Practicing with time

[rameday]

Hello,

Seeing as how the September exam is still 3 months away, for LG would you recommend doing timed games at this stage with greater than 8 minutes and 45 seconds if you are still trying to work on accuracy?

So maybe starting with 12 minutes and then shaving off a minute or two every few weeks until the accuracy as well as speed is there?

A

[KelseyWoods]

Hi A!

It depends somewhat on where you are in your LSAT studying process. If you are still learning the different types of games and how to approach them, then I wouldn't recommend timing yourself at all yet. Just focus on learning and applying the strategies and timing will come with practice.

If you've already been through an entire course, then you can start practicing your timing. I like your idea of giving yourself more than enough time at first because you really want to make sure that you are still allowing yourself to practice all the strategies so that they continue to become ingrained in you. You don't want to practice going through games quickly if you're sacrificing too much of your technique at this point.

You also might want to mix up your studying a little bit so that you get the best of both worlds. Try out some games giving yourself as much time as you need to complete them and making sure you focus on making a correct diagram, getting inferences, applying your strategies, etc. Then, try some games timed. Alternating like this will remind you to still practice all of your techniques while also giving you a sense of what 8 minutes and 45 seconds feels like and you'll start to naturally speed up.

Hope this helps!

Best,
Kelsey

[rameday]

Yes that definitely helps.
Thanks
A

[rameday]

A follow up question.

Would you recommend a daily program of practising two games giving myself 12 minutes a game and then shaving off a minute or two every two weeks until I can get to 8 minutes a game?

Or is 2 games a day not enough for getting a grasp on my speed and accuracy?

A

[Jon Denning]

It's probably fine for now, but you'll want to increase the volume to 4+ games daily as you get closer to the test! Right now focus on your technique and recognizing key elements (numerical ideas, game types, etc), and your diagramming in general. As you go you'll get faster and, hopefully, more consistent at making inferences and attacking the various question types.