Quick Post PT Advice

[moshei24]

I just took another test and scored a 162, again (September 2007). My feeling after the test was mid-160's.

This time I got 46/50 on LR, 18/26 on RC, and 14/23 on LG.
Last Week's Test: 45/50 on LR, 13/27 on RC, and 19/22 on LG.

LR, I'm happy with, because I'm improving still, RC I'm also happy with, even though 1 question I got wrong was because I changed my correct answer last second, and two others were wrong from overlooking correct answer. Four of the other five I haven't looked over yet, but considering I got 13/27 last test, 18/26 is a nice improvement, and it's come because I've been focusing more on getting through passages at a faster speed by not harping on details and by staying more focused, diagramming less, and focusing more on the bigger picture of each passage.

What irks me is that I got 9 wrong on LG - I haven't gotten that many wrong in a REALLY REALLY LONG time (I tend to get 3-4 wrong and on the experimental on this test, I got 4 LG questions wrong, which is strange because I felt better about the non-experimental section than the experimental one). Though, I think part of the reason I did awful on that section is because two of the games were Sequencing, which I haven't review in a long time, one which was the first game, which really slowed me down, and 7 of the 9 wrong were on those two games. I think focusing on the harder games lately in my studying, including my latest focus being on killer games hurt me in that section. (Side Point - Was this LG particularly harder than most other tests? If so, could that have played a SIGNIFICANT part in my doing worse in the section?)

My plan is to incorporate some focus on game types that are found in the earlier lessons in addition to my focus on some of the more difficult games. I also plan to continue studying LR and doing LR problems, as well trying to do 3 RC passages every day (aiming for about 15 a week). In LR, 3 of the 4 I got wrong were Weaken questions, which in the past hasn't been a focus of my struggles, so I need to look over the ones I got wrong, and review Weaken questions in general.

I have a lot of confidence that my score will improve drastically in the near future. Although my last five tests were 163, 161, 160, 162, and 162 - in that order, I have confidence that I will do well in all the sections on the same test, and read the 170 plateau in the near future.

Anyone's advice would be very much appreciated going forward.

Thank you for taking the time to read this, and there's no rush on a response, so if someone else has a more pressing question, please answer their's first.

Thank you so much!

-Moshe

[Dave Killoran]

Hey Moshe,

Let me share a few thoughts on your post. First, scoring variability from test to test is not unusual. I have written a few different items that address that issue, so if you have a chance, check those out:

• Overall Test Composition:
  
  http://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/bid/153 ... lty-Varies
  
  LR: Section vs Section Difficulty:
  
  http://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/bid/172 ... Difficulty

Second, that aside, let's look at your LG performance on this test. Is this section difficult? Yes, I'd say it's harder than average. Is it significantly harder? No, I don't think so. As you note, two of the games focus on Sequencing, and that generally makes life easier, not more difficult (an aside: even though you've been studying Killer games, you should never let your Sequencing skills lapse--pretty much every LSAT either has a Sequencing game or has a game that features Sequencing rules).

So, why did this section get you, then? Probably two reasons: the first is that the third game is legitimately hard, and typically it causes time issues for a lot of test takers; the second is that the fourth game, although it is Sequencing, uses some conditional Sequencing rules, and if you aren't on top of the two Templates they produce, this game gets harder very quickly. There's no excuse for having trouble in the first game though, so study up on Sequencing so this doesn't happen again!

Ultimately, given your prior performances, this lower LG performance is most likely an anomaly, and I wouldn't worry about it too much. Keep studying hard (your plan sounds good to me) and I think you'll see that improvement you want.

Thanks!

[moshei24]

Thank you, Dave.

As for LR, what I've seen to be the difference between these two tests and the earlier ones I took - these being only 4 and 5 total wrong on each, and the other ones usually around 10 or 11 wrong, has to do with my mindset during the sections.

My instructor gave me an idea that he had given many people in the past to do the first 3 questions (depending on the breakup by page I usually to the first 2-4), and then do the test starting from the last question. So before my last two tests, I would usually find one section relatively easy, and would be able to get through it very quickly, while the other LR section would get to me. Usually, I would get stuck on a question early on, and get behind time-wise, which forced me to rush, and led to me getting 7-8 wrong on that second, harder section. However, on the last two tests, I made sure to not get stuck on a question. I would just pick an answer, whether I had a contender or not, and then I would come back to it at the end. I would do this for a few a questions - amount varied - and then when I finish the test with a few extra mins, I would come back to them with much less pressure, because I already finished the rest of the questions. And the results speak for themselves. On the last test, the three LR sections were 3, 2, and 4 (experimental) wrong, and on this test 3 and 1 wrong.

So is it safe for me to say that these last two tests are a good showing of where I'm at in LR? I think it is, but a professional opinion is always good.

And yeah, I need to sharpen up my sequencing skills. My setups took me too long, and that also hurt me early on (the setup for the first game took me about 5 mins, and it wasn't the best setup either).

Thanks for the help, and sorry for the long posts!

[Dave Killoran]

So is it safe for me to say that these last two tests are a good showing of where I'm at in LR? I think it is, but a professional opinion is always good.

Yes, it is--keep up the good work there! If you can get aggressive and focused in LG, you'll be right in your target vicinity.

Keep working hard!

[moshei24]

Thanks!

Yeah, I don't want to get lax in LR, though. But yeah, RC needs the most work, and I need to sharpen some LG skills.

Crunch time! Thanks, again!