Speed

[Craving Oyer]

Anyone have specific suggestions for how to improve speed on each section? Accuracy isn't a major issue, but efficiency is. Any tips besiders just doing each question type over and over and over again? Or is that the best bet?

[Mori]

I would see how long it takes you to complete a section while maintaining the accuracy you are striving for.

If it takes you 45 minutes, then do some sections under timed conditions at 40 minutes...keep knocking minutes off until you reach about 30minutes/section. That gives you 5 minutes extra to toy around with for filling in answer bubbles, checking answers and spending time on the longer Parallel Reasoning type questions.

And yes, keep doing question types over and over again.

[Pretentious Undergrad]

I remember I had a sort of epiphany one night when I was working on games. I had always run into time trouble whenever I tried to do a full game section with proper timing. This annoyed me because I had been through the LGB and felt I had all the methods down pretty well. Anyway, frustrated, I tried just doing a games section at a pace that felt way too slow, being extra careful to make all the deductions. I didn't look at the clock at all. It felt like I took forever, but I ended up finishing the section early (a first) and getting nearly a perfect score on the section. I guess the moral of the story is that once I knew all the LGB strategies the time pressure was all in my head. I had been trying to rush through games and always ended up getting sloppy with my deductions which was costing me time. Have you tried doing a section focusing only on accuracy and disregarding time entirely? It sounds weird but that is how everything fell in to place for me. If you are methodical and careful, 35 minutes is more than enough time to finish four games.

[DerekShiHarvard]

Anyone have specific suggestions for how to improve speed on each section? Accuracy isn't a major issue, but efficiency is. Any tips besiders just doing each question type over and over and over again? Or is that the best bet?

You will need a three-pronged approach of
1) Imposing a strict time limit in order to force you to finish faster (put the fire beneath the rope climber, as a proverb once said).
2) Focusing on types of questions you consistently get wrong and working out a game plan to work hard to get better at these questions or to just skip and come back to them
3) Taking lots of practice tests so that you can recognize patterns in answers and immediately recognize why an answer choice is wrong. This is a personal thing and that is really as far as I can explain it. It will just “click” if you do enough tests. 

[Bernie]

I remember I had a sort of epiphany one night when I was working on games. I had always run into time trouble whenever I tried to do a full game section with proper timing. This annoyed me because I had been through the LGB and felt I had all the methods down pretty well. Anyway, frustrated, I tried just doing a games section at a pace that felt way too slow, being extra careful to make all the deductions. I didn't look at the clock at all. It felt like I took forever, but I ended up finishing the section early (a first) and getting nearly a perfect score on the section. I guess the moral of the story is that once I knew all the LGB strategies the time pressure was all in my head. I had been trying to rush through games and always ended up getting sloppy with my deductions which was costing me time. Have you tried doing a section focusing only on accuracy and disregarding time entirely? It sounds weird but that is how everything fell in to place for me. If you are methodical and careful, 35 minutes is more than enough time to finish four games.

This is terrific advice, and applies for the other sections as well!  Paradoxically, one of the best ways to get through a section faster is to stop worrying about time and to focus only on the question in front of you.  Don't dawdle if you don't know an answer; just move on.  (But fill in a guess, so you don't misbubble!)

[DerekShiHarvard]

Anyone have specific suggestions for how to improve speed on each section? Accuracy isn't a major issue, but efficiency is. Any tips besiders just doing each question type over and over and over again? Or is that the best bet?

You will need a three-pronged approach of
1) Imposing a strict time limit in order to force you to finish faster (put the fire beneath the rope climber, as a proverb once said).
2) Focusing on types of questions you consistently get wrong and working out a game plan to work hard to get better at these questions or to just skip and come back to them
3) Taking lots of practice tests so that you can recognize patterns in answers and immediately recognize why an answer choice is wrong. This is a personal thing and that is really as far as I can explain it.

It will just “click” if you do enough tests. 

Sure sparky, it's a volume thing about brawn not brains, like chiseling nice abs and glutes.

Nice abs... I would like those!

[EarlCat]

My biggest improvements in speed came when I wasn't working on the clock.  Getting to know the question types (working slowly and deliberately on questions of the same type) and learning their tendencies--understanding them--really helped my speed.  There's something to be said for doing tons of problems, but I focus more on the quality of the work you do with them.

[BrianBHarrison]

I feel a good mix is what you need.  Make sure you hit all your problem areas and do them untimed, but make sure you are taking timed prep tests at least once or twice a week now if you are taking the October LSAT.  I'm just saying that because if you still are doing all your practice untimed and aren't taking any practice tests then you might want to wait until December at this point.

It would be a little too late in the game to think that just doing a majority of untimed questions is really going to help you improve your speed that significantly this close to the test.  It may have three months ago, but right now - that's very risky.

[BrianBHarrison]

Anyone have specific suggestions for how to improve speed on each section? Accuracy isn't a major issue, but efficiency is. Any tips besiders just doing each question type over and over and over again? Or is that the best bet?

You will need a three-pronged approach of
1) Imposing a strict time limit in order to force you to finish faster (put the fire beneath the rope climber, as a proverb once said).
2) Focusing on types of questions you consistently get wrong and working out a game plan to work hard to get better at these questions or to just skip and come back to them
3) Taking lots of practice tests so that you can recognize patterns in answers and immediately recognize why an answer choice is wrong. This is a personal thing and that is really as far as I can explain it.

It will just “click” if you do enough tests. 

Sure sparky, it's a volume thing about brawn not brains, like chiseling nice abs and glutes.

Nice abs... I would like those!

Sit-ups. Now how you gonna get your tush in order?

No sit-ups.  Just do all dead lifts, clean and jerks, and lower back/glute muscles - power lifter style.  You can run for abs on the off season.

[DerekShiHarvard]

lol  off topic!