How to Improve to a 170

[akalsi]

Hello,

I've been preparing for the LSAT for a few months now. I've taking the Full-length in-person course this summer in preparation for the September test, however, the week leading up to it, I was only scoring in the low 160s and didn't feel ready for the test, so I decided to post-pone and write it this December.

With my preparation now, I seem to be averaging a score of 165. I've hit scores of 166, 167, and even a 169 (my highest ever) just last week alone. However, I feel that I've used my resources available to me to my fullest extent. I study on average around 5-6 hours a day, and I'm at the stage where I'm doing a prep-test almost everyday. I've even gotten a tutor to help me out with my studying to see where I can improve. I do keep up to date with the discussion forum posts for any tips that can help me and even the Powerscore blogs. However, with the amount of studying I've done, I can say that out of all the released preptests, I've probably gone through 75% of them already.

In terms of my breakdown on how I'm doing by section, I can confidently say that Logic Games is really easy for me, I always score perfect on that section. However, my Reading Comprehension usually scores between 20-23, and my Logical Reasoning I would score around 19-23 for both sections.

When I originally started studying I scored a 147 on my diagnostic. I'm extremely proud on how far I've come with my score, however, my goal is to get 170+ on the test. In terms of what I've done to try to improve my score, I've done exercises where I would focus on trouble spots I have for specific LR questions and try to establish a good base there. I've purchased the LR question-type book to help me with this. I've even done the pre-phrasing exercises that was talked about in one of the blogs. I've even studied the bibles and created my own "study notes" of condensed ideas from that so that I have something to refer to and look back on (basically it has everything from what a question stem would look like, any techniques to use, and what the purpose of that question is, for every single question type on LR).
When I'm doing my preptests, I always add in an experimental section and try to simulate test-day conditions as much as I can, so that I get used to the timings and mental stamina.

Unfortunately, considering that this test is only a few weeks away, I am a little concerned that I'm beginning to plateau with my score averaging around 165. I can't lie that this is a bit stressful for me, as I've already done the LSAT test twice, and this is my third time I'll be writing it, so there is some pressure there.

Do you have any tips or exercises (other than what I've been doing) that may help me progress my score further and break into the 170s?

Thanks in advance!

[David Boyle]

Hello,

I've been preparing for the LSAT for a few months now. I've taking the Full-length in-person course this summer in preparation for the September test, however, the week leading up to it, I was only scoring in the low 160s and didn't feel ready for the test, so I decided to post-pone and write it this December.

With my preparation now, I seem to be averaging a score of 165. I've hit scores of 166, 167, and even a 169 (my highest ever) just last week alone. However, I feel that I've used my resources available to me to my fullest extent. I study on average around 5-6 hours a day, and I'm at the stage where I'm doing a prep-test almost everyday. I've even gotten a tutor to help me out with my studying to see where I can improve. I do keep up to date with the discussion forum posts for any tips that can help me and even the Powerscore blogs. However, with the amount of studying I've done, I can say that out of all the released preptests, I've probably gone through 75% of them already.

In terms of my breakdown on how I'm doing by section, I can confidently say that Logic Games is really easy for me, I always score perfect on that section. However, my Reading Comprehension usually scores between 20-23, and my Logical Reasoning I would score around 19-23 for both sections.

When I originally started studying I scored a 147 on my diagnostic. I'm extremely proud on how far I've come with my score, however, my goal is to get 170+ on the test. In terms of what I've done to try to improve my score, I've done exercises where I would focus on trouble spots I have for specific LR questions and try to establish a good base there. I've purchased the LR question-type book to help me with this. I've even done the pre-phrasing exercises that was talked about in one of the blogs. I've even studied the bibles and created my own "study notes" of condensed ideas from that so that I have something to refer to and look back on (basically it has everything from what a question stem would look like, any techniques to use, and what the purpose of that question is, for every single question type on LR).
When I'm doing my preptests, I always add in an experimental section and try to simulate test-day conditions as much as I can, so that I get used to the timings and mental stamina.

Unfortunately, considering that this test is only a few weeks away, I am a little concerned that I'm beginning to plateau with my score averaging around 165. I can't lie that this is a bit stressful for me, as I've already done the LSAT test twice, and this is my third time I'll be writing it, so there is some pressure there.

Do you have any tips or exercises (other than what I've been doing) that may help me progress my score further and break into the 170s?

Thanks in advance!

Hello akalsi,

It sounds like you've done a great deal already! All that hard work may be worth it--though don't burn yourself out. If you're really getting perfect scores consistently on analytical reasoning, that's better than most of us could do! Fantastic!!
--There's no automatic "do this and you'll get a 170, or even a 180" package of secret tricks that I can pass out, of course. You have done so much already, that a lot of the things I might suggest to most students, you've already done! Here are some thoughts, though:

1. Sometimes people do burn themselves out. Are you running into any problems of fatigue, boredom, etc.? There is a reason that PowerScore recommends that students take off the day before the real test, instead of "preparing" further: people really do burn out.
"Less is more" is a slogan that often works in real life: we remember Lincoln's relatively brief Gettysburg Address, rather than the two-hour-long speech of the "blowhard" orator who spoke just before him. So, make sure that you are not overdoing your efforts--it could actually be lowering your score.

2. Consider trying some "nontraditional approaches", to complement/supplement the released LSAT's, etc., that you've gone over.
E.g., try reading some interesting literature and diagram that with VIEWSTAMP or the reading-comprehension diagramming techniques you yourself have evolved, if any. I once told one of my students to get a copy of "The Hobbit" by J.R.R. Tolkien and see how that could be used with reading comprehension, and she said it worked! Her score improved!
(You can also diagram newspaper opinion articles.)
As for logical reasoning: try inventing some of your own questions. E.g., invent a problem with some complex conditionals, and make an answer choice that matches what's in the stimulus (and make several clever answer choices that almost match the stimulus, but not quite). You might be surprised at what you learn by creating your own questions!

3. As PowerScore always likes to emphasize: do you think your attitude toward the challenge of the LSAT is a positive one? E.g., "These problems, passages and games are really interesting, and I'm going to enjoy them and beat this test"? Or is it more like, "This stuff is horrible, I'll slog through it and hopefully I won't choke and die on the test"?
I'm not saying you have to put on an artificial grin and say, "I love Logic Games more than anything in the world! Give me more!!" or anything like that. Still, a "winning attitude" (confident, though not overconfident or fanatical) can be really helpful.


Try out the above and see if they help. No guarantees, but they may lead you down some productive paths.
Again, your thoroughness and hard work are very impressive. Best of luck getting to 170, or above,

Hope this helps,
David

[akalsi]

Hi David,

Thanks for the reply!

Although I do a test almost everyday, I usually take a day off in between every now and then so that I don't burn out. This was an issue I was having when I studied for the test to take in September, so I made sure I didn't make the same mistake again. In fact, I took a day off yesterday from doing a preptest and instead did a bit of light focused work on certain LR question types I was having difficulty with. I'm happy to say that I did score a 168 today from a preptest (my second highest score!)

I'll definitely give those non-traditional approaches a try! They sound like it can really help me out. Is there anything else I can do to help out my LR score Considering that it comprises 50% of the test, and I'm relatively happy with my RC performance, but improving in the LR would really give me a better chance at boosting my score overall. I've tried to analyze certain LR questions and see how I can manipulate the stimulus and create weaken questions, or flaw questions, etc from them. I'm a little hesitant to try to make my own LR questions, as I feel that I'd make them too easy or I'd be giving myself a "freebie" sort of.

In terms of my attitude towards the test, I must say that I love doing LG to the point where I find them really fun to do and always look forward to it (it's become more of a section where I can relax a bit). Overall, I don't dread taking the preptests as I do them, nor do I have a negative attitude towards RC passages or LR sections. Like I've said, I've been keeping up-to-date with all of the powerscore blogs, so I do know how positive thinking can make a difference in my overall score.

Thanks again in advance!

[Ron Gore]

Hi Akalsi!

I'm super impressed with both your effort and your results. Way to go!

Something that I like to stress in my classes is that each LSAT is as consistent internally, within each test, as it is externally, i.e., from administration to administration. By this I mean that the basic task of each section is precisely the same, making connections to gain inferences.

Since you are doing so well on the Games, that proves you have the ability to connect pieces of evidence and gain inferences, and that you can do so quickly and accurately. The issue then becomes how you can start to see the LR sections the same way that you see Games.

When you go through a stimulus, are you asking yourself whether there is any repeated information? Think back to the syllogism you saw in Lesson 1 of your course:

All humans are mortal. Socrates is human. Therefore, Socrates Is mortal.

Think about this sentence as if it were a logic game:

All humans are mortal. Socrates is human. Therefore, Socrates Is mortal.

In that argument, the term "human" was repeated. Since it was repeated, and each instance was connected to the terms "mortal" and "Socrates" in compatible ways, we could reach the inference that "Socrates is mortal." That is no different than what you do in a logic game.

The inferences in LR work the same way. Find what is repeated, and then see what inferences are available from that connection. It's very easy to get bogged down in the stimulus, to think of it as some complex exposition. But the stimulus is really just a staging area for logical connections, with all of the pieces required to make the connection right there.

Also, given what I think I can glean of your personality, I would imagine that your prephrases are too aggressive. I imagine that you attempt to come up with the perfect prephrase. In a Weaken question, do you try to come up with an idea of the factual scenario that will weaken? If so, do you do the same in Strengthen, Justify, Assumption, Paradox, etc? That is a recipe for disaster, both in terms of time and accuracy.

Instead, focus your prephrase what the correct answer choice needs to do, not necessarily what it is going to say. For example, if you have a Weaken question with a conditional conclusion, the correct answer choice will tell you, in some way, that the necessary condition isn't actually necessary. If it is a Paradox question, the correct answer choice will tell you what caused the surprising situation to occur. Do not try to come up with these scenarios yourself. It's a maddening enterprise with little chance of success.

Let me know if these thoughts help, or if you want to bounce more ideas off of us. Let's get you over that 170 mark!

Best Wishes,

Ron

[akalsi]

Hi Ron,

Thanks for the reply!

I don't have too much of a problem when it comes to conditional reasoning on the LR section, so I feel pretty confident with that there. At the same time I also feel that I have a bit of an issue with timing as well.

In terms of my pre phrasing, I don't normally try to come up with a solid pre phrase. I more so try to see if there is something I can pick up on quickly to help with my pre-phrase, but if I'm finding it difficult to pre phrase I usually just try to remember what I can do in that sort of question. Like you said, for weakening questions, sometimes its hard for me to come up with an exact pre phrase for an answer considering that there can be so many possibilities (although some are a lot more obvious that I can make a pre phrase out of), so in situations like that I usually just try to remember what the correct answer is trying to do to the stimulus.

I feel a bit stuck in between some walls with this, as its really starting to seem like I've tried everything.

Any other suggestions?

Thanks again in advance!

[Emily Haney-Caron]

Hi Akalsi,

Great work so far - you're doing all the right things!
If you feel like you need to gain some time back on Logical Reasoning, one thing I think can really help is doing drills to help yourself get faster at answering. I like to recommend that students do ten or so LR problems without rushing, and see how long, on average, they take you. For the next set of problems, try to shave a few seconds off of that time, and for the next set, a few more. If you progressively challenge yourself to improve your speed just a little, I think it can be more helpful than trying to make a huge jump at once. I generally suggest that students use that approach along with working on memorizing the strategies for approaching particular question types, but it sounds like you've already got that down!

[akalsi]

Hi Emily,

Thanks for the reply!

I'll definitely give that a shot and see if it'll help towards my timings.
I'll keep you all updated as I progress!

Thanks once again to all of you for your support and help!