Seeking Advice on Timing

[1800-HELPME]

Hello,

I've been prepping for the June 2018 LSAT since December. I feel like I have a good grasp of how to answer each question from all the Bibles/Lessons, but I always crack under time pressure.

Untimed, I can always hit at least 160 (my goal), but consistently fall in the low to mid 150s under timed conditions.

I know I should be working with a timer or watch. However, when I do, I get so distracted when I think about how far I should be at a certain time and it messes me up. I get pressured and all the words become fuzzy! I have to reread the stimulus 3x before I get back "in the zone." So, I've just been relying on my internal body clock (is that bad )

I do have some rules of thumb and goals for myself. But they're pretty general.

For the LR section, I aim to answer at least 20 correctly:
- Carefully answer the first 10-15 and get them all right (this takes me about 20 minutes I think)
- After the first 15, I allow myself 3 skips for harder questions
- Finish until at least question 22/ 23
- Last 5 minutes I go back to those I've skipped, or attempt 1-2 short questions I haven't done

LG:
- 3 games correctly
- last 5 minutes, 2 questions for the last game and then guess

RC:
- 3 passages

I'm on my last month of prep and figured that the solution is just to get better overall (as suggested in the lessons).

Currently, I'm slowly reviewing my past practice tests question per question, identifying any problem areas, and drilling myself on question types/ game types etc. that I need work on until I do better on them.

I don't think I'll attempt another timed practice test until I finish reviewing all my past practice tests/ figure out how I can work on my timing properly.

This is my general plan for the rest of the month:
Week 1 (week of May 1)
- Review all practice tests/ drilling on problem areas

Week 2
- 2 Untimed practice tests
- Thorough review of both
- More drilling on problem areas

Week 3 & Week 4
- 1 timed practice test bi-weekly until test day
- Drilling and reviewing in between

Is my approach problematic? Should I force myself to learn how to use a clock?

Nervous, as June will be my second take and I want to do much better!

Any help would be much appreciated. Thank you so much.

Best,
1800-HELPME

[James Finch]

Hi Help,

Everyone is different and has different strengths/weaknesses, so it's tough to give you any very specific advice. In general, however, I would definitely try and get used to the time pressure now as opposed to later. The sooner you can acclimate to using your skills effectively within time limits, the better, especially as that seems to be your largest hurdle to overcome in terms of reaching your score goals. Handling that pressure is a major part of the test, and learning to focus and give your full attention to each question without worrying about the clock is key to scoring well.

Understanding where your strengths and weaknesses lie is another, and being sure of the question types that you struggle with can also help avoid potential time wasters on test day. It's always better to skip or take a guess at a difficult question if it means that you'll give yourself a shot at two more that you can answer correctly. And if you can manage to turn a weakness into a strength in the coming weeks, even better!

Lastly, I would recommend taking more timed tests, at least two a week, to build up confidence in your abilities when the clock is running. It sounds like you've already acquired the necessary skills to succeed, so have some faith in yourself and use them under similar conditions to the actual LSAT.

Hope this helps!