is, and figuring out why it's correct, how about this: flag the questions you miss, put them aside for a few hours, and then attempt to solve them again without knowing what the right answers are. The key is to learn to distinguish correct from incorrect answer choices on your own, and recognize what makes the difference in each instance.

Finally, I realize tutoring can be unaffordable. But, do you know anyone who is also studying for the LSAT? Forming a study group with them would be a great idea - nothing replaces the ability to discuss questions with another human being, explaining your mistakes to each other, etc. I was always a strong test-taker, but became even better after I started teaching the test to others. The latter forces you to slow down and deconstruct the arguments in a way that you never would on your own. It's hard to beat that.

These are just some pointers to get your started. Hope they help a bit