Help

[purplekat_89]

Hey Powerscore,

I am in desperate need of help. This is my ninth month studying for the lsat and I have only increased 11 points from my diagnostic (140-151). I study 4-6 hours a day and take a day off once every two weeks or once every week if needed. I am currently not working and have all the time in the world for the LSAT. I have a lot of self-discipline and I am not willing to give up until I hit a 170. I have only been self-studying and i didn't take a course because I feel I am already familiar with the foundations as i have been through the Powerscore LG and LR bibles twice. Even when i go through other Prep books I always feel bored, as if I am wasting my time because I already know the strategies and techniques and what the questions are asking.

The most frustrating part is that my weaknesses are not obvious. For every timed preptest I do, my mistakes are always scattered in LR. One assumption, one weaken, one flaw, one must be true, etc. I have drilled every type of question untimed and I do well for the most part:

neccessary assumptions: 41/45 = 91%
method: 16/16
principle 20/23 = 87%
weaken: 32/36= 86%
main point: 21/25 = 84%
strengthen: 32/42 = 76%
must be true: 37/49 = 75%
flaw in reasoning: 48/58 = 83%

I have done 10 timed tests (the older ones) up to this point. Even though my accuracy is good, i end up getting -8 in a section out of 20 questions answered on LR. I OBSESS over my mistakes, and I have a word document where I type up the question and explain to myself why each answer is wrong or right. I never leave a question until I understand it 100%. So I don't know where my problem is, I just know that LR and RC are my weakest points but I don't know how much more I can do to improve them. So far I have only been able to get up to question 20 on all sections including LG during timed practice. I spend so much time studying but this is not transferring into improvement. My LG is constantly improving whereas LR and RC just won't budge.

The other annoying this is, when I look over my LR mistakes after taking a timed test, for 5/8 of the mistakes I make the correct answer is obvious to me and then I wonder why I got it wrong. What should I do? I am aiming to take the October lsat and I don't want to wait another cycle.

What are your thoughts?
Thank you.

[Dave Killoran]

Hi Purplekat,

Thanks so much for the information you have given us! It's a great start and gives us a lot to consider. But, to get an even more complete picture I need to ask you a ton more questions, so I'm going to send you a PM to get more info from you. Thus, I'll keep it brief here and share just a few thoughts.

Let me first discuss some of the broader preparation points you made about your study schedule, prep books, and courses.

One thing I'd suggest taking a few days off. Your study schedule is definitely impressive, and certainly what I love to see when someone is preparing for a test like the LSAT (you are dedicated, and I love your attitude!). But, when you're stuck the way you are, you need more time off than you are giving yourself. Your mind needs time to process what it has been given before it moves on, and I'd suspect you simply need a bit of a breather at this point, if only to recharge before diving back in.

Next--and I'll ask you about this directly--you mention having read two of the Bibles, but say that RC is one of your weak sections. We do have an LSAT Bible for RC (http://shopping.powerscore.com/product_ ... 806291FC19) that I would suggest considering.

It also seems that you are using other prep books ("when i go through other Prep books"), and I know from working with many students that mixing approaches can lead to problems. So, I'm going to ask you about that too

I'd also note that the LSAT Bibles aren't our LSAT course material, and that even though I think they are extremely helpful, nothing really beats a classroom format where someone skilled can walk you through multiple questions from different angles, and take direct questions about what is troubling you. Not sure if you've had a chance, but maybe check out the free Lesson One we have online for our Live Online LSAT Course (also known as the Virtual Course). You can access that at http://www.powerscore.com/lsat/virtual/ ... _index.cfm (see the Free Trial), and it may give you a better insight into what a class might (or might not) do for you. And, just as a note, it's only Lesson One, so we don't get too advanced right off the bat!

Ok, those very general points aside (and you don't need to do anything about making any decisions just yet; let's talk first), let's look at some of the specifics of your performances so far.

I love your review routine--you really have that part nailed, all the way down to documenting every miss. So, at this point, I know the problem isn't in the time you put into studying, or the way in which you analyze your performance. It's elsewhere, so let's talk about what appears to be the heart of the issue.

There's clearly a disjunction between your untimed performance and your actual test performance. Untimed, you are excellent (although, of all those figures, I'd like to see Must Be True at the top, not the bottom--it's your foundation for performing well on every question type). When you are timed, it's clear that speed becomes an issue. In LR you get through only 20 questions, but then you still miss 8 questions. So, as you speed up, your accuracy disappears. In short, you are losing comprehension under the time pressure of the test. This plays into the entire performance you describe, all the way down to you understanding most of the question you missed in hindsight.

We know the LSAT is an insane juggling act of the need for speed vs the need for accuracy. Accuracy you are able to achieve (this is good news--you have to be able to understand the questions on some level to do well on this test, and not everyone can do that). The issue is that you have to get faster while retaining that ability to be accurate. This, of course, is where I reach the point where I need to ask you a bunch of questions about reading speed, etc in order to give the best advice going forward So, please check my PM, and we can talk about it in more detail.

The best news is that you have the right attitude and work ethic, you have the ability to solve the questions, you've already improved 11 points, and you still have a lot of PrepTests and LSAT material to work through before the exam. Those things all give me hope that we can help you back on the path that keeps your score rising.

I look forward to talking with you more about this. Thanks!