This is an open post where you can leave comments and answer each others' questions in the weeks before Test Day.
(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 my LSAT study schedules.)
Keep at it!
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What types of games do you predict will be on the February LSAT?
ReplyDeleteWhat should we do on the week of February LSAT?
ReplyDeleteDo you recommend any specific food/drink to consume during the break?
Anon @ 4pm: check out this post Steve did back in Feb of 2012.
ReplyDeletehttp://lsatblog.blogspot.com/2012/02/lsat-test-day-food-recommendations.html
Break food specifics at the bottom of the post.
I just stuck with what I normally have as a mid-morning snack (a bagel) and had some water.
Hope this helps.
Does anyone have any experience with February non-disclosed tests? I wrote a non-disclosed exam after my centre's exams were lost, and I found it to be... different from the numbered PTs. Anyways, have writers found that February was about on par with the others?
ReplyDeleteThis may help to answer some of your questions about how the February test compares:
Deletehttp://lsatblog.blogspot.com/2010/04/easiest-lsat-curve-hardest-june.html
Thanks for the link, it was helpful! I'm still wondering about people's experiences on it. I found the one non-disclosed test I took to be very difficult, and I've written almost every single released LSAT for comparison. I'm really hoping February is not that way.
Deletehow different is it? can u elaborate? easier/harder?
ReplyDeleteHi Steve,
ReplyDeleteI've been using your study guide and have been studying now for over 4 months (I purchased the 5 month study guide).
I'm scoring around 163 on my practice tests. My biggest struggle is Reading Comprehension, which I have been working on on my days between practice tests to try to improve on. I'd say the section costs me about 9 points total, and I think if I can get myself to a point where I am scoring 5 points higher in the section, I'll be able to swing close to or above a 170. I feel really comfortable with Logical Reasoning and any mistakes I make on the Logic Games are usually careless/misreading. I'm also typically finishing within time, though my timing has been improving with the more full length tests I take.
What do you think? Am I just doomed to score no higher than 163 or, since I know my weaknesses and am targeting them, do you think I can improve 8-10 points between now and test day?
Thanks!!
Caroline
Also, anyone whose taken the test, or hasn't for that matter, your advice and thoughts are welcomed as well!
DeleteHi Caroline,
DeleteIt helped me to know that the answer is in the text. You just have to take a second to refer back to the passage and find it. If you get an answer wrong, find the correct one within the text.
Since February is late to apply in the cycle, you may want to buy the RC Bible and test in June when you're really solid.
I also switched to using highlighter for these sections. I do all my research for work with a highlighter so my underlining wasn't effective for me. The color helped me quickly return to sections of the passage to find answers.
Hope this helps! Good luck!
Jen
Caroline,
DeleteSteve's advice to read for structure, not content, also really helps me a lot. When I go through a passage, I make sure to bracket off the main point of each paragraph and put a star next to it in the margins. I also have a system of drawing circles around important names, dates, and places and drawing squares/rectangles around key words that relate back to the main point of the passage, as well as signal words such as "Hence", "For example", "Fortunately", "However", etc etc. These allow me to locate the answer in the passage more easily. Using "V1" and "V2" for opposing viewpoints also helps me loads. At the end of each passage, I write a quick summary of the main point as well.
Hope this helps!
Really hoping the February lsat goes better than December's. I was getting between 155-159 on my practice tests and was not confident after writing the December lsat. I ended up only getting an embarassing 143... I am not quite sure what happened. If i do well on the February lsat do i still have a chance of getting accepted? i checked into it and all the schools i have applied to consider your highest lsat score, however, i am worried that they will still see my low december score and take that into consideration. Also is it true that February lsat takers are at a disadvantage since it is the last lsat to be considered for fall enrollment?
ReplyDeleteHi! I'm so sorry about hear about your 143. That makes me sad for you and really nervous for myself. I'm taking the Feb. LSAT on Saturday and I'm super nervous but ready to get it over with. It is my understanding that your two scores will be put together and averaged. Also, Feb. test-takers are at a disadvantage b/c this is the last test for Fall admissions. A couple of schools may take your June LSAT, if you decide to take it again, but it may not be the school you want. Good luck!
DeleteHey Steve,
ReplyDeleteI love the blog, and it's been very helpful in my studies. I am doing very well in the LG and RC sections, but I'm really struggling with LR. I've read all of your tips on here, but I was wondering if there is a general strategy for attacking these sections. I've tried reading the stimulus and then the question stem and vice versa, but nothing seems to be helping. I've worked through the LR bible, but I usually get -7 in each section. Help!
Thanks!
Also- anyone else's tips would be greatly appreciated as I am taking the Feb test and starting to freak out!
DeleteHey!
DeleteLR is my best section, and this is no accident. I've found that for me, personally, what has been the most useful is going back through every single question I get wrong and evaluating why I got it wrong (this means taking the time to write out the reasoning on a piece of paper).
After I've done that, what I did was go back to the chapters of the question types I was getting wrong the most and re-reading. I will sometimes even go to the summarization of each chapter and quickly glance over it an hour (but no sooner!) before I do a preptest. This has helped me recognize when I come to a question type that I generally struggle with, so I tend to pay closer attention to the answers and I go back to the tricks mention in the PowerScore Logical Reasoning chapters in my head.
So basically review every single wrong question until you completely understand it, and in doing this it's likely you'll find that you have a particular weakness when it comes to certain question types. Review those types of questions again and again until you're noticing that they aren't as big of an issue for you anymore. I swear, flaw and weaken used to be my worst question types and now I rarely get them wrong after doing this.
Hope this helps! Good luck!
Studying while working full-time has really taken a lot out of me. I am retaking the LSAT after not having done too well on the December LSAT. After refocusing my studying and really buckling down, I started scoring much, much higher than my first score. But lately I found my score decreasing and I keep missing LR and RC questions I normally get right. Thankfully my work was nice enough to give me the week off. Any tips or advice on how to pace myself and get my score back up this week before Saturday? Thank you!
ReplyDeleteI totally understand b/c I'm in the same boat. I'm taking the Feb. LSAT on Sat and I'm so darn nervous. Good luck to you and stay calm!!! Now, I just need to take my own advice! :)
DeleteThanks to both of you (i.e. to Anonymous below this comment)! It turned out to be exhaustion, so I took Monday off and have been studying only 2-3 hours a day to save my energy, and now I'm scoring high again. I don't usually have major test anxiety, but having taken the LSAT once already definitely helps! Good luck to both of you!
DeleteI suggest drinking a glass of wine before bed so it's easier to fall asleep. No reason to prep anymore, lsat isn't something you can cram for.
DeleteI have the same problem! Up until this Saturday, I was testing between 168-171. My preptest this past weekend took a nosedive to 158 (which has never happened before). I would say it is just nerves. Keep PTing to work out the nerves, or at least get used to them so you'll be okay on test day? That's all I can offer.
ReplyDeletejust took feb 2013 on 9th. had rc/lr/lg/lg/lr(THANK GOD FOR 2 lg)[i hate those substitute rules questions]. not sure which one's exp. thought both were equal in difficulty. wish i woke up earlier to review over some lr beforehand. other than that. I thought i could have done better. this was my second time taking it, and on my 3rd try, I will most definitely be writing out LR questions with full detail of why or why not the AC is right. hope everyone did well. if anyone's willing to share what they had for their 1 lg, it'd be much appreciated it. for my first LG section(in my section 3) i had a game(I think it was second?) that had me setup if x > y then y > z and another rules was like if p > z then y > x [obviously i'm not using the exact term letters]. The game was in fact linear with a bunch of conditionals.
ReplyDeletefor my 4th section(2nd logic games section) I THINK a game in the section was a linear one that had to assign each person with a category X or Y with the first one having to be X and that there could not be Y immediately before or after another Y.[hopefully this wasn't in the 3rd section and i'm just in a blur of which section it was]
I look forward to hearing from the rest of u! Hope everyone did/thought they did well!
*same poster* with 2 lg
Deletefor those that had 2 rc, my first rc had 5 q's. last(i think) passage was about bebop jazz. dual passage was about objectivity of experimentation on unexplainable phenomenas. and the science(which i think came 2nd?) was about 2 terms that started with "poly"blahblah and how it can be used.
for lr. i don't remember exactly which section had the question, i think it was last, was a strengthen about a volcanic eruption preceding some event.
The first one is real!
DeleteCan you tell me what some questions from your LRs were on? I had three and I want to find out what the experimental section was
DeleteYes, can you please let us know what the first 2 questions on your LR sections were if you remember... or anything else about them? Do you also remember how many questions were on each LR section? For your LG that counts, the game with employees where some are in manager positions counted (it was also the game with assigning classes to two semesters).
Deletesorry, i meant the game with assigning classes was also in that section
DeleteI apologize for I don't remember exactly the # of q's. However, I do remember 1 of them was 26.
Deleteif you remember a strengthen question that concluded something like "at least some of X can be explained by the volcanic eruptions preceding the phenomena(associating with some chemical process, a rise in carbon or phosphate i forget exactly[sry D=]) it was the real one.
not sure if its in the same one, but the first question of 1 of the sections was asking what would be the best counter against the 2nd persons remark.
Also, there was 1 specific questions i remember fiddling with for some time. it was a suff assumption q. it was about people using the skills they learned from their previous job in order to morph what they've learned from it into their skill set. 1 of the answer choices had the word "adversity". the 2 answer choices that i had boiled down to started with "many of" and "some".(the answer choices were quite long)
another [suff assption] question i remember(i forget which section) talked about something not being a "learned process" because so and so. Honestly, this one is really vague to me and I apologize for all I can provide for this. i will keep them coming as I recall some more.
thanks so much! i'm trying to figure out information about the the scored section with 25 questions. there was one that i found really difficult and i hope it's the experimental. do you remember if the first question in your scored section for 25 questions was a flaw question and something along the lines of "Everyone says X is true, but it's not true for me, therefore it's false." Also did you have 1 or 2 parallel argument questions in the last 3 questions of the section (still just talking about the one with 25 questions).
Deletethere was a 1-2 parallel arguments on the last few questions. not sure if it was the last 3. I am also not positive about the every says X is true, but its not true for me, therefore its false. but that doesn't mean its not the case because i'm just not completely sure
DeleteAs far as LG goes, the section w/ games on employee security badges, parade floats, classes during a semester, and buying books was the one that counted. I took the test today and that was my only LG section. My sections were RC/LR/RC/LG/LR
ReplyDeletedoes everyone have the same #'d section as experimental? if so, then i think 3 was experimental. i assume ur first rc had something about bebop and polyblahblah?
DeleteYes you are right about my first RC section
DeleteI had LR(26)/RC(27)/LR(25)/LR(25)/LG(23).
ReplyDeleteThe game section that was definitely real was badges/floats/classes/books. I thought it was an unusually easy game section to i'm really hoping I didn't misinterpret a rule.
I thought my hardest LR section was the first one (26) questions, and the easiest being my second LR section with (25). Really hoping the 26 question one is experimental but have a feeling my easy LR one was.
CR was hit or miss. Had the Jazz/Marine Biologist/Law Types/Paranormal Activity ones. Paranormal was easy and so was Marine Bio but the Jazz one was definitely tough for me.
agreed. jazz was tough. stupid difference bw typical account and w/e else threw me off
Deletewas badges the game with managers and experienced workers?
DeleteYes. New Hires, Experienced Workers (which only seemed to be the Japanese guy), and Managers.
Deletesame test format...LR26/RC27/LR25/LR25/LG23 . LG sec was easy, first LR was very difficult, RC was who knows , second LR was easier than first.
DeleteI had LR26/RC27/LR25/LR25/LG23 too! Some other people have been saying that they had a 26-25-26 breakdown for LR though, so I think the 26 one counted. I really want to figure out which 25 section one was the experimental. Does anyone who didn't have LR for an experimental remember what the first questions in their sections were?
DeleteI had the same sections LR, RC, LR, LR, LG. Many ppl on here did... I did well on the first LR, and I did terrible on the 5th section- LG. I thought the first two games were hardest and the first game was set up in vertical format, 1-4, with highest being at the bottom. (Some strange thing that seemed backwards) This made me extremely nervous, maybe because it was the 5th section and I was tired. I don't know. But I was hoping ppl also thought LG was difficult! People seem to think LR 1 was difficult and LG was easy. The exact opposite of what I felt. Best of luck to all when results come-
DeleteI had the same thought on the LG section. Afterward I thought it was unusually easy so I had to have been omitting a rule or something. Glad someone else thought it was suspiciously easy and it wasn't just me.
ReplyDeleteWhich one was the experimental LR?? I had 3 LR so I know that one of them was my experimental. I had LR, RC, LR break LR RC -- I think the first LR was 26 questions. I hope that was the one that was experimental
ReplyDeletei had a 26 with only 2 LR so there was definitely a 26 that counted.
ReplyDeletewas your first question on that 26 section one with 2 speakers that asked you to provide the strongest remark the first speaker could make to the second?
Deletei had 2 lrs. and yes i had that question, regarding the best remark the first could make to the second.
Deletethank you! do you remember details from the section with 25 questions? were there 1 or 2 parallel argument questions within the last 3 questions of the test (on the last two pages of section)?
DeleteI'm going crazy trying to figure out what the two logical reasoning sections that counted were. Could anyone who only had two please let me know as much as they remember about those sections so I can figure it out? Thank you!
ReplyDeleteWhat was the first question in the LR scored section with 25questions?
ReplyDeleteList your reading section main topics (in details), please
ReplyDeletei had 3 LR's as well. in the 3rd one (sec 4) i encountered a question that used the same stem on a previous test. this is from the June 2002 test, but the question read: Adam: Marking road edges with reflecting posts gives drivers a clear view of the edges, thereby enabling them to drive more safely. Therefore, marking road edges with relfection posts will decrease the annual number of road accidents. Aiesha: You seem to forget that drivers exceed the speed limit more frequently on roads that are marked with reflecting posts than on similar roads without posts, and those are driving behaviors that cause road accidents. Aiesha responds by...
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone with two LR's remember a question like this? The section started with a question about Orchids. I believe this section had 25 questions, but i could be wrong.
I only had 2 LR and there was no question about marking road edges/reflecting posts.
DeleteI also had 2 LR and there was no question like that
ReplyDeleteSo, I took the makeup exam today for the FEB test. My sections were LR (25), LG (23), LR (25), LR (26), RC (27). I'm trying to figure out which one of the LR sections was the experimental. I know the LR (26) counted. As for the second LR section I took, 3rd section of the test, it had a "must be true" question about different types of loans: professional loans, development loans, and microloans. Does anyone who didn't have an experimental LR section remember seeing a question like this on there exam (it was towards the end of the section, like question #20 or something)? I'm guessing this was the experimental section, but I'm not sure.
ReplyDeleteThat wasn't the experimental, as I had that question and only had 2 LRs.
DeleteHope that helps.
I had that question too with only 2LRs. I had two LGs. I forget which questions were on which though, although I'm pretty sure one had one with juices/snacks and the other had a theater festival one. I've heard the one with the snow plow is experimental but I forget the other games that were in that section.
DeleteFor anyone who took the makeup with the same sequence (LR-LG-LR-LR-RC), is it confirmed that the 3rd section (2nd LR) was real? The first LR was quite easy while I found the 2nd LR pretty difficult - hoping that was the experimental...
DeleteI had LR LG LR LR RC... the last game of my fourth question had to do with Thomas Hobbes writing his own material.. does anyone know if this is the experimental?? I am freaking out I really hope so.
ReplyDeletehey,do you mind if telling me something about some topics in the section of reading comprehension? I just took it in Japan and I have two RC,one of which is extremely difficult
Deletethe only topic I can remember right now is the one where it discussed landing on mars
DeleteI think you misused the word "game" which sort of made this question confusing.
DeleteI remember that question, though, and I only had 2 LRs. So it seems that that was not the experimental section for you.
I had the Thomas Hobbes question and only two LRs so that's real.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI thought the LG in the makeup was so difficult!
ReplyDeleteThats weird I am certain that I got EVERY question correct in that section.
Deletewas the juices/snacks lg part of the real or experimental??
ReplyDeleteI had the juices/snacks too but had two LGs sections. I'd love the answer to that as well. Did you have a theater one?
ReplyDeleteyes! And one with different subjects on different floors that almost killed me.
ReplyDeleteDo you know if those were in the real or the experimental? I think those were in my third section overall. I don't remember the other games in that section though. I'm pretty sure the juices/snacks were in my first section.
DeleteWas the game with four days, each day one person operates the riveter, the press, or the shredder in the experimental section? Thanks.
ReplyDeleteI don't remember that one. There was a game with a 3-2-2 set up but I don't remember the details of it. Do you?
Delete