Getting Started

The 07-08 LSAT season get underway in less than two weeks and heralds the beginning of the law school application cycle. Your LSAT score is an extremely important element of your application and you should put as much effort as possible into earning your best possible score. There are a number of options that are available to prospective law students but I'll start by focusing on the cheapest option: self-studying.


Unless you've got a knack for it (and confidence in that knack) you're going to need to familiarize yourself with the test and learn the techniques for mastery.

Materials.

-Powerscore's Logic Games Bible
-Powerscore's Logic Reasoning Bible
-Nova's Master the LSAT (for its Reading Comprehension Section)
-The Official LSAT Super Prep. (Written by the writers of the LSAC)
-LSAC Preptests 1-51(as many of these as you can get your hands on)
-Get Prepped's LSAT Answers & LSAT Explained
-an analog watch (electronic timers have been banned banned due to concerns about unfair advantages conferred)


1. Give yourself time. If you're serious about your LSAT score (and you should be) it would be in your best interest not to wait until the day before the test (or the week before, for that matter) to kick your study in to high gear. Can last minute study result in a high score? Yes, but the odds are against you.

2. Take the most recent LSAT timed and as close to test conditions as possible. The goal of a diagnostic is to ascertain how you'd stack up to the current test. While taking an older LSAT is sure to be helpful, it does not give you the information you need, which is, "If I take this test tomorrow, how would I do?"

3. Use the score from your diagnostic as a road map. Do not be discouraged by your score; it's an indicator of how far you have to go and not the furthest you can go. Note:

-the amt. of questions you got wrong in each section.
-your rhythm throughout the sections - were you strapped for time?
-any questions you found particularly difficult

4. Pattern your study to your performance. Everyone sees the LSAT differently; for some its two breezy LR sections, and a manageable RC followed by a killer games section; others conquer the Logic games and RC with mechanical ease only to be baffled by the LR. Tackle the section that gave you the most trouble during your diagnostic first. This is important because gains made here will not only increase your potential LSAT score but it will increase your confidence.

5. Work through your "technique book" of choice methodically. Whether it be the LGB, LRB or NOVA, understanding and not speed should be your aim at this point. My recommendation is to "repeat a chapter, add a chapter". What this means is instead of moving through the book in a linear fashion, you add the subsequent chapters to your review. You work through chapter 1, but instead of moving on to chapter two immediately, you review chapter one and then work on chapter two. At the end of chapter two, instead of moving on to chapter three, you review chapter one and two and then work on chapter three. You'll need to photocopy the exercises in the chapters so that you can work through them repeatedly, but this method is sure to garner you huge returns. Both Bibles and the Nova RC section are several hundred pages long, so it should be evident why giving yourself time to prepare for the exam is important.

6. After the completion of the "technique books", move on to the Super Prep book. Work through the Preptests and pay close attention to the explanations and the reasoning behind the correct answer selection. This book is a valuable resource, because the tips it contains come straight from the horse's mouth. The Preptests that are dissected are not very recent, but the reasoning and the techniques used for problem solving are dead on.

7. Start working through the Preptests. You can start at Preptest 1 and go on from there or you can jump around a little. Either way, be sure to reserve at least a few of the more recent tests for use during the review time leading up to the test. When you start taking Preptests, it's okay to be a little lenient, at this stage you're familiarizing yourself with the questions. Take some sections untimed; give yourself an extra minute or two; break up Preptests into manageable mini-tests if need be. Mark those questions that gave you trouble. The bulk of the older Preptests are available in three books: 10 Actual, Offical Preptests, 10 More..., and The Next 10...etc. The newer preptests are available singly as Preptests 39-51, but after the administration of the June 06' LSAT, a new "10 book" became feasible if not guaranteed. Purchased from LSAC, the "10 books" are $20 apiece and the the individual Preptests are $8 each. You can also find them used at lower prices on Amazon, Ebay and other sites of that nature.

8. Review the Preptests you've taken. This is a critical step during self-study. Know why your incorrect answers are incorrect and more importantly know how to make them correct. Similarly with your correct answers, know the reasoning that makes the correct answer the credited response. The "Getted Prepped" books are helpful here as they provide answers and explanations for each question. They are keyed to the "10 More.." and Next 10..." books. Be judicious with your use of the Get Prepped books however, try your best to uncover the reasoning on your own before consulting them.

9. Work on your timing. Once you're comfortable ( not necessarily getting the better of) with the questions, it's time to apply the time pressure. Become accquainted with your watch. Time (or lack thereof) is a huge element of the LSAT. You should know from your untimed sections that with an indeterminate amount of time you'll eventually puzzle through even the most difficult of questions. Now with your technique in place, turn your attention to your timing. You have approximately:

-8:45 for each game

Do the easiest games first. By now you know which type of games are easy for you and which tend to give you more trouble. Play to your strengths not your weaknesses.

-8:45 for each reading comp passage

Figure out what works for you. Do you skim then reread pertinent parts as questions come up? Do you read deeply, underline and then solve the questions? Experiment until you find a system that works for you.

-1:25 for each LR question.

Here the difficulty is variable, but generally questions 1-12 are simple, questions 12- 20 are tricky and the later questions tend to be longer. Parallel reasoning questions, which are huge time drains, are sprinkled in indiscriminately. Try to save those for last along with any questions that baffle you. Come back to them when you have completed the other questions. Logic reasoning makes for half of your score, try your best to master it as the impact of a misunderstood concept or recurring mistake is multiplied by two.

10. Take stock. In the week or two leading up to the test, you should know how you stand. Review your "technique books" as necessary to brush up on skills. If you've been conscientious with your self-study, you should be feeling good about the test. Now is not the time to be frantically trying new methods; you should be focused on building your confidence by performing within your score range consistently on recent tests. Retake the preptest you used for your diagnostic as a confidence booster.