Next Steps

[deke97]

Hi Powerscore,

So I was in one of the online classes and I took the August LSAT. I just got my scores today and I want to take the exam again and try to get a 15 point increase. I got a 155 and my goal is a 170. I want to do the November retake. The problem is that I am not entirely sure what to do differently this time around. I did almost every homework problem and I attended all the classes. I know I can probably take more practice tests because I took only around 5. My dilemma is that I've worked through many of the problems on the online student center so there aren't many new practice problems for me to see besides practice tests. Do you have any suggestions on what to do to get that 15 point increase while working through a lot of old material? Is it even possible to see such a high increase by November?

Thank you

[Frank Peter]

Hi Deke,

There are generally two things that I recommend to students in your position looking for a large score increase: (1) make sure you have mastered the fundamentals that are taught in the course; and (2) make sure you are taking plenty of practice tests.

With regard to (1), what I mean is how comfortable are you with the core material that is taught in the course (i.e. identifying conclusions, conditional reasoning, pre-phrasing, identifying assumptions, cause and effect, flaws in the reasoning, etc.)? More than likely there are some areas you probably want to revisit. In order to get into the 170s, a lot of the concepts that are fundamental to the LSAT which are taught in the Powerscore course should be mastered to the point where they are second nature.

With regard to (2), practice test are really where the rubber meets the road when it comes to applying all that you've learned in the course, and in some ways taking practice tests is its own skill that needs to be mastered in order to get a score in the 170s. Taking the LSAT is stressful, and that can affect your score even if you're comfortable with the material on its own. Usually I recommend students take at least 1 test a week and spend time reviewing which questions they got wrong, as well as any questions that were lucky guesses, or questions where they don't understand why the right answer is correct.

Good luck!

[deke97]

Ok I understand. My next question is how can I use old material in a way that would actually be helpful? Since if I decide that I'm not the best at strengthen questions (just as an example) but I've already done and seen all the strengthen questions on the online student center, how can I review those questions so that it would actually be a helpful review?

[tylerd123]

Hi PowerScore folks (and deke97)

I was going to make my own post as I'm in somewhat of a similar situation as the above poster - insofar as what my goal and actual score was - so I thought I'd just carry on the discussion here (not trying to hijack it lol) because I too am asking what my next steps are...

I also took the August LSAT and scored a 151, thankfully the goal school (in my home town) often hinges on a 150 average - coupled with with 6 other applicant criteria categories that allows for a much more holistic application as opposed to GPA/LSAT heavy - so in my case I'm not even looking to get to a goal of 170, rather I'd be content with a 157-160 range.

For the August prep, I used the on demand digital course, all the bibles, workbook, and training type books and did two hours of private tutoring. In the beginning, logic games were an absolute nightmare - almost having a breakdown in attempting to do my first advanced linear game - but I found as time went on I actually got more comfortable with them and started struggling a bit with RC and LR.

My practice test scores were unfortunately more consistent to my actual score, so it wasn't a surprise at all, but I did have a few at my goal score so I know it's possible e.g. last ten practice tests before test day were 150, 146, 157, 150, 151, 153, 144, 150, 159, 150 respectively

LR; I found myself starting to struggle with parallel argument/flaw type qs, as well as main conclusion questions

RC; I started to find myself struggling with main point questions and overall ability to really retain passage structure and the placement of specific elements, which caused me to waste time looking for these to answer questions.

LG; One main issue I continue to struggle with is additive inferences and being able to make inferences out of previous inferences etc

I am curious too what would be suggested to approach the prep again for the November test as that is the one I'm doing as well, I can definitely provide more info if needed, but I think that's the jist of my current LSAT situation.

Thanks in Advance,

Tyler

[Jeremy Press]

Ok I understand. My next question is how can I use old material in a way that would actually be helpful? Since if I decide that I'm not the best at strengthen questions (just as an example) but I've already done and seen all the strengthen questions on the online student center, how can I review those questions so that it would actually be a helpful review?

Hi deke,

Great question. You don't need to limit yourself to the problem sets in the Lesson and Homework Supplements to boost your performance on a particular problem type. The Supplemental Test Sections in the online student center can be used in a way that would let you target particular questions. Here's what I have my students do: open up one of the old supplemental test sections, set the timer to 1 minute and let it expire. Then go to the "test analysis" page, where you can view the question type for each question in that section. Just go immediately and do every Strengthen (or Must Be True, or Flaw, etc.) question from that section. You can use multiple sections to practice 10-12 questions of a given type.

That being said, don't necessarily overlook the questions you've done before. It's likely you won't remember all of them in every detail, and you still get value from going through the steps of getting yourself to the correct answer. Identify premises and conclusion. Identify any assumptions being made, or logical flaws exhibited in the argument. Prephrase. Then, for each answer choice, identify specifically why it's the correct answer, or what specifically about the answer makes it incorrect. "Going through the motions" like that, even on LR questions you've done before, is tremendously helpful. I find I continue to get better at reading/understanding arguments quickly the more I look at certain questions.

Let us know if you have any further follow-up questions!

Jeremy

[Dave Killoran]

Hi Tyler,

Thanks for the message. A few thoughts for you here:

• For starters, check out this lengthy article I wrote on retaking and improving: https://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/retaki ... our-score/
  
  Next, your score history is still showing a lot of variance, between 144 and 159 on your last three tests (or 146 to 157, depending on how you read it), which is too much and shows that your grasp of the concepts is not solid yet. So, focusing on the fundamentals is something that you still need to work on.
  
  For Parallel LR, these can be mastered! Listen to our podcast on how to do so: https://www.powerscore.com/lsat/podcast/4/
  
  For Flaw LR, listen to these episodes: 24, 26, 27, and 29 at https://www.powerscore.com/lsat/podcast/
  
  And for Main Point LR, you really want to work on this—it's a fundamental skill for both LR and RC, and likely is increasing your problems in all question types.
  
  With RC, the main point issue is here too (which is expected after what you mentioned in LR). As far as retention, jot a few notes on your scratch paper about each paragraph. That's a fast and easy way to know the general picture of what's occurring.
  
  And last, for LG, this is just a recycling issue. And fortunately, not the biggest issue to have. First level inferences are the most important ones to get, and second level inferences like these take time to develop But take all inference and then re-add them quickly, especially when there are common variables. That gets you well over 90% of what you need

Thanks!

[tylerd123]

Thanks for such a detailed response Dave, I appreciate it!

[Ryan Ashburn]

Hi Powerscore,

I figured I would also post in this discussion instead of making a new thread because like Deke and Tyler, am wondering about a study plan for the November lsat.

I took the August lsat and got a 162, which I know is a good score but this was disappointing for me because I got a 172 on PT87 three days before the test, and the average of my 10 most recents tests (172, 168, 169, 164, 166, 169, 168, 164, 168,167) is a 168.

All summer I spent a pretty significant amount of time studying using the on-demand course and feel like a have a good grasp of the fundamentals. From about mid July, I would pretty consistently get minus 0-1 on LG, 3-4 on LR and 3-5 on RC.

After getting my August score, I registered for November and started making a study plan. My first plan to study for Nov was to take 1-2 tests a week and blind review them and maybe brush up on a few specific topics. I have roughly 3 tests from the 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s each that I haven't taken so I have plenty of PTs to study with. I started with PT46 a few days ago and got a 175. I had seen some of the questions before from the on-demand course so I don't know if its totally representative but didn't remember specific answers and was pleasantly surprised. I think taking a few week break from studying helped me a lot.

After getting the 175, and along with dropping 10 points on the August test. I am starting to think that more of my issue is with test mentality and maybe even getting burnt out.

So I guess do you have any advice about how I should structure my study plan for the November test? I am trying to figure out how to balance staying brushed up on it and improving some areas with also improving test mentality and not getting burnt out before November.

Thanks!
Ryan

[KelseyWoods]

Hi Ryan!

Test mentality can definitely be a hurdle on this test--and one that is so often overlooked! But it can have such a significant impact on your score so it's good you're thinking about it! Definitely before the November test you want to make sure that you are not burning yourself out and that you are staying in a confident, positive mindset (that 175 on a PT should definitely help!). The truth is, I can't give you a super structured study plan in terms of how many PTs you should take, how many hours a day you should study, etc. because so much of it depends on what else you have going on in your life (work, family, school, etc.) and your study plan needs to be flexible enough to change when you find areas that need more work than others.

So let me give you some general guidance on how to study:

First, you want to start really analyzing your thought process as you go through practice exams. When you're reviewing, try to think about what you were thinking as you chose incorrect answer choices. Try to compare why you did better on one test than another--what was different about your approach and thinking. This can be challenging but the more carefully you pay attention to how exactly you're going through exams, the better you'll be able to pinpoint what mental blocks or traps are keeping you from scoring more consistently in the 170s.

Second, study questions as if you had to teach them to someone else. It's easy to get a little lazy in how we review tests if we're more focused on the number of practice tests we're taking rather than on how we review them. Don't just look at a question and be like "Ok, sure, I get why it's B now." Really study that question as if you had to explain to someone why the correct answer is correct and why all of the incorrect answers are incorrect. This will deepen and strengthen your understanding of the concepts so that, again, you'll be more likely to consistently score higher.

Third, focus on the process that you go through for approaching questions. Write down every step you need to take to approach an LR question, a game, a passage, etc. Obviously, you already know these steps. But it can be easy to forget them when we're under time pressure or feeling the anxiety of the taking the real test. But focusing on repeating this process can help when you're feeling overwhelmed or you want to start to cut corners because you feel like you're running out of time. The process can help steady your nerves and make sure that you're not ignoring the strategies that will help you use your time most efficiently. Make it really concrete. Repeat them to yourself over and over again. Use the steps every time.

Fourth, don't overdue it. Allow yourself to take breaks. Be mindful of your mental and physical state. If you start to feel like you're falling into a really negative mindset after some practice tests or sections don't go as well as you were hoping, take a break and shake yourself out of it! You already know that you can get a high score on this test. So remember that and focus on building your confidence.

I'm sharing the first link from Dave's post above again because it's super helpful:
https://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/retaki ... our-score/

And here's a link of test mentality resources--there's a lot so feel free to pick which ever ones speak to you. I especially recommend the test mentality webinar that is listed first:
https://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/the-ul ... urce-list/

Hope this helps! Good luck!

Best,
Kelsey