June 2011 Study Group Forum

[Eichörnchen]

Sounds good. I was planning on taking PTs all the way up until Fri/Sat but I didn't know if it would be bad to do it too close, cause I don't want my PT review to bleed over into Sunday, cause I was planning on taking the day before the test off. I know some people say they plan to, or did, take the whole week before the test off because they think you get a bump after having a long relaxation period, but I think I'm too nervous to do that. It might feel really weird to relax for too long when I know the race isn't over yet.

My plan is to take 15-20 PTs from May 1 to June 5. I plan on taking a PT or a couple drills either the day before or two days before but not grading anything. That way I get comfortable with it one last time and don't freak out due to a low score. I'll probably stay off TLS completely for the last 2-3 wks as well. Don't want high scorers (I'm looking at you soj ) to destroy my confidence.

Yea 15-20 is about what I'm shooting for too. I don't know if I'll give up tls (probs not) but I can see how it can mess with one's head, especially caue towards the end I'm sure there will be a handful of people consistantly hitting in the 177+ range and getting bummed out at their 175 outliers
edit- what perfect timing. Posted at the same time as soj calling his 172 a shitshow.
(soj you are a beast. I hope that some miracle occurs and I'm with you in the end also getting 10 178+s in a row as I'm sure you will)

[soj]

Composite PT30 score

PT30
LG (4/7) -2
LR1 (4/8) -5
RC (4/10) -4
LR2 (4/14) -2
Raw -13
Scaled 171

-13 Raw is a new record.

The results of today are pretty grim, but I'm still optimistic. I did manage to pull off a -1 in what I thought was a very difficult LG section, and I did well in LR today (-2 -2 -1).

And while something's gone terribly wrong in RC, at least one of the errors is due to rushing the last passage because I had barely any time left after the disaster in Passage 3. Looking back, I'm sure I would've gotten that question right had I devoted even half a minute more on it. I'm going to analyze my LR mistakes like I always do, redo Game 4 which tripped me up (but which I very nearly had), and spend some time thinking about what I'm doing wrong in RC.

LOL (no really, I just have to laugh at myself now) at one of the Qs I got wrong in LR2. It was Q1, and it was one of the easiest LR questions I've ever encountered. Of course, for some reason I decided not to read the entire stimulus before somehow deciding I had enough information to answer the Suff Ass question. It's no wonder this test gave me my lowest raw score, considering I'm making stupid mistakes like that.

[soj]

@ Eich: yes! I'm predicting 180s for both of us on test day. It'll be that much sweeter in the end to have overcome the problems we're facing now.

[soj]

I have 33 PTs left:
SuperPrep ABC
PT 21-28
PT 39-50
PT 52-62

I do 1.25 PTs each sitting, so that translates to about 27 sittings if I go through all of them. It's D-53, so that means I should be going slightly faster than a PT every two days if I want to slow down the pace a little leading up to test day to prevent burnout. But I also want to make sure I'm doing more than PTs and review. I want to critically reexamine my methods and experiment with new lines of thinking. This is good reason to redouble my effort and focus.

By the way, what is you guys's suggestions for which PTs to take on next? I want to get to the SPs and the Deconstructeds so I can read their critically acclaimed explanations, but I'm also itching to do some recent ones. I think the next 10 PTs I'll do will be:
A + 21e
B + 21e
C + 21e
52 + 21e
43 + 22e
44 + 22e
45 + 22e
53 + 22e

That way I get a mix of some new PTs combined with the ones with detailed commentary (43-45 are the Deconstructed series).

But for now, I'm going to analyze what happened in PT38 and take a well-deserved day off watching Modern Family and Junebug, one of my favorite movies.

[mickeyD]

soj, I would hit the Superprep series now. It'll give you a chance to read some great explanations and improve your accuracy/reasoning. You want to hit the most recent tests at your best, so let A, B, and C tune you up before you take down the 50s.

I've completed A and B so far, I plan on taking C this Saturday. Made some major breakthroughs in the past couple weeks while taking these, maybe they'll be good luck for you as well!

[soj]

Cool, thanks! I'll definitely be doing the SuperPreps next.

I just realized I've done 32 of 65 PTs. I'm at the halfway point!

By the way, is anyone going to bother prepping for or even doing a single run-through of the essay section? I don't think I am. Could be interesting since I'm a pretty deliberate writer so writing something half-decent in 35 minutes might be pretty difficult after the real test. Whatever.

[mickeyD]

Starting to get into a rhythm with LG via drilling. I've found that I perform exponentially better when I approach the games calm and collected. Sounds obvious, but on actual PTs I have difficulty remembering to switch gears from the breakneck pace of LR and RC, where speed is essential. Of course speed is important in LG as well, but telling myself to "slow down" when reading the rules and diagramming a LG helps me clearly identify the key inferences with which to attack the questions, instead of panicking like I usually do.

[geverett]

Starting to get into a rhythm with LG via drilling. I've found that I perform exponentially better when I approach the games calm and collected. Sounds obvious, but on actual PTs I have difficulty remembering to switch gears from the breakneck pace of LR and RC, where speed is essential. Of course speed is important in LG as well, but telling myself to "slow down" when reading the rules and diagramming a LG helps me clearly identify the key inferences with which to attack the questions, instead of panicking like I usually do.

Great advice.

[soj]

Starting to get into a rhythm with LG via drilling. I've found that I perform exponentially better when I approach the games calm and collected. Sounds obvious, but on actual PTs I have difficulty remembering to switch gears from the breakneck pace of LR and RC, where speed is essential. Of course speed is important in LG as well, but telling myself to "slow down" when reading the rules and diagramming a LG helps me clearly identify the key inferences with which to attack the questions, instead of panicking like I usually do.

+1. My main problem with LG is time wasted because of poor diagramming. Poor diagramming is always due to not reading the rules with the level of attention and consideration they deserve.

[FloridaCoastalorbust]

Just practiced some concepts from tonight's meeting on RC passage 24, mostly trying to view the passage's form over content. As he said,

Stop focusing on what they are saying, but how they are saying it. Generalize the information to have passage organization - be able to describe what is going on outside of the contents of the passage. It is ok to not be able to hold on to every piece of information to answer specific reference questions.

Went -2. Hopefully not from a placebo effect but maintaining this perspective throughout

[geverett]

That was brutal.

PT38

LR1 -2
LG -1
LRe (PT30 S4) -2
RC -6
LR2 -1
Raw -10
Scaled 172

Complete shitshow. Everything fell apart, though at first glance it looks like only RC was a disaster. LG was one of the toughest I've faced, LRe felt really hard, RC was an unmitigated disaster (2/6 on historical sociology LOL), and while LR2 felt like a breeze, that was probably because I'd encountered most of the questions yesterday in the MLSAT book. This is a PT I'm strongly considering redoing down the line.

2/6 on a passage? Really?!?

Just did the RC section and the LG section

-3 RC
-5 LG

Son of a bitch. I will just be doing individual sections quite a bit from PT 1-40, and hopefully will take 41-62 full timed PT's.

[Eichörnchen]

Well, I just finished the PT I wanted to do today. Life happened, and I decided to PT super late instead of not at all today (despite the fact that I was dozing while reading by late afternoon ) . I don't think that was the most clever idea, because (shocker) wrapping up a PT at 11:30 pm feels a lot different than in the afternoon. I didn't finish any section early which is very strange for me. My eyes would not move fast enough. At least I learned how I perform when extremely sleepy eh?

PT 28

LR1 -4 /26
LG -10 /23 (as per norm )
LR2 -2 /26
RC -3 /26

Raw 82
Scaled 166

I want to do another PT asap and (hopefully) score much higher, because I need to break into the 170s consistently. Last week.

[mickeyD]

Just completed 14 basic linear LGs, with a little analysis.

Perfect score + under 7:30 --> Pass
Perfect score + under 8:45 --> Acceptable
Wrong answer or over 8:45 --> Fail

Result: 4 Pass, 2 Acceptable, 8 Fail

"8 fail" is not really as bad as it sounds, because 4 of them were -1 under 7:30, 2 were -0 in < 9:30, and the last 2 were both wrong and over time. While I'm striving to be under 7:30 for every game so I can potentially have 3 minutes left to review my answers, a more realistic goal is to be able to gain minutes on easier games that I can then use for harder games.

My average time was 7:46, and I missed 6 of 85 questions. I'm kind of disappointed in this because basic linear games are the easiest game type, so I really want a good combination of accuracy and speed here. One encouraging thing is that after each game, I went back and did it untimed before I graded it, and only missed 1 question untimed (which was a result of a reading error, I read "east" instead of "west.")

I really want to make sure I am making all the key inferences. What I'm doing during review is taking each local condition and slowly working the chain of deductions step by step. I'm saying to myself, literally out loud, "Okay, so if S is in slot 6, then O must go in slot 1 because O has to be in slot 1 or 5, and if it is in slot 5 then it cannot satisfy the rule that it is at least one space away from O." I'm trying to avoid making hypotheticals until I'm absolutely sure that I've made every inference and deduction.

Sorry for the book, but do you guys have any suggestions for improving in LG? As I said earlier my biggest enemy right now is panic, for some reason I feel the clock ticking down in LG more than any other section. As a result I don't spend enough time working the inferences and initial setup, and if I don't see it right away I panic.

[soj]

Haha, don't worry about walls of text. I've pretty much re-written my dissertation in my posts in this thread.

Basic linear is one of the easier types, but it's certainly harder than pure sequencing. Also, the level of complexity (i.e. number of inferential steps) of the inferences tends to be higher for basic linear. With these, you just have to keep practicing. Try to give yourself a few days to forget about the games that gave you problems (though hopefully not the lessons!) and redo them. I used a similar method (Pass/Acceptable/Fail) for training myself on LGs.

As for time, just keep reminding yourself that it's not like LR or RC where you really have to keep a brisk pace to finish on time. The key is to stay focused and not to get flustered. It's normal to be slightly stuck at the beginning--don't force yourself to move ahead when you're not ready. If you really feel stuck, draw a sketch or scan for an easy problem that might reveal more info about other Qs.

I actually think getting flustered on LG hurt my performance today in the sections that came after it, especially LRe and RC (lol that 2/6 is going to haunt me). I needed to take a deep breath, take a 15-second break, and engage.

[99.9luft]

EIch & Mickey: you guys need to drill nothing but back-to-back LG sections for a couple of days. Then do the LGs in the 30s. Then do the hardest LGs: http://lsatblog.blogspot.com/2009/01/ha ... -hard.html

LG is the easiest to fix, as you know. Do it and it will propel you into the 170s.

[dr123]

Just drilled RC today, first 6 passages -5 total. last 3 passages -9 total

WTF!?

[99.9luft]

Just drilled RC today, first 6 passages -5 total. last 3 passages -9 total

WTF!?

lost your focus?

[soj]

Instead of going over my RC answers, I erased everything and did the section again. Went from -6 to -1. Not bad, though stupid historical sociology still got me on one Q (a Main Point Q, no less). I had the advantage of this being my second read-through, but trust me, I wasn't building on much prior knowledge in my second attempt.

Lessons for the future:
- Don't linger over crappy sections. Get the hell over it and focus on the new section.
- Try not to do a PT after 5 PM on a day you woke up extra early.
- Don't get self-conscious about reading speed or marking the passages. That's the surest way to lose concentration. Do what feels right--I believe I have a good, intuitive, judicious sense for what needs to be marked, so there's no need to stress over it.

[Eichörnchen]

EIch & Mickey: you guys need to drill nothing but back-to-back LG sections for a couple of days. Then do the LGs in the 30s. Then do the hardest LGs: http://lsatblog.blogspot.com/2009/01/ha ... -hard.html

LG is the easiest to fix, as you know. Do it and it will propel you into the 170s.

Definitely true. I printed 2 copies of each game from pts 1-32 and sorted them by type. Then I literally made a line of sheets labeled 1-11 on my floor and spread out all the games between these sheets, making sure I have at least a few days between each time I do them. I also did them roughly in order of type, with the first few days only BL/Adv L, then mostly grouping, so I can review the bible as I go. I realized I should print more games (probably up to pt 38/39) and add those. Hopefully after these next 10 days (yesterday was 'day 1' of this) I will see improvement.

[soj]

Quoth The Hurt Locker, one of my favorite movies: The rush of battle is often a potent and lethal addiction, for war is a drug.

I feel this way about the LSAT. I was supposed to take today off, but I'm going to do another PT this morning. Besides, yesterday was my first PT in 4 days (even if I was spending the interim reading MLSAT), so it seems premature to take a day off.

[maxpower430]

dude, historical sociology was/is brutal, don't feel bad about that. really that whole section was bad for me (went -6), and there wasn't really an "easy" passage or two, except i guess the 2nd one. i really should redo this one now and see how i do, i hope reading comp isn't going in the direction of that section lol.

also i've been drilling 5-7 grouping games a day this past week in addition to my normal studying, definitely feels like it is helping and i'm feeling more comfortable with those types of games.

[tehrocstar]

Hey Soj - thanks for that review of MLSAT2 book! I think I might pick it up. I read through Atlas LR and now I'm seriously considering buying MLSAT2 LR. I've only skimmed, and delved into certain chapters in PS LRB, I'll read that first.

If you bought the older Atlas LR book, Noah will send you the updated Manhattan one for free:

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 5#p4248707

Anyone who bought an Atlas copy before we released our 2nd edition is welcome to send us their receipt and we'll replace their book with a fatter one as a gesture of good will in these dark and stormy times (and we're now called Manhattan LSAT, though nobody seems to want to use that name).

Awesome, thank you for the link Kurst. I bought it used, so I'm not sure if I'm eligible for the new copy.

[Manhattan LSAT Noah]

Just practiced some concepts from tonight's meeting on RC passage 24, mostly trying to view the passage's form over content. As he said,

Stop focusing on what they are saying, but how they are saying it. Generalize the information to have passage organization - be able to describe what is going on outside of the contents of the passage. It is ok to not be able to hold on to every piece of information to answer specific reference questions.

Went -2. Hopefully not from a placebo effect but maintaining this perspective throughout

How did it go with Matt?

[jim-green]

D

[Manhattan LSAT Noah]

Sorry about that! We try not to bug folks with e-mails too often, but apparently we're too gun shy.

Brian is working on joining this Sunday's 4:30 session (that's in the MLSAT self-study room). If he can join, he'll post it on the FB wall - and the HW for that session will be:

LR
PT32, S4, Q15
PT32, S1, Q19
PT29, S1, Q16
PT31, S2, Q19
PT31, S3, Q9
PT33, S3, Q9

RC
PT31, S1, P4
PT30, S3, P2

LG
PT30, S1, G2