10 Week Preparation Plan

[TwelveSix]

Hi,

I completed a live Powerscore course last week and took the September LSAT administration yesterday. The test wasn't harrowing, it was what I have come to expect given the PTs that we took in class. However, I don't believe I did any better on the exam yesterday than I have been doing on our PTs. My final PT score for the course was a 161, 9 points shy of where I'd like to be.

Prior to that, I scored 3 158's in a row. The answers correct per section tended to fall along these lines:

39/50 LR
21-23/27 RC
9/23 LG

-Logical Reasoning could stand for improvement, but I'm largely comfortable with them. Some wrong answers are wrong due to guesses forced by time pressure. I don't proceed fast enough to read the stimulus and really consider answer choices for roughly 3 per section. In the times when I mistake a wrong answer choice for a correct one, I tend to understand the correct reasoning once I read an explanation.

-Reading Comprehension could be a -3. Again, often it's the case that I miss the question not because I mistook a wrong answer choice for the right one, I miss the question because I'm forced to guess due to not finishing the final passage on time. I tend to go -0 on two passages for the section, miss 2 on another, and miss a few due to time forced guesses for the last passage.

-Logic Games are far and away my clear weakness. I tend to go -0 on the first game, but after that my performance varies on how well I guess. I typically run out of time before I really engage the 3rd or 4th game. If relatively complicated or time consuming elements are included within the rules (yielding diagrams that form several branches, or in and outs with Not Blocks governed by "Or' rules or heavy compound conditional logic) I tend to move much slower and disengage.

I did maybe a quarter of the homework for the course largely because my full time job didn't leave me with much time to complete them. Now that I don't have the class schedule to adhere to, I have confidence that I can complete the live course homework books. In addition to the books and the online resources I have with me the Powerscore LR and LG Bibles.

If someone could help me devise a 10 week plan to reach my target score in time for the December test, it would be greatly appreciated. I want to make the most of my resources in the most efficient manner available.

[gabs.baker]

Agreed! A 10 week plan would be really great for those of us who have completed the live/online course for the September LSAT prep and are now taking the test in December as well, without the class to fall on.

I'm in the same boat - finished the course a week before the LSAT and my last PT was a 160. Not convinced I did very well on Saturday. I choked in LG and can't even remember if I finished two games.

[kwabbel]

Feeling the same way! I'd rather continue studying and find out I did better than expected, rather than not study and get a bad score and have to cram for the dec. test! Looks like we've got about the same test scores too.

[khalil]

I'm in the same/similar boat. I finished the full length course and I decided not to take the LSAT because I wasn't going to hit the score I wanted. I now have 10 weeks to prep for the December exam. Does Powerscore have a 10 week schedule for people who have already take the course. Should we team up and make one?

[gabs.baker]

I don't think I'm knowledgable enough to help make a 10 week plan! Hopefully one of the PS experts will help us out

I'm just frustrated because all of the blog posts that have 6/10/12 week study plans are for people with the bibles and we don't need to purchase those since we have all the course materials right?

[Jon Denning]

Hey all,

Thanks for the questions! You're right that most of the plans we provide are directed at self-study folks (with the Bibles, usually), since that's the group with which we're the least hands-on--no class sessions and instructor oversight, so we try to provide some guidance from afar

But for you guys, you're actually in a really fortunate position! I say that because we grant access to all of the Live Online lesson archives (recordings of each class), as well as your Online Student Center and all the tests and supplements there, for two test administrations. So every supplementary resource that came with the class is still in place until the December test, allowing for a wealth of content to review.

With that in mind, I'm not going to try to give specific, week-by-week study plans, since schedule, weaknesses/needs, work completed to this point, and goals are different for everyone. Instead, let me give you some general tips, and you can apply them to your own, unique situations.

First, consider your most recent practice tests and your areas of specific weakness, and make those a priority as you begin to review. For instance, TwelveSix you mention that Games consistently give you the most trouble. What I'd recommend then, particularly considering you still have more than half the points in that section to gain, is to go back to the first discussion of Games in the course (lesson 1) and review that archive, then go to the hw in the book and the supplementary L1 problem sets/HW online, and complete everything you haven't done up to this point. If you've already done all of that, review the lesson archive again, and then rework any of the games from the lesson/hw/online sets that gave you trouble. Then move to the next lesson of games (L3) once you feel totally comfortable with the L1 content, and do the same thing: archive discussion, complete anything not done yet, review any specific instances of difficulty.

When you reach a point where you'd like a Games break--maybe a few days or a week in--move to LR and consider recent tests and areas of difficulty there. And then follow the same, concept-driven process of review, review, review.

After a few weeks of problem/game/passage sets under timed conditions, and steady drilling of conceptual ideas to make sure they're totally understood, begin working practice tests back into your schedule. Maybe 1-2 per week, to give you a better understanding of where you're still struggling and what still needs attention.

But it's this process--test (whole, single section, or smaller sampling of questions), review/self-analysis with a focus on areas of difficulty, more detailed examination of those areas of difficulty (lesson/online discussions of that concept), and retest--that allows people to continue to improve post-course. The key is that you're constantly performing comprehensive self-critiques as you go so that you're always aware of your evolving skill set and individual needs.

Finally, if you reach a point a few weeks prior to the next test where you feel you're stuck or plateaued, consider a few hours of tutoring with someone who can walk you through the remaining few rough spots. Sometimes that final, guided assistance is the key to reaching your full potential.

I hope this helps and please keep us posted on your progress!

Jon

[Nikki Siclunov]

Hey guys,

Let me add to Jon's excellent advice above. Since you're all Powerscore students, I've modified our popular 2-month study plan to suit your needs, as best as I could. Obviously, you can tweak this plan based on: (1) the types of questions you tend to struggle with the most; (2) the amount of time you can devote to LSAT prep; (3) any additional publications you decide to invest in.

In many ways, two months is the ideal amount of time for a Plan B, provided you have about 20 hours/week to focus on the LSAT. Since you've already taken a course with us, you have access to the Online Student Center until December. That said, you can definitely benefit from investing in the Bible Workbooks and/or some of the most recent Deconstructed series. More on this below.

To Do Today:

• 1. Relax! Take this week off, and reset your brain. Trust me on this one ☺ If relaxing makes you nervous (duh!), work on your applications or give that personal statement one last look. You can never polish these things enough.
  2. Register to take the LSAT, if you haven’t already done so. The registration deadline for the Saturday, December 6, 2014 LSAT administration is November 4, 2014. Late registration is November 14, 2014 (http://www.lsac.org/jd/lsat/test-dates- ... a-december)
  3. Make a list of ALL the practice tests you took while preparing for the September test. Hopefully, you scored all of your practice tests on our Online Student Center, so you have a record of how you did. Pull up those score reports and analyze the mistakes you've made.
  4. Consider investing in the following publications:
• a few recent volumes of our PowerScore LSAT Deconstructed Series. Each volume includes the full setups of each game, a breakdown of every reading passage, and comprehensive explanations of each and every question and answer choice. Make sure these don't duplicate the explanations of the practice tests you have available on your Online Student Center; http://www.powerscore.com/lsat/publications/?tqe
• LG, LR, and RC Question Type Training, particularly if your coursebooks are heavily marked. Since time is of an essence, only purchase Volume 2 of each series. If you choose not to do this, you can still use your course homework and Supplemental Questions available on the Online Student Center, and modify the plan accordingly. http://www.powerscore.com/lsat/publications/?lqc
• LSAT Bible Workbooks. The workbooks are specifically designed to reinforce the concepts you are already familiar with, and provide a great way to practice on each section individually without burning through practice tests. As an added bonus, the workbooks contain complete explanations of each question or game, which is crucial if you are to learn from the mistakes you make. The drills in the workbook will not duplicate the drills you've already done in the coursebooks. http://www.powerscore.com/lsat/publications/?lpg

Week 1

• 1. Review Lessons 1-4 from the course, paying particular attention to the conceptual foundation of approaching some of the most common types of LR and LG questions on the test. Review conditional and causal reasoning; sequencing, linear, and advanced linear games.
  2. Complete Chapters One and Two in each of the three LSAT Bible Workbooks. Chapter Two in each workbook contains a plethora of practice drills for you to use without burning through licensed test questions.
  4. Begin tackling games from the LG Game Type Training II, focusing on the type of game you find the most challenging. For the next four weeks, complete 2-4 games every weekday, even if you've seen some of these games before.
  5. Using the RC Passage Type Training II, focus initially on those subjects you find particularly difficult to follow. For the next four weeks, complete 2-4 RC passages per weekday, even if you've seen some of these passages before.
  6. Take two (2) full practice tests, preferably in the morning of your days off from work or school. Score them on the Online Student Center and review your mistakes.

Week 2

• 1. Review Lessons 5-8 from the course, paying particular attention to some of the more common question types (Flaw in the Reasoning, Grouping games, etc.).
  2. Complete the remaining chapters of all three LSAT Bible Workbooks. It is essential that you read through our question, game, or passage explanations even if you got the questions right. For one thing, this will help reinforce a well-structured, disciplined way of approaching each question type on the test: as you read through each explanation, examine how closely your own approach resembles ours: Do you deconstruct each LR argument the way we do? In Logic Games, is there a type of inference you tend to miss? In RC, do you break down each passage using the same VIEWSTAMP method described in the explanations?
  3. Continue doing 25-50 questions/weekday from the LR Question Type Training II,
  4. Continue doing 2-4 games/weekday from the LG Game Type Training II.
  5. Continue doing 2-4 passages/weekday from the RC Passage Type Training II.
  6. Take two (2) full practice tests, preferably in the morning of your days off from work or school. Score them on the Online Student Center and review your mistakes.

Week 3

• 1. Review Lessons 9-12 from the course, paying particular attention to Numerical Distributions, Templates, and use of Numerical Evidence in LR questions.
  2. Continue doing 25-50 questions/weekday from the LR Question Type Training II.
  3. Continue doing 2-4 games/weekday from the LG Game Type Training II.
  4. Continue doing 2-4 passages/weekday from the RC Passage Type Training II.
  5. Take two (2) untimed practice tests. Although the LSAT is a timed exam, this exercise should help you pinpoint specific conceptual problems you have difficulty with, as your would should not be the result of rushing. Thoroughly review both tests and enter any mistakes you make in your spreadsheet.
  6. You have now taken a total of 6 practice tests since the beginning of October. Time for a thorough review of your OSC score reports. Examine all the mistakes you’ve made up to this point. Do you see any patterns? Are you missing a lot of questions with conditional reasoning stimuli? Numbers and percentages? How about Undefined Grouping Games? Or Science passages? Keeping track of where you constantly trip up will help you streamline your studies.
  7. If you believe you've hit a plateau, chances are you're struggling with the hardest questions on the test. Consider purchasing either the Advanced LSAT Logic Games course (http://www.powerscore.com/lsat/advanced-logic-games/) or the Advanced LSAT Logical Reasoning Course (http://www.powerscore.com/lsat/advanced ... reasoning/). Each course is taught by industry experts and completely deconstructs the elements that make certain games or LR questions difficult. The trick is to become familiar with these ideas long before test day, so you can put our methods into practice and make them your own.

Week 4

• 1. Take the Advanced LSAT course that covers your worst section (Logic Games or Logical Reasoning).
  2. Take two (2) full practice tests, preferably in the morning of your days off from work or school. Score them on the Online Student Center and review your mistakes.

Week 5

• 1. Take two (2) practice tests, choosing those tests for which you also have an LSAT Deconstructed Series volume of explanations at your disposal.
  2. Continue doing 25-50 questions/weekday from the LR Question Type Training II. You need to finish this volume by the end of the week.
  3. Continue doing 2-4 games/weekday from the LG Game Type Training II. You need to finish this volume by the end of the week.
  4. Continue doing 2-4 passages/weekday from the RC Passage Type Training II. You need to finish this volume by the end of the week.

Week 6

• 1. Take three (3) practice tests. Score them on the Online Student Center and review your mistakes.
  2. If you notice persistent patterns of mistakes that you cannot fix with the self-study guides, ask for help on the forum or consider purchasing a few hours of PowerScore LSAT Tutoring and Admissions Counseling. A tutor should not only be able to explain what you are doing wrong, but also help you fix the problem. Tutoring is not cheap, but the benefit usually far outweighs the cost, given the enormous value in salary potential of even a 3 or 4-point increase in your LSAT score. http://www.powerscore.com/lsat/tutoring/

Week 7

• 1. Take three (3) practice tests. Score them on the Online Student Center and review your mistakes.

Week 8

• 1. Take only one (1) practice test. Score it on the Online Student Center and review your mistakes.
  2. Pull up the score reports of each and every practice test you've taken up until this point. This week, you’ll need to re-do every question you've EVER missed. Yes, there are probably hundreds of questions on that list, so you may want a head start. Pay particular attention to the flawed logic that led you to choose an incorrect answer the first time around.

Week 9

• 1. Take two (2) practice tests, ideally from 2013 or 2014. Score them on the Online Student Center and review your mistakes.
  2. Re-take the test you bombed back in September! If you’re worried that you’ll remember some of the questions, relax: it’s probably all a blur by now. Compare your answers to the ones on your score report. Where did you improve the most? What did you miss (again)?

That's it, guys! If you have any questions about this plan, let us know!

[TwelveSix]

Thank you for the advice John and for the schedule Nikki. I just ordered the Workbooks and Question Type Training Drill manuals. I'm going to get cracking on those as soon as they come in. Until then, I'll be reviewing my course lessons and homework. Thanks again. I'm sure I'll revisit the forum if I have any more questions.