Practice tests/study plan for Sept LSAT

[shchoi]

Hello,

I'm aiming to take the September LSAT and wanted to seek advice about studying and taking practice tests.

I started reading the Bibles early this year and then I took the March online course taught by Ron (which has been absolutely great!) I wasn't able to finish the latter half of the course at the time, but I'm going back to the recordings now and taking the rest of it (Currently on Lesson 9). Also this month, I finished the four practice tests in the course packet. For the first three, I scored 164 or 165, but on the fourth, I got a 169 - I really hope that I can keep this up.

I'm planning to finish up the course as quickly as possible, do as many practice tests as I can under simulated conditions, and go back to concepts in the course as I review the practice tests. I think my biggest problem is concentration and pacing - I find myself glossing over sentences a lot without really registering what it means. Also on the games, I'm slow and tend to make a lot of mistakes (probably because I try to figure out things in my head or if I do diagram, it's messy and all over the place).

I wanted to know what you think about my plan and if you have any additional advice, given that there's just a month left. Also, what practice tests do you recommend that I do? (Should I do the more recent ones closer to the test date? How far should I go back? - I'm hoping I can do about 5 tests per week.) Do you recommend taking days off, or should I put in 4-5 hours everyday?

Thanks so much for reading my post. Studying with Powerscore has helped immensely, and I'll appreciate any advice you have for me!

Best,
Soo

[Lucas Moreau]

Hello, Soo,

I'd say you have a pretty good foundation of study habits already! I'm glad you've enjoyed your experience with PowerScore, and we always like to hear that we've helped a student prepare for the LSAT.

My first piece of advice is to make sure you're not studying *too* much. Studying for the LSAT can seem like a job all by itself, but if you already have a job, or classes, or both, you want to make sure you're not spreading yourself too thin. If you're doing 5 practice tests per week but you're not getting enough sleep at night, maybe take some of that time and have a nap instead. I personally did 2-3 practice tests per week until two weeks or so before my LSAT, but there's no hard number.

Of course, if your schedule allows it, there's nothing wrong with studying a lot! I would recommend breaking studying up into chunks of no more than two hours at a time (except for practice tests, of course), giving yourself an hour's break between study sessions to cool down. Marathoning for six, eight, ten hours at a time is not as efficient and won't stay in your memory as well as if you take regular breaks.

Focus on individual question types that give you trouble, look at results from your practice tests to determine which question types to spend your time on and which ones you only need touch on lightly. I recommend also doing at least one full timed section for practice each day, regardless of and in addition to everything else you do, in the section type you regularly score the lowest in.

As far as concentration and pacing, that may be a question of endurance and stamina. Get some rest and refresh yourself before the next practice test, make a special point of it, and see if you go further than you have. Otherwise, just keep building stamina by doing practice tests. You might also try running a capped pen or pencil eraser under the words as you read, like underlining without making marks, to give your eyes something to track.

Hope that helps,
Lucas Moreau

[shchoi]

Dear Lucas,

Thank you so much for your reply and helpful advice!
Should I prioritize doing the most recent practice tests? (like finishing all the take-home practice tests in the student center)

Best,
Soo

[Ron Gore]

Hi Soo!

I'm glad to see the course is going well for you.

The question about how to prioritize the practice tests is quite common. Any test released since June 1991, the beginning of the LSAT's modern era, will be good practice, though certainly the test has changed over time.

The more recent tests will tend to have more difficult Reading Comprehension questions, and more difficult Logical Reasoning questions as well. As a specific LR example, Justify the Conclusion questions have gotten more difficult over the years, although the basic task is the same.

That example carries through the rest of the test as well. The basic task of each of the question types has essentially stayed the same since June 1991, which is why the tests back to June 1991 are still good practice.

So, save the most recent tests for the last week or so, to make sure that you are taking practice tests that are most like what you'll experience on test day just before the test. But feel free to jump around among any of the tests in the last five years or so in the ordinary course of your practice, adding in sections from some of the much older tests to give you the fifth, experimental section.

Best of luck in your studies, and please let me know if I can help further!

Ron