February 2016 Retake

[bradshaw10]

Hello,

I just got my December LSAT score (159) and have decided to retake the exam in February. I did significantly worse on the games section (-11) than I did on RC (-2) or LR (-6 on each section) so I'm inclined to focus my preparation on games, especially since it's supposed to be the easiest to make up points in. I don't want to lose ground in the other sections, particularly LR, so I'm wondering what strategy I should use to prepare. Ideally, I'd like to see about a 10 point jump next time I take the test.

When I prepped for the December test I took the accelerated online course and studied on my own for about two months. Games has always been my weakest section. How can I learn to tackle it more effectively in an abbreviated amount of time?

Thanks!

[Adam Tyson]

Thanks for the question, Bradshaw. A few thoughts here for you.

First, consider tapping into additional resources on the games. Maybe the Logic Games Bible would be helpful to you? How about taking a look at our Advanced Logic Games course? Maybe a few hours with a tutor who can watch your diagramming process and give you real time feedback on ways to improve?

Second, after completing a game, think about what you could have done differently to improve your accuracy, understanding, and speed. My guess is that you could be doing more than you are with drawing inferences after you have finished diagramming the rules. An extra minute giving some additional thought to what can happen, must happen, and cannot happen often pays off in much more time saved on the questions than was spent on that "what if" process. Don't just think about it, either, but put pencil to paper and try a few things out. Maybe a template approach would have revealed something? Maybe a hidden inference would appear after you tried a few things out?

Third, don't neglect the other sections, especially LR, while working on improving your games. Sure, you were -6 on those sections compared to -11 on games, but that actually means you have more room to grow in LR than in games (12 misses over two sections compared to 11). Look for patterns in those missed questions, and also the ones you got right but struggled with or spent too much time on. Are many of them falling into one category? Were you consistently prephrasing? Sorting answers into losers and contenders before spending any time analyzing answers? Your game section alone probably won't get you those extra 10 points, even if you get perfect on it. On the December test, to go from a 159 to a 169 required at least 13 more correct answers, so you need to make gains in both LG and LR. While you're at it, continue to stay sharp on RC - you don't want to neglect it and then get rusty and lose ground there.

Finally, it's about practice, practice, practice. If you are going to continue with self-study, check out the self-study guides on our website here:

http://students.powerscore.com/self-study/index.cfm

You might want to modify the one month plan a little to slightly de-emphasize RC and ramp up games.

Work hard, and use all available resources. Good luck!