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 Flo999
  • Posts: 1
  • Joined: Aug 27, 2017
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#38882
Hello, I'm reaching out on this forum because I would really appreciate some advice to help in my preparation for the upcoming September LSAT. With only about three weeks left to study, I'm beginning to feel really frustrated by the lack of improvement in my score. I'm attempting to score within the low to mid-170s and am still stuck in the mid to low-160s, with large fluctuations in scores with each practice test I take. I've been taking at least one practice test a week, sometimes two, and on the other days have been reviewing my exams as well as completing practice questions. I'm feeling a lot of pressure due to time constraints before the exam and feel I need some advice on how I can improve my studying in order to improve my score. Thanks!
 nicholaspavic
PowerScore Staff
  • PowerScore Staff
  • Posts: 271
  • Joined: Jun 12, 2017
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#38917
Hi Flo,

Thanks for the great question. Please know that upfront, I feel your frustration and I share it, whenever I encounter students in similar situations. Please also know that you aren't alone - many people preparing for this test have been where you are now.

Practice tests are a great way to check in with where we are at on our scores, but often, students can become overly focused on them at the expense of drilling their weaknesses. Successful identification of weaker areas of performance in certain question types is key for this exam and should be your primary area of focus. As is often said on here, don't think about the points or expend mental energy fretting over not doing your personal best with each practice test. Rather, focus on the process for each question. What does that mean? It means correctly identifying patterns of missed questions by question type and even question types which you may get right, but also were confused with.

For the practice tests that you have completed, try to focus on those weaknesses. Study the questions that you struggled with, that took time and caused confusion, even if you got them right, because you want to better understand them so that next time you encounter something like them you will be better equipped to handle them quickly and efficiently. Additionally, study the ones you missed to identify your weaknesses for much the same reason that you study the ones with which you struggled.

Additionally, put your analysis to good use through timed and untimed practice and focused study. If you see a pattern of missed questions in the second family (like strengthen, justify, and resolve), revisit the texts and practice questions to improve your grasp of the right strategies for those types. If you notice that a certain type of game - say, grouping/linear combination - went badly, return to your resources to review what makes those games tick and how to tackle them more efficiently. If you just dive into another practice test, you are much more likely to keep repeating the same mistakes instead of showing real improvement.

For more info on reviewing practice tests, take a look at these blog posts:

http://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/the-bes ... tice-tests

http://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/getting ... est-review

http://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/cogniti ... -be-stupid

Some of these have additional links within them that you might want to follow up with.

Look to other resources, too, like our free help area which has some study plans you can use and modify to your needs, and of course this forum to bounce ideas off of us or to read what others have already said about the questions, games and passages that have given them trouble.

Finally, consider taking a break if you are overworked and stressed. Sometimes, merely walking away from the test for a day and forgetting it's existence allows you the opportunity to recenter yourself and take up the study of the process in a new and more focused manner. Giving yourself a break from this test is absolutely essential to successful preparation.

In short, you got this! Be aware of your needs and focus on improvement rather than tracking every missed point. Have confidence the day of the test and have some fun with it. You are going to do great.

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