Improving on a 165

[marcdagr8]

For the background information:

I studied very casually for the past 2 months (maybe 5 hours a week) and I have been seriously studying for about a week now and I have not seen any change in my score.

I have read the Kaplan book and the power score logic games bible.

I usually miss 8-12 on the logic games, and this is due to time constraints. I figure that practice is the only real solution to this.

I typically miss 1-4 questions on both the reading comprehension and logical reasoning sections.

I am taking the June 2011 LSAT


Any advice on how to improve my score when I am scoring a 165-171 on practice exams? Also are there any books out there that are specific to the most difficult questions so that I don’t spend time working on concepts that I already understand?
Lastly is there a tool to analyze the results of my practice exams to help me focus my studying? I noticed a tool in the link sticky but the tool appears broken ("LSAT Computer Analysis - Analyzes your PrepTests with a breakdown of question types.").

[MikePing]

My experience is that there is a study plateau that is very common.  Typically people improve quickly with a little study and then level off.  The next significant level of improvement comes around 150 hours of study.  Keep plugging away, you will get better.

Otherwise, you might consider a live prep course.  I know its expensive, but if you improve a little more you are going to an elite law school.  Well worth the $1500...

[John1990]

you should read the powerscore logic reading bible.  After reading that you will be scoring 15-20 everytime. 

[marcdagr8]

I considered the powerscore logic reading bible but since I am only missing 1-4 questions on each logical reasoning section I was sure if that book was a good investment. I am concerned that with less than a month before I take the LSAT my time might be better spent with a resource that dosen't start from the beginning.

[BikePilot]

5hrs a week isn't a lot - put in some serious time every week, lots of practice and make sure to review all questions you get wrong so you know where you went wrong, and I think you'll improve a fair bit still.  Speed in the games comes with practice.  Accuracy in the rest comes down to understanding how the questions work.  After a reasonable bit of study and practice I rarely ever got LR or RC questions wrong.  I never did get quite quick enough at games to finish them all, but rarely got any I did finish wrong  - end result was good enough to go anywhere I wanted.  I was testing about like you about this far out.

[PreProBono]

Hi marcdagr8,

Can you give us an example of what you consider a difficult question?
We might be able to help you by uploading an answer to an specific question.

You are totally right on the logic games part. Practice makes perfect, so keep going! If it helps you in any way, we have uploaded on our website logic games from pretests 35-62 and we are continuing to build on. In the videos, you will find a full explanation on how to solve the game. If you have any games in particular that you are finding difficult to understand, we might have it up for you or you can let us know.

Good luck!

PreProBono
http://preprobono.wordpress.com/

[John1990]

sorry i meant the logic games bible haha, they teach you how to diagram and approach all the games

[marcdagr8]

sorry i meant the logic games bible haha, they teach you how to diagram and approach all the games

All over that one. There seems to be quite the consensus out there that the powerscore logic games bible is the best. I just took PrepTest 12, October 1994, and got 19 on the games section I have definitely improved significantly in this area.

[marcdagr8]

Hi marcdagr8,

Can you give us an example of what you consider a difficult question?
We might be able to help you by uploading an answer to an specific question.

You are totally right on the logic games part. Practice makes perfect, so keep going! If it helps you in any way, we have uploaded on our website logic games from pretests 35-62 and we are continuing to build on. In the videos, you will find a full explanation on how to solve the game. If you have any games in particular that you are finding difficult to understand, we might have it up for you or you can let us know.

Good luck!

PreProBono
http://preprobono.wordpress.com/

I actually found your videos on youtube. They have been very helpful on a couple of games where I missed important inferences. My biggest issue with the logic games is time, but I guess that I am not unique in that respect.

When reviewing my reading comprehension and logical reasoning questions  source of most of my errors seems to arise from two factors: incorrect determination of a main point sentence or missing a word that subtly changes meanings of the answer choices.

I saw a recommendation on another board of physically cutting out missed questions to allow for side by side comparison.

Once again thanks for the videos on the logic games, they rock!

[HYSHopeful]

Have you made any strides since last week?

The LGB is great, but are you using it properly?

See: How to use the LGB to improve your AR Score

also: What to do if you are struggling with LSAT logic games