interestedintacos
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Too much practice?

by interestedintacos Wed Apr 27, 2011 2:58 am

I spent awhile getting all the logic games from test 1-38 down. I completed every game enough times spread out over months to master them and completed each section timed twice with good results. Now I've moved on to taking new game sections as parts of full practice tests from test 39 and on, and I've stuttered. The stress is huge and I'm missing obvious inferences I'm able to easily see right as I'm done struggling through a section. it just feels like a shock facing new logic games after working on the same ones for so long.All my techniques seem to be in order but in the stress of the test I bungle it all up, even though I've done many timed logic game sections. Has anyone else experienced something like this? Could practicing the same games for too long have a detrimental effect? Any advice for performing better?
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Re: Too much practice?

by ManhattanPrepLSAT1 Fri Apr 29, 2011 2:20 am

How significant is the score decrease? I'm sure it feels much harder as you're working though the section, but are you still answering fairly accurately.

Let me throw out what I perceive to be the biggest difference between LG from the "mid 90s - early 00s" and the LG of today. Back then key deductions played a larger role. If you could find a key deduction - often with a second order inference implied by the constraints themselves you could operate the game more effectively. Today it seems to be more fashionable to find frames. By noticing that the game must move in one of two or three ways, you can create frames that give you enough structure to operate the games more quickly.

Make sure you seize framing opportunities and get familiar with the various triggers to look out for that help establish frames. And finally always fight to stay flexible. If you've done a game once one way, ask yourself if there's a way to view a game from a different organizational or operational perspective, and try the game again. Build up a repertoire of flexible techniques, and have a set of expectations for each game type about how they'll likely "twist" the game.

Hope that helps, and let me know if you have further questions!