Hi bbjigglercakes!
Feeling frustrated and dejected is pretty common for most people at some point during their LSAT studying--this is a challenging test! But I know that you are up for that challenge. How do I know that? Because you want to go to law school! Most people don't decide to go to law school because it's easy (spoiler alert--it's not!). So when you're feeling down about the LSAT, remember why you're studying for the test to begin with
Test mentality is so important on this exam and it can have a big impact on your performance. So whenever you feel in need of an LSAT pep talk, I recommend you check out one of our many test mentality blog posts listed here:
https://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/the-ul ... urce-list/. There's plenty to choose from so you can pick whichever ones speak to you.
Logic Games can be especially frustrating because they're unlike anything you've ever seen before on a standardized test. But they're also a very learnable section so once you get them down they'll be a big help to your score.
So let's talk about how you're prepping to make sure that you're setting yourself up for success. First, it would help to know when you plan to take the test. If you're taking it in June, you don't really have time to do one month on just LG, one month on just LR, and one month on just RC because it doesn't leave you anytime to practice them all together and if you go 2 months without doing any games you may forget everything you learned during your LG month. If you're planning to take the test later in the summer/fall, then I think it's fine to spend a month just focusing on LG since that's an unfamiliar section. But make sure you continue to work on games while you start to incorporate LR and RC into your studying as well. Most people work on all 3 sections at a time because there are skills that are transferable between the sections, it can get a little boring to stick with one section only, and because you don't want to let your section-specific skills atrophy while you're working on other sections. Of course, like you said, it is also up to individual preference. Just make sure you're taking these considerations into account. If you need help organizing a study plan that incorporates all 3 sections at the same time, we have free study plans at our self-study site:
https://studentcenter.powerscore.com/self-study/
Now let's talk specifically about how you're studying for LG. Are you working through the LG Bible? Are you just doing a bunch of games on your own? Using other resources? In that one month have you made it through all of the game types? It's important to make sure that you are learning the best strategies for approaching the games. If you've spent a month on games and still aren't feeling like you're making much progress, it's possible that you are not studying games in the best way for you. Everyone learns a little differently. Some people can just read a book about games and they have it down. For many others, it's more useful to have someone walking them through the games and helping to explain challenging concepts. It may be worth considering taking a class that walks you through some games and helps you stay on track with all 3 sections and/or getting a few hours with a tutor who can spend time with you going in depth with games and help you identify your weaknesses.
It's also possible that you just need more time to practice. The LSAT is not like other tests that you've studied for. It is not about memorizing facts. It's about training your brain to think in a specific way. Think about training for the LSAT as similar to learning to play an instrument, training to run a marathon, learning a new language, etc. Improvements take time, diligent repetition, and they're going to be incremental. Learning what the notes on the musical scale mean doesn't mean that you are suddenly able to play Beethoven on the piano. You have to practice your scales over and over to develop muscle memory, start with easier pieces, and gradually work your way up to playing Beethoven. The LSAT works the same way. Learning the strategies is just the first step. Next you have to practice the strategies over and over (using drills in the Bibles and in the Workbooks), then you start with easier games, and then work your way up to the more challenging games.
Once you have learned the most efficient strategies, timing comes with conscientious practice of these strategies and drilling games. Repeat games until you can do them confidently, accurately, and within time. Keep a list of games that you work through. Once you are able to make it through a game accurately and within time, it leaves the list. If you do a game and you're still missing questions or taking too long, it goes back to the bottom of the list. Work through some games each day until you've whittled that list down. You may want to check out these podcasts on getting faster at LG:
https://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/lsat-p ... gic-games/
https://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/lsat-p ... es-part-2/
Finally, please remember:
1) You can do this!
2) Improvement takes time and practice, and it will be incremental.
3) It's ok to feel frustrated. Take a break. Remind yourself why you want to go to law school. And get back into it.
4) You can do this!
Hope this helps! Good luck!
Best,
Kelsey
