Test Anxiety

[LSATer]

Hello,

I have completed the Powerscore comprehensive full-length course and I am currently studying for the June LSAT. My biggest challenge right now is that when I take timed practice sections, I get disoriented, I lose focus and I get very anxious where I miss silly questions and I don't finish the section. I understand that this may be a mental obstacle, but any advice and/or suggestions you may have is appreciated.

I spend the first half of my day taking timed practiced sections 3 total (Reading comp, LG and LR) and then I spend the rest of the day reviewing concepts and my mistakes. Starting next week, I will take a full practice exam every other day, doing reviews in between. Do you think that's a good plan of action?

Thank you in advance,

LSATer

[Steven Palmer]

Hi LSATer,

Test anxiety is very common among LSAT takers. At PowerScore, we believe that a positive mental outlook is the most important part of conquering test anxiety. You don't want to view the test as a scary or terrible event, but instead as an enjoyable puzzle. Focus on mastering it in the way you would master a crossword puzzle.

You also want to visualize yourself working hard and attaining your target score. Personally, I put sticky notes with my target score all over my apartment, so that I would constantly be reminded of my goal. Come test day, I achieved my target score!

I would also recommend practicing in the same environment as you will be taking the test. If you could take the practice tests at the school you'll be testing at, that is ideal. Above all, just relax and focus on positive thinking, and you'll do great!

As far as your practice plan goes, I would make sure of two things. First, you don't want to run out of material. Make sure you have enough tests so that you won't have to do anything over while practicing. Second, you want to avoid burnout, as well as maximize the benefits you get from practice. So, I would make sure you are not doing so much that you become too tired/burnt out to keep working up to the test. I would also suggest tailoring your schedule to increase as you get to the test. The 6 weeks prior, and especially month prior to the test should be the most intense. Be sure to plan so that that month is the most intense.

Best of luck!

Steven

[Dave Killoran]

Hi LSATer,

Thanks for the message! We've been pre-occupied handling Harvard's announcement about taking the GRE otherwise we would have gotten back to you sooner.

Let's start with the test mentality part of your email, since I feel as though that's the bigger concern here. When you say that "I get disoriented, I lose focus and I get very anxious where I miss silly questions and I don't finish the section," that makes me concerned because if that happens on a practice test, chances are even higher that it happens on the real test and could even more worse. Plus, because you know this exists, it actually undermines the other studying you do as well since it's always in your mind as you learn. So, you want to start thinking about your performance and your mental state daily. You need to re-orient your approach so as to de-emphasize the significance of this test. It's likely that right now you look at the exam as a life-altering event, and one that in certain ways reflects and defines your academic ability (and perhaps even your intelligence). None of that is true though So, before I go further in talking about hose ideas, I'll let you tell me how you are viewing this test. Second, I'm going to refer you to some of the writings I and other instructors here have made about test mentality: http://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/5-days- ... ource-list. I want you to think of that collection of seminars and articles as a shaping tool—no single one of them will by itself change your performance or outlook, but if you let all of the ideas marinate collectively, they will begin to slowly change your outlook and once that process begins, keep working at it. You need to de-emphasize the importance of this exam in your mind and downplay its prominence. It won't happen overnight, but that's ok; just take it slowly.

As for your specific plan of action, I'm a big fan of taking practice test and reviewing your performance so I'm good with what you've proposed. The biggest mistake I see is that students do a lot of questions, but don't properly review the questions they have complete (both correct and incorrect). So, we put together a list of all things related to taking PTs, including how to best review them: http://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/the-ult ... ource-list. check out the "How to analyze Your Results" section, especially the first link.

Thanks!

[LSATer]

Thank you both for the feedback. I took the weekend to read through all the blogs in the two links you sent me. I know it will take some time, but the material has really helped me in knowing that I am not alone in this. I have made this test my life and I think that's where some of the anxiety is stemming from. I recognize that I need to really stop and breathe. I have all the resources I need to do well on the test. Also, I realized that I have been reviewing the practice tests/sections completely wrong. I have only been practicing on the questions that I missed and I should be reviewing all my work in its entirety to fully make sure that I understand what I am doing. So this week, rather than taking more tests, I am going to go back and review everything that I have done until this point.

One of the quotes in the blog that really stood out to me is, " I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times. I think changing my perspective of studying (focus on the quality not the quantity) will help my understanding, confidence and improvement.