June 2008 PT - Post Test Advice

[moshei24]

Hi!

I took this PT on Thursday afternoon, and scored a 165.

The breakdown of my scoring was as follows:

LR: 44/51 (I: 23/26; II: 21/25)
LG: 21/23
RC: 20/27

I feel like I made a very good improvement overall - this test happened to have a bad curve in my score range, as an 85 raw score would usually be higher. But that's okay. After scoring a 162 for the previous three weeks, I'm happy with this 3 point jump, and I knew it was bound to happen and isn't a fluke in the least bit.

I'm happy with the RC, and I can visibly see that I'm improving in that section, and hopefully I'll improve more with the 5 hours of PowerScore tutoring I plan on getting. Is 5 hours enough?

I'm a bit disappointed in the LR reasoning score, as I got 5, 4, and 5 wrong on my last three tests, but after looking over my test, I could see that I made some uncharacteristic mistakes, so I just need to be more on top of that. I also hadn't looked up explanation for the questions I did in practice that I didn't fully grasp, so that I need to do, and I need to go over the LR question from my previous tests more critically, as I still haven't done that yet.

I'm basically indifferent toward my score in LG. I was coasting through the games, and started the last game with over 10 mins left (I skipped one question in the third game), and the two I got wrong seemed like cake when I looked at them after the test. One of them, I needed to make two quick diagrams which would've made the answer obvious, and the second one I got wrong, I actually should've gotten right, but I mistakenly crossed an answer out before making the inference that made the answer obvious. I assumed I proved that answer wrong before making the inference and didn't look at it again. When I went over the test, it became the obvious right answer with that inference. Next time.

What kind of advice can you guys give me moving forward? I still need to move up at least 5 more points, but really 8 more points. I feel like I could definitely do that, but what advice would you guys be able to offer me to do that more efficiently?

Thanks so much!

-Moshe

[moshei24]

One more thing:

I've noticed that I'm a little bit weak in Conditional Reasoning. 3 of my 7 wrong in LR were that type of question. There were 15 total conditional reasoning questions. I also feel that it slows me down. Besides for going over Lesson 2, and doing all the drills in that section, is there anything else I should do?

Thanks!

[moshei24]

My next PT is most likely in a few hours. No rush, though. I see that I have asked way too many questions.

[Emily Haney-Caron]

Hi Moshe,

In terms of whether 5 hours of tutoring is enough, that really depends on what type and amount of test prep you've already done and how much work you're able to put in outside of tutoring hours. You also might want to start with 5 hours, see how it goes, and then decide if you'd like more time after that.

It sounds like slowing down in Logic Games a little might be beneficial to you - if you had 10 minutes left starting the last game, you could have taken your time a little more, which might have made it so you wouldn't have made those mistakes. Definitely don't rush through the section.

In Logical Reasoning, you are right that going back and reviewing the questions you missed is very important. The biggest improvement comes not just from taking a lot of practice tests but from making sure you understand WHY you got each question wrong - that's definitely the way to keep from making those same mistakes in the future.

Does that help answer your question?

Emily
PowerScore LSAT Instructor

[moshei24]

Thanks.

The logic games mistakes didn't come from moving too fast. One came because I didn't realize what to do to make it a simple question (I didn't figure it out at first glance). The second mistake came because I had cross out two answers, one that ended up neon right, skipped it, and then when I came back to it and realized an inference, the answer that the inference led to had already been crossed out and I thought I had proved that answer wrong.

In LR, a lot of the questions I got wrong were mistakes that are uncharateristic of me - mistakes I don't usually make. I go over my mistakes, and that's how I knew that.

I think in RC I've gotten a lot better this past week, but I still want to improve my conditional reasoning. Besides for going over lesson two, what else can I do?

Where should I focus my studies at this point? I currently do about 4 LG's, RC's, and 25+ LR questions almost everyday. How can I incorporate practicing timed sections on non-test days?

Thanks!