The December 2010 LSAT is rapidly approaching - only 8 weeks remaining! What would you like to see on the blog between now and then?Please leave your questions for me (and for each other) in the comments. I'll do my best to answer as many of your questions as possible in future blog posts between now and December 11th.
Quick request: please leave a name rather than posting as "Anonymous." It makes it easier for everyone to respond to specific comments. Thanks!
Also, if you're looking for general advice on improving in Logic Games, Logical Reasoning, or Reading Comprehension, please note that I've already written plenty of blog posts on these topics and have integrated them into the LSAT study schedules.
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Also see previous Questions and Answers posts.
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Hi, I took the October LSAT and I know I didn't do well. I will have to retake, I think I did even worse than on my PTs, where I average 158-9. My question is about studying for a retake- You see, I have completed most of PTs (including all recent ones), and LGB and LRB by PS, together with grouped games by type (all of them, as many times as it took to get each right quickly). I studied for nearly 5 months. I feel discouraged because I am nowhere near my goal of 165. I refuse to buy into the 'everybody has their ceiling' business. I know that I can do better. I just need to find what it is that is keeping me back. English is my second language, but I don't think that is a problem in LR or LG. I do have a problem with RC. I can ever finish only 3 passages, sometimes not even that. I usually get between 0-2 wrong on each passage, but with the missed questions from the last passage, the number of wrongs is just too high. I only have 7 weeks to study now and I don't know what I am doing wrong and how can I get to where I need to be in such a short time. I am on a very tight budget, so I can only use what I already have or maybe buy one more book at the most. I am thinking about RC guide. Do you have any suggestions for me? I would really appreciate your advice! Thank you, Zora
ReplyDeleteHi Zora,
ReplyDeleteI had the same problem with the RC, LG, and LR.
But I got all the Grouped books (including the new more-grouped games), and I am taking a new different approach: For RC I read 15 sections per day, on different subjects, without answering any questions, just to get used to the dense prose on different subjects, for one month.
On the second month, I read and answer the questions untimed, on the third month I will timed myself.
For games, I am doing each game 10 times! although not one after the other. I just finish one section on the grouped book after another, and start all over again since the beginning. I will starting the second book on games (more-grouped) pretty soon.
For the LR I look at all the answers in the back of the book, answer all the questions and then, study by question type, trying to thoroughly analyze the right answer. I say "why re-invent the wheel!
With this approach I have tremendously improve my practice test,from a low 142 to the mid-170s!
Consistency is the name of the game!
Finally why take the Dec. if you are not ready yet? why stress over something YOU HAVE CONTROL OVER? I was in your spot, but I decided to postpone the test until June 2011, why not. I now have less stress in my life and can study thoroughly for the coveted 180 that I will get in June. Finally, waiting one year does not mean you are going to sit around, it means you are going to buy the Emanuels (or Gilberts, althoug Emanuels are better) and study for the first year subjects: Contracts, Criminal Law, Torts, Legal Research and Writing, Constitutional Law, Property, etc., so when you got to law school you will be familiar witht the subject matter.
Believe me, the first year is the toughtest one, I have been there because I attended a non-ABA law school for one year, and it was a tough year, even for a guy with a Masters Degree (Criminology). It is basically a sink or swim, so you better be prepared...Good Luck!
By the way Zora, English is my second language, I came to the United States when I was 24, and had to study English as a Second language for over two years, before attending a community college. I can now humbly and proundly say that I have a Bachelors in Criminal Justice and a Masters Degree in Criminology, I was going to pursue my Ph.D. in Criminology, but decided to go to law school instead...
ReplyDeleteHey Steve,
ReplyDeleteI studied over the summer and made tremendous gains from my first test. I'd say I was averaging
~167. When I went over my test, I'd notice that the questions that I missed were often entirely within my ability to answer, I just sometimes accidentally gloss over a key phrase or word that changes the stimulus/question/game. How do I fix this? I don't know if it's a stamina thing or what, but if I can fix all of these mistakes, I feel I can break 172. For example, I took the Oct LSAT and discussed it with some people. All of the "hard" or "tricky" questions that messed other people up, I got pretty easily. Yet, I'm still sure I committed several errors and will have to retake either in Feb or Dec.
What can I do?
I am so glad to join this LSAT blog. Now,I am sahring your dream, anxiety and perhaps joy!!! Good Luck everyone. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteHi Steve,
ReplyDeleteWhat do you say about "Logic Games for Dummies", worthwhile?
I have a question regarding how to diagram "no....without" statements. For example, how would you diagram the statement: There will be no icecream without finishing dinner ?
ReplyDeleteIs is a biconditional?
Thank you!!
Two things i dont get.
ReplyDelete1. From what I see, most Law Schools dont end up graduating more than a third of the first-year class.
Why?
2. Yale seems to have a disproportional percentage of grads going into judicial clerk work (like 40%, compared to 5% at other top colleges).
Why?
Steve, enlighten me!
@Anon 10-17
ReplyDeleteice cream----->finished dinner
no ice cream without finishing dinner is the same thing as saying if you had ice cream you finished dinner.
hope that helps
So, I started studying for the LSAT about 3 weeks ago. So far, I've taken 3 practice tests and have gotten a 151 on all three. I plan to go back and really look at those tests and determine which types I missed.
ReplyDeleteReading Comp is my best section.
Logic games - I don't even want to talk about this.
Logical Reasoning gives me fits. It's the section I am focusing all my time on because it's the one I can improve for more points. When I take the tests, I read through the questions, think I understand them, and then get them wrong.
This last time I was so disappointed because as I was taking the test, answers were jumping out at me and I was moving along. When I got my scores, I was SHOCKED it was the exact same score as the previous two.
So, my questions are:
1. Can I improve? Am I destined to be at 151 forever? I know I've only been studying 3 weeks....but I want to be realistic.
2. If I can't improve, should I even try again? I've already registered for the December LSAT and I do not want to have wasted $136.
The school I want to go to has a median LSAT score of 156, which used to seem more than doable to me. I've already had a phone call with the Dean of Admissions at this school to chat about my chances. She said I'm competitive but need a good LSAT score to go along with it.
Thoughts??
Hi Steve, any advice for improving on LR method of reasoning questions
ReplyDeleteThanks
Hey Anonymous who asked the biconditional statement, you would diagram that sentence as:
ReplyDelete"If there is ice-cream, then dinner is finished." Contrapositive is "If dinner is not finished, then there is no ice-cream." This is not biconditional because biconditional statements include "if and only" or "if but only if" clauses. Hope that helps!
Hi Minimanny, thank you so much! I HAVE TO apply this cycle, there are other circumstances... etc., but I will follow your advice in the next two months. It is very encouraging to hear about your dramatic improvement! Congratulations!!! I have one question- did you mean to write that you read 15 sections a day or 15 passages a day? I know you wrote sections, but I keep thinking, with only 64 PTs available, you'd be done in a week! I know you read them several times, but even so.. So you just do the same ones over and over again? I find that if I read a passage the second time, even after 6-8 months (!) it is much easier to read and answer the questions. I re-did two PTs that I first tried last year and both of them I scored 167, I found them so much easier! Generally the 10 points increase in score was accounted for by increase in accuracy on the RC and a few LR questions that I remembered the answers for.
ReplyDeleteThanks Zora
I did horribly on my lsats that I took last year. So i'm attempting them once again this DEC. When I take a practice test UNTIMED, I can usually average 158-160. But when I take it timed, my score drops to 153-154. Now my goal is to get a 164. I finish all the questions in the section, but it seems as if I rush through them and get easy ones wrong. And my toughest section is READING COMP where when timed I can get up to only 13-14 right sometimes. How do I improve upon this?
ReplyDeleteThanks for the help. This website is GREAT.
@Zora - Read all my blog posts on RC linked above and do detailed reviews of everything that gives you trouble.
ReplyDelete@minimanny - Sounds like you have a solid plan there!
@Thomas - Congrats on your gains so far! Sounds like you should build your endurance by taking more timed exams and doing more sections back-to-back.
@mikey - I wouldn't use a book like LG for Dummies. Most of the retail books tend to be full of mistakes and have ineffective methods. I'd recommend following my Logic Games schedule instead. See the LSAT FAQ for more on that.
@Anonymous with the question re: "without" -
See this post.
@Harvey - those numbers sound really high. Sources? Also, your question isn't LSAT-related and is only tangential to law school admissions, so I'd suggest looking elsewhere for your answers.
@SamWow (cool username - love those ShamWow commercials) - Sorry to hear about the LR difficulty. You should absolutely give it more time, and yes, you can definitely improve. If you don't feel ready by the test date change deadline, you can always postpone your test date to February.
@JRann (re: method of reasoning questions) - Look at the kind of evidence used to promote the conclusion.
@Amy - check out the RC blog posts linked in this post.
Good luck with your studying, everybody!
@SamWow - You and I could be best friends. Misery loves company... but I'm convinced it will get better.
ReplyDeleteHi Steve,
ReplyDeleteI took the October LSAT, and got a 145, I am looking for ways to actively study to improve my score. I will be purchasing your day by day LSAT study schedule for one month, but I need to go up at least 20 points. I will be studying full time. Am I kidding myself or is that possible?
Hi,
ReplyDeleteIve been taking timed tests and have been in the mid 150s but my aim is to get in the mid 160s. When I took tests before untimed they came out to be 160. Now my question is can I take a test untimed to see if my problem is just timing or would that be counterproductive? Also if it is just timing which it very well might be since I get (153-157 timed and untimed before I got 160), how do I improve that? The december test is about a month away and I want to reach my goal of 164 but I'm not sure I know how to get it up there.
I plan to take about 10 more tests up until then. One every wednesday and one every saturday.
Thanks for all the help.
My score keeps consistently dropping instead of going up! only a month left! ah help!!
ReplyDeleteHi,
ReplyDeleteI´m preparing for the LSAT. In the section analytical reasoning, are there more than one answers possibile within one question? Or is always only one correct?
Clearly, you need to start studying.
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