The Road to An A+ on the LSAT

Two Saturdays ago hit me & it hit me hard.  It was an unwanted flashback to a time I never want to see again, but in the grand scheme of things, totally necessary.  It showed me that I was being lazy, unproductive, but most of all, about to lose out on the one thing that I have been striving to accomplish for a very long time.

After seeing my score & talking to my study partner & my boyfriend, I realized I have applied everyone’s method, but I must return to what works for me.  One thing that life has taught me is that everyone plays the game by their own rules & what works for you, might not necessarily work for me.  This is so true with me & this test.  I learn in parts.  I freak out when I am doing something & I don’t understand all of the reasons or procedures behind what I am doing.  To me, I have no measuring stick to judge whether I am correctly applying the rules by how they were meant to be applied.  This is why it takes me a good deal of time to pick up something new.

But with this test, it is not new to me.  I have just failed to understand the reasons behind many of the methods of why I should do things a certain way.  So now, I must start here to catch up.

One point that resonated with me was I need to tackle this test like a normal final from high school & college.  In high school, I was BADD!  I could go to class listen to the teacher, read over my notes (probably at most twice), & come in & ace the test no problem.  With standardized test, I used to study the math portion vigorously & every other section normal prep & do very well.  But these methods do not work here.  Why?  First,  I need to practice more due to the fact I am introducing myself to new methods of thinking.  Second, I am not making an A+ ( in this case, 180) my target grade.  Throughout my educational background, an A was always my target.  I cried so hard when I got my first B that I made myself sick.  So, why should I not reach for the same goal now?

I should at least strive for it.  Anything is possible with good old fashion hard work.  So I am striving for the 180, but also being realistic about my chances & what I can reasonably achieve in the amount of time I have left between now & test day.  I am ready to push back the test (again) if necessary.

So now, that I have been practicing regularly & know what I need to do, I am studying far more & better than before.  With me, it is all about eliminating everything to get to the something.  Now, more than ever, it is time to focus, practice, & realistic about my chances.  As I promised myself before,  I am only taking this test once by any means necessary.

 

 

 

Another Change Made….

Before I started writing this post, I was thinking about what would be the best thing to share with you today.  I decided against sharing the boring stuff and decided to just inform you that I have yet changed my studying strategy, again.  The one thing I have learned is if something does not work after doing it several times, find another way to do it.  Now, I have to admit many people have told me to do what I am doing now countless times, but, I am the type of person that with some things I have to try on my own first – for instances with studying for this test.

Before I go any further I must RANT!  I now understand the importance of keeping what your plans are to yourself because people will constantly ask you about your progress.  My life has been on a constant roller coaster and I have not been able to dedicate the time and practice I need to doing questions.  The thing that bothers me the most is the people that are asking me the question, “How is the LSAT studying going?” are the same people who have been watching or listening to my roller coaster (aka LIFE) ride with amazement. I say this to say, I decided to spare you this story because I feel like you have read it all before.  BTW I wish people would stop asking that question now, so I can stop feeling so bad about not studying as much as I should.

NOW, I have had another epiphany.  Remember earlier, I posted that I get really frustrated when I was doing the questions and was not sure of the strategy I was supposed to use to answer the question.  Well, shortly after that, I committed myself to using the Powerscore Virtual Course and do all the practice / studying the way they have it outlined.  Well, that did not work.  Only because I am still getting hung up on what type of questions I am still getting wrong.

Well, now I have a study partner and last week we did questions together.  It was great!  I realized I knew more than I thought I knew.  Afterwards, we looked at a couple of the sections of the Arguments homework I completed and she told me the same thing I have been reading, hearing, and listening to since May.  She said doing the homework is good but it takes too much time to read all of the lessons when I need to use that time to just do the questions (unless it is Games, of course).  She reminded me that I just need to practice doing the questions, read over the explanations to the questions, and then redo the questions I got wrong.  With doing more questions & reading the explanations, I will begin to see the patterns and know how to answer the question.  So now I am waving the WHITE flag.

Everyone is right.  Some of this stuff is common sense.  The books and courses are guides and they should be used as such… GUIDES!  This test is just like any other standardized test – yes there is a way to answer the question, but until you do the questions and understand why you are getting the questions wrong, the strategy does not even matter.

So, I have started over again.  This time I am taking the tests I have explanations for and doing those twice.  I also have signed up to take two practice tests – one on October 29th & one on November 5th.  By November, I hope to be doing a practice test every weekend.  I might do one before October 29th, but I am not sure, but I will let you know.  

 

Back and Ready to GO!

OK, I am back again. Sorry for the long pause, but between moving and work, I had to take a step back to take a break. As I mentioned in earlier posts, I had a lot on my plate this summer, but hopefully, it has slowed down a little now.

During my break, I have taken the time to reflect on what I should do going forward since I have decided to take the test in December. One suggestion from a reader is that I should prepare all of my application materials now, so I can just hit send after I take the December test. Thanks for the suggestion and that is already underway. I have already talked to those who I wanted to write a letter of recommendation for me & they all said yes. One thing checked. I have been writing my personal statement when the mood hits me & I have another piece of the application process that is in the works that I am not at liberty to share (just yet!), so everything is coming along.

I have also discovered during this reflection time that I should change my study plan again. The videos from Powerscore really help me understand more clearly what I should be doing & reading the information in the books allows me to bring it all together. So keeping with the study path laid out in the virtual course syllabus, I will watch the videos, do the questions from each lesson & hopefully do a practice test every OTHER weekend for right now. Hopefully, by the month of November, I will be able to take a full length practice test EVERY weekend.

I realized I was really trying to do too much in a small amount of time. I still have to work and perform well at my job everyday (including some holidays & weekends) & practice test questions diligently. I need to start setting small reachable goals for practicing instead HUGE, IMPRACTICAL GOALS that often times leave me feeling discouraged. So now it is all about KISS = Keeping It Simple, Stupid!

So, I know how much homework I have left according to the syllabus (finishing homework for Lessons 1 & 2) and my goal is to get as much done as possible by Sunday. I hope to be able to finish these questions this weekend, so I can watch Lessons 3 & 4 videos. So stay tuned.

 

8 hours: Just Me & the LSAT

OK I am exhausted.  I worked this past Saturday and spent all of Sunday packing.  Today, for at least 8 hours will be devoted to the LSAT.  I am trying to work out a plan where I can take the LSAT in December because this summer was not as nice to me as I thought it would and I would like to complete a good portion of the homework and practice tests from Powerscore, if possible.  Watching the videos is the easy part, completing the homework in each lesson is hard due to the fact, I really don’t have the time.  My boyfriend believes after this move I will be able to focus more.  I really do hope he is right.

So, far I have completed lessons about the Arguments & Games section, so today, I will sit through the 4 hours or so video on Reading Comprehension.  I was able to watch a video this past Saturday that gave me some interesting things to look for in completing Must Be True Questions.  Now, I am more at easy and a little more confident that I will do well on this test, if I can take my time to practice and use their techniques.  Everyone, keep their fingers cross that I can work out my situation to take the test in December.

 

Inferences

So after finishing watching the videos in Lesson 1 & Part 1 to Lesson 2 I realized what my issue is with this test overall – making inferences.  This is why I am not doing so well in arguments, games, & in some ways, reading comprehension.  So after having this epiphany, I sent some time look for books / lessons on learning how to make inferences.  All I could reasonable find are activities for elementary & middle school students.  I have no problem using these lessons, I just think it will take a little too long to build up my skills.  I believe at this point since I recognize this is my weak point on the entire test, I need to figure out the best way to make inferences when they are needed.

If anyone has any ideas, please let me know.  I am still searching.  I am still practicing but now at an even slower rate.  So any suggestions will be appreciated.

 

 

“A Pluggin’ Along…”

So… all of the PTs I have taken so far and I have a solid score.  At least I know now where I stand as I go forward with studying this test.  I recently mentioned that I was going to take the weekend course from Powerscore.  Unfortunately, enough students did not sign up for the weekend course, so I was able to utilize their virtual course archives until December 2011.  I was uneasy about taking this option but considering the time between now and the actual test, I realized this was the best option available.

So last week, I was able to watch the videos for Lesson 1, which consisted with Arguments & Games, as well as the foundation for understanding the LSAT.  There is a lot of homework / practice questions in each lesson. I hope I can get through all of the homework because I know this will be the way I will be able to raise my score with confidence.   Since I have been using the bibles also, I will concentrate on the Critical Homework List to complete right now, but if I start to encounter any issues, I will go back to complete the drills in that particular lesson’s homework section.

At this point, it is about using my time wisely.  I am in the processing of moving plus the next two Saturdays, I have to work.  The good thing is I will have Mondays off & at least 75% of the packing have been done.  So, I am still “a pluggin’ along.”  But this is what I have done so far.

August 9th – 12th, 2011

• Watched videos from Lesson 1 – Arguments & Games.
• Completed 60 Main Point / Must Be True Argument Questions
• Watched virtual modules videos in Lesson 1 – Foundation Videos about the test & test taker mentality

This upcoming week will be better.  I feel a change coming for the good.

 

Totally Off My Study Game….

So I have been missing in action…. my job had me “under its thumb” for the past week so I got very little practice in between July 25th – July 29th.  I was somewhat able to do a timed practice test (PT 62) that weekend, but it took me an entire weekend to do it.  I started on Saturday, July 30th & did not finish until August 1st.  I got sick early Saturday morning, went to the doctor’s, started the test, but could not finish in one sitting.  (I am sure that test won’t be any good.)

So I am still trying to finish the untimed practice test (PT 62) that I have yet to finish, BUT I still took a timed practice on yesterday (June 07).  So now, I have two untimed practice tests to finish.  Well, yesterday, I finally signed up to participate in the Powerscore Weekend Course that will be August 13th & 14th.  What I did not know was that the course “requires” you to take a timed practice test & submit your answers and score before the start of the class.  So I have to take this one and submit my answers before Saturday morning.  So much work in so little time.

So in essence, I have not been able to practice questions like I would like.  Now, I am seriously considering taking the LSAT in December, but there is one main thing that will determine whether or not that can happen.  Just keep your fingers crossed for me….

Right now, I am taking the whole process one step at time, hoping that I can make it all work out to my advantage.  I am only allowing myself one more shot at this & I promised myself, this time I will do it right.

 

 

No Practice, No Glory

So remember, I told you guys a while back that I do not like to practice.  Well, I did not do any practicing on Saturday.  I did revamp my study timeline, but no practicing on questions.  BAD GIRL!  So today, I am going to do 3 timed sections (one for each test section) & go over all of my answers.

Because I did not study this weekend, I decided it would be best to do the SOS methods on the weekends.  This will give me the added pressure & push to practice during the week, even if it is only for one hour a day!  I gotta get better if I want to take this test in October.  I gotta start realizing this test ultimately determines my legal future….

 

Maybe there is a Silver Lining?

So last weekend, I walked away feeling great about my study plan.  And I will admit, it was a good one.  After taking an argument timed section on Sunday and going through the answers, I realized my prep had to change. Steve from LSAT Blog did not highly recommend Powerscore’s Logical Reasoning Bible (LRB) as he had the Games Bible.  Even though I applying the methods from the LRB, I was still not getting many correct answers. My friend, who is an attorney, is helping me study for the test and so, after seeing how badly I performed on that section, we decided to go through each of the answers with the explanations from LSAT Blog to figure out why I chose the answer choices I chose.

That process was grueling, but it helped me to understand what I was doing wrong.  So, I decided to use the study method we used to go over the answer to answering the argument questions.  So, I stop reading the LRB and just start doing argument questions.  After using my own techniques, I got more questions correct, (untimed, of course), but it is all about the little things.  I got 13 out of 26 questions correct untimed.  YAY!  Needless to say, it took me almost 4 days to do all of the questions (due to work) & I still need to review the explanations to the ones I got wrong, but it is a start.

Now, that I know how to accomplish the argument section, I believe I have a sure method to follow.  I will probably revise my prep timeline this weekend, so make sure you check the link to see how it has changed.

I also plan on trying the SOS method suggested by LR earlier this week.  I do not have the kind of time LR does, but I think it is a great method to try.  I am only taking 4 PT between now and the real thing (this might change), but at least it will get me there.  I am also trying to create a spreadsheet to help me keep up with which question types I am having difficulty with so I can practice more of those type of questions as I go along.  I will do another post to let you know when I am done and what I have come up with.

 

July 17th, 2011

Good Afternoon journal,

I was introduced to this great blog called, “Down the Legal Rabbit Hole,” by its author and it helped me figure out what I needed to do to stay on task for preparing for the LSAT.  I got completely off task last week because I worked overtime every day, but Thursday, so I was exhausted by the time I got home I could barely read a word or concentrate on practicing questions.

Well, remember I told you that the Reading Comprehension is my best section & Games are my worst section. I have to revise that statement.  Realizing, that Argument count for 50% of the test, actually Arguments are my worst section, but RC is still my best.  So my game plan has to change.  So what I have done is consult the Powerscore website to see what I should focus on in the games section.  According to their website, since there are 3 types of games that have appeared more & consistently since 2005:

1. Pure Sequencing
2. Basic & Advanced Linear
3. Numerical Distribution

Starting with these three games, I will focus here with more practice than the others.  Next, I will tackle the games that appear consistently, but less often since 2005:

1. Grouping
2. Identify the Templates
3. Grouping Linear & Identify the Possibilities

I have to go back and read the corresponding LGB chapters for the Numerical Distribution & Identify, but afterwards, I will be practicing only on these type of Games to be able to focus more on the Arguments.

Unfortunately, Powerscore did not have any kind of guidance to which type of questions appear more frequently from the argument section on their website.  I guess since this section counts for 50%, you should concentrate on all the question types!

Since I have to concentrate more on the Argument section, I have decided to not focus as much on RC.  I will study and do practice questions because I am going to need to do just as well here as in Games to capture at most 35-40 correct answers between the two sections.  I am also reading from the Nation magazine to help build up my comprehension of complex reading throughout the week.

I have also decide to create a LSAT daily log to keep up with all of my studying I am doing every day & I have created a LSAT Prep Timeline to help me see what I need to cover each week.  This will help me stay on task. I will try to update you at least once a week so you can see my progress or I will tweet what I have accomplished.  Let’s get this party started!  Now, I am so excited!