Victim to Logical Reasoning

[MePlusII]

I really dont want to have an LSAT pity party but I am hoping to get some great suggestions. I have been studying this awesome test since August. My score increased eleven points; however, LR is at a complete STANDSTILL. I took the full length course and completed the homeworks but my LR score wont bulge. Suggestions??? I need a great score to get into my dream school and I am taking the December exam.

[Nicholas Bruno]

Hi MePlussII!

First, good job on increasing your score by 11.

Its hard for me to give concrete suggestions without knowing exactly what you are struggling with on LR. That being said, let me make the following suggestions:

1) Figure out what specific LR question types you are having trouble with. Are you getting all the parallel reasoning questions wrong but acing the must be trues? If so, it would, obviously, not help to work on must be true questions. Figure out the question types that are difficult for you then go back to the PowerScore lesson and reread the lesson on how to approach those question types.

2) Prephrase. Before looking at the answer choices, guess what you think the correct answer will be. Let me confess that when I took the LSAT I did not initially do that - and like you got to a standstill with LR. After prephrasing, my score increased substantially.

3) Watch the wording of the questions. In the first lesson for LR, the material talks about watching the quantity (i.e. all vs. some vs. many), the timing (past, present, future), etc. If you are having a problem with LR in general, it may be because you are reading the stimulus too fast and are missing important details.

I hope that helps! Good luck on your LSAT studying!

[Dave Killoran]

Hi MePlus,

Let me second Nicholas' comments, and mention that if you can give us some idea of the types of questions that are causing you the most problem, we could target that and provide some more specific help.

Thanks!

[MePlusII]

Thank you both for your comments and being willing to help! Here is more information:

I am having a tough time because of all ten prep tests I have taken, my logical reasoning scores stay within a range of 10-15 right and 12-15 wong. I can not seem to get my accuracy to increase.

What seems most strange is that there is no pattern of error. It appears to be VERY random. For example, in one test I scored 3/4 (right/wrong) for Assumption Questions. On another test, I scored 2/5. In Strengthen, I scored 3/2 in one test and 4/1 in another. In Must Be True, I scored 3/5 and 4/3. I could continue. The breakdown for each question type seems very inconsistent. I guess there is no particular question type that boggles me.

In my most recent practice tests, I have a trend getting the first ten questions right, but after that, it goes downhill.

I have reviewed the coursebooks TWICE. I have also read the LR bible, which is nearly the same as the coursebook. I know the concepts back and forth. I just cant seem to get this to translate to my score. Is my brain incapable of applying the concepts? I am totally at a loss.

I hope this gives more insight on diagnosing my problem. Please advise.

[Dave Killoran]

Quick follow up question: How's your timing in getting through the section? Are you completing all questions, or do you run out of time?

Thanks!

[MePlusII]

Although I consistently run out of time, I find that my timing is getting better. Despite, I have never completed all questions in an LR section.

[Dave Killoran]

Hi MePlus,

If you could possibly PM me your course enrollment name, I will go look at your individual test results I think that would give me a better handle on what you might be experiencing.

Usually, the type of LR score variability you are seeing comes from one of a few possible places: 1. you are reading too fast, and thus missing some crucial details. Sometimes you get it right then, and sometimes you don't. 2. Your knowledge of the concepts and techniques is spotty. Same results, you get some right and some wrong, with no consistency.

But, I want to see the exact question type results before saying anything further, because there are other explanations.

Please let me know if you can do that. Thanks!

[Dave Killoran]

Hi MePlus!

Thanks for the login info!

I made a cursory scan of some of your tests (today my schedule is tight, but I'll look more closely tomorrow and likely send you some further thoughts directly), and I noticed a few trends that immediately jumped out at me, which I felt would be good to share with you, and others since many people find themselves in the same boat. Here they are:

1. Your performance in the first 10 questions varies significantly.

Your most recent test was strong here, but prior to that you tended to have a significant variance in the first 10. Typically, the overall difficulty of the first 10 questions is the easiest in the section, and so you have top crush the first 10. This may require slowing down a bit, but that is acceptable if it results in you killing the opening set of questions

2. Must Be True questions give you a lot of trouble.

While any single question type causing issues is a concern, when that question type is Must (or Method/Flaw, which is next on this list), it's more a problem. Why? Because Must questions require you to understand the facts of the argument. If you miss a lot of Must questions, it means that you aren't picking up the details of the stimulus. That then means that your ability to Strengthen and Weaken arguments is compromised, and affects your performance in those categories as well. Must questions are the foundation of a good performance in LR, so you have to work on locking down the details of what you are reading a bit better.

3. Method/Flaw questions also need work.

In the same way that Must Be True questions reveal your grasp of details, Method/Flaw questions reveal how well you grasp the structure of the argument. If your gasp of structure is not as strong as it could be, you will have all sorts of problems strengthening, weakening, paralleling arguments, etc. You should definitely focus on trying to better understand the premise/conclusion structures you are seeing, but also on knowing the flawed forms of reasoning that appear on the LSAT (Quick--what is an error of division?).

That's a few quick thoughts, and please let me know if that helps. Thanks!

[MePlusII]

Yes! That is absolutely helpful. Thank you!

In the closer analysis you mentioned, can I ask that you look at the most recent tests that I have taken, as that will give me a more accurate idea of areas that need most work (ie the 12/1995, 6/2008, 10/2004).

You mentioned that I need to lock in the details of what I am reading better. Are there any tricks for this? Or is this just something that comes with practice? Some of the passages are pretty hard to parse so I can certainly see how this may be a problem for me. I have tried slowing down, which resulted in improvement in my first ten accuracy. I will keep that in mind. Furthermore, I have come to find that knowing the techniques is a breeze but actually applying the techniques, not so much.

I just want to be sure I make the most of the last month that I have to study. I planned to take as many practice tests as time allows. Would you suggest otherwise?

[Dave Killoran]

I sent you a PM with one or two more points in it

As far as details, this is just about reading carefully and not letting them suggest things to you that aren't actually substantiated.

Knowing when to apply the techniques will come as you practice more, and as you see more questions.

I'm a big fan of taking practice tests, but just make sure you have enough time to review all of the questions on the test thoroughly. So, definitely proceed with that plan, but just an equally good job of reviewing them.

Thanks!