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About
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(page 4 of 4, from
Chapter 1 of the LSAT
Center Course)
1. Intro to the LSAT 2. LSAT Scores 3. LSAT Sections 4. Test Taking tips
7 Tips for the LSAT
1. Your college
background will provide some help
The LSAT is not a test of academic
knowledge, such as legal history. Nevertheless, taking the right
classes can help polish the mental skills that the LSAT tries
to measure. For example, courses in philosophy, ethics, history,
literature and political science will improve your reading and
reasoning (for the Logical Reasoning and Reading Comprehension
sections). Taking classes in formal logic will offer some help
in the Logic Games section, but that section will be most strongly
affected by the intensity of your LSAT preparation.
2. Don't expect
to get everything right!
On a typical college test,
you are barely passing if you get 65% of the questions correct.
On the LSAT, however, that score would put you in the 75th percentile
(higher than 75% of the students taking the test). Understanding
this helps to put things into perspective:
- You don't need to respond correctly
to every question to attain a "perfect" score of 180.
In fact, you can get 2 or 3 wrong.
- If you get 75% of the LSAT questions
correct, you will score higher than 90% of all test takers.
- If you get 50% of the LSAT questions
correct, you will score higher than 40% of all test takers.
On
the LSAT, all the questions count the same. The hardest question
you see on the LSAT will count as much as the easiest question.
This means that if encounter a very hard question, you should
cut your losses and skip it (you can always go back to it later
if you are finished with the test).
3. Never leave bubbles
empty
In the last minute before
the test is over, make sure to hurry back and fill in all of the answer bubbles! There is no penalty for
incorrect answers, so you have nothing to lose by filling in
all the bubbles randomly. If you have to fill in 10 bubbles,
odds are that you will get two right. That could make the difference
between a score of 157 and a 159.
4. Some students
shouldn't try to do all the questions
If a good score (75th
percentile) only requires getting 65% of the questions right,
why aim to get all the questions correct? If you reasonably expect
to get a score of about 151 (50th percentile), then you should
alter your strategy and slow down.
The optimal approach
for most test takers is to not even try many of the questions.
You are better off trying fewer questions and giving each question
a full effort rather than hurrying through the section to "see"
all questions. Many
questions have trap answers that are specifically designed to
catch students who try to hurry through questions, so you are
better off going slowly.
If you want to take more time on questions and attempt fewer,
try doing only three of the four games in the Logic Games section
and skip the one you feel least comfortable with.
5. Practice under
similar conditions
How
does Tiger Woods, one of the most successful golf players of
his generation, prepare for the high-stakes/high-nerves game
of golf? He always tries to practice exactly as if it were a
real tournament.
When you practice for the LSAT,
use the same approach.
- Write on the test paper itself
(use it as scratch paper), just as you would on test day (to
scratch out eliminated answer choices or draw figures).
- Try taking the entire test,
just as you would on test day, not just one section at a time.
- Use the same silent watch that
you would use on test day
- Practice at a desk (preferably
in the morning) in a crowded room, just like test day
6. P.O.E
The
key strategy to answering questions is P.O.E. (process of elimination).
In the Reading Comprehension and Logical Reasoning sections,
many of the answer choices can be justified with some "creativity."
It's a much better strategy to focus on why answers are wrong rather than why answers are correct. Skim the answer choices
and cross out answer choices that are incorrect or have flaws.
A big asset going into test
day is knowing that one of the five possible answers must be
right. If you can eliminate two of the choices, you can increase
you chances of getting the right answer by 65% (from 20% [1 in
5] to 33% [1 in 3]). Eliminate answer choices that you know are
wrong. Even if you don't know the right answer, you can often
tell that some of the answer choices are wrong.
7. Keep your pencil
moving
The LSAT is long and overwhelming. During
this time, students will start to lose concentration, their eyes
will glaze over and they will stare at the questions without
absorbing anything. You must try to remain focused and aggressively
read the text of your questions. Keep your pencil moving to help
yourself stay focused. If there is anything the LSAT tests, it
is raw determination.
Final note:
The LSAT requires tremendous self-discipline.
You will be competing against thousands of students across the
country who will put hundreds of hours into the LSAT.
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