Time constraint training

[eddiebkim]

Hello!
Ive been studying for the LSAT with powerscore materials on my own and i am contacting to seek professional advice. Ive been scoring in the mid150s since the beginning and have not shown too much improvement. When i tackle each questions,difficult or not, i tend to get it correct butwhen i take a practice exam under timed conditions it seems i panic too much feeling pressured to finish the test..other than doing fewer questions to maximize accurcy is there a way to improve my score eventually, if i am aiming to finish the whole exam? Or is it even possible to train to maximize my accuracy while finishing each sections on time? Thank you! Hope to hear from you soon!
Sincerely

[KelseyWoods]

Hi Eddie!

I'll start by saying that it's perfectly normal to feel like you don't have enough time to complete the test. The LSAT is an accelerated exam which means that it isn't designed for the average test taker to finish in the time allotted. You definitely want to improve your speed and accuracy as you study, but in the end, your best strategy might be to skip a few questions (but still guess on them!) and make sure that the questions you get to, you do well.

That said, there are absolutely some things you should do as you practice to improve your timing. The first and foremost is: practice, practice, practice! Not the most original advice, I know, but the more you practice LSAT questions, the better you'll be able to understand the concepts and strategies and the more confident you'll be in your ability to complete them. Speed will follow from that. You clearly have a pretty good understanding of the questions already if you can do them well under un-timed conditions, but the more you practice, the more your understanding and confidence will deepen and the faster you'll be able to get through the questions.

I would also recommend continuing to review the materials to make sure you are remembering to apply all the different strategies correctly. Even though you may be able to eventually find the correct answer on your own, the strategies are designed to help you go through the stimulus and answer choices more efficiently. At first, it may feel like the strategies slow you down. But the more you practice them, the more they'll become second nature to you and you'll be able to apply them quickly.

It also sounds like you're experiencing a little anxiety when you take a test under timed conditions, which is also perfectly normal! The best way to deal with that type of anxiety is to just keep practicing under timed conditions. You should definitely be taking timed practice tests leading up to your exam, but it would also be good to work in some other timed practice. For instance, when you don't have time for a full exam, just take a timed 35 minute section. When you're working through a problem set, have a timer nearby and stay conscious of how much time you're spending on the questions. Keep the average times in mind: 1 min 25 sec per LR question, 8 min 45 sec per LG or RC passage. Again, these times are averages so it's okay if some questions take you a bit longer. But if all the questions are taking you considerably longer than those averages, you need to speed up your process.

Long story short: Keep practicing!

Hope this helps!

Best,
Kelsey