General Study Tips

[sjam]

Hi Powerscore,

So I just tried out a few exercise problems from the Must be True and Main Point Questions Problem Set, and I realize after doing so many problems, what are some ways to improve timing? I followed the recommendations from the book and I started out not timing myself on the first few problems, then I went ahead and timed the rest; the problem is I usually end up not finishing at the most maybe four problems.

What are some other ways besides paraphrasing the paragraph (I feel like that method takes too long especially if its a super complicated stimulus) or looking for the "conclusion" that might help? How long should it take to get the timing down for this particular problem set? (I just started my class)

SJ

[Shannon Parker]

Hi there,

Getting to the point of being able to complete these types of questions accurately, and quickly takes time, so if you have just started, don't beat yourself up over not having it down yet. One of the most important things in Logical Reasoning is the prephrasing. It takes some time to get the hang of, but once you have it down, it is usually what makes the difference. Just think how much faster you can move through questions if you already have in your head an idea of what the right answer looks like and then there it is, answer choice A.

Secondly, and this usually take more practice, is to get really good at diagramming the logic in the stimuli. This is for all LR questions not just Main Point and Must Be True. Having a better ability to diagram the logic found in the stimuli will allow you to complete some of the less complex questions without diagramming because you will understand it as you read it, and allow you to quickly and effectively diagram the more complex questions.

I cannot say how long it should take you to become proficient on these problems because it depends on how much experience you already have with logic, and what your basic aptitude is, however on the LSAT you have approximately 1 min and 25 seconds to complete each LR question. If you follow the advice in the workbooks you should have no problem getting to that level of proficiency.

I hope this helps.

~Shannon