Self-Studying for the LSAT

[Rachelxplores]

Hello, I’m currently self studying for the LSAT and then I’ll consider taking a course or getting a private tutor depending on several factors.

For people who have self studied in the past or are self studying. When reading through the chapters are you highlighting and typing notes to help remember improbateur concepts to review them after or are you reading and going straight into practice? I’m currently going through the LRB. At first I was reading the chapter and highlighting important stuff then I would type up my notes to help with retaining information which I found really helped and then I would review my typed notes which I found helped me break things down a lot easier and made the information easier to digest. The only problem with this is that it’s time consuming. I could continue doing this but I’m wondering how others have self studied in the past with the power score Bibles. I’m thinking of now just giggling and taking notes within the actual bibles while doing some drills and practice test on the side and just reading the things I’ve read and highlighted. I guess typing was also convenient because I could carry my notes in an iPad which is a lot easier to carry then the bibles. Any insight would be greatly appreciated! Thank you

[Rachael Wilkenfeld]

Hi Rachel,

Great question (and great name )

One thing that I always start with is thinking about how you have learned best in the past. Different people have different preferences. But you aren't thinking about how you learned information in the past---this isn't really a test of information---you need to think about how you learn skills. How did you learn to swim? How did you learn to drive? You can't just learn from reading/note taking. You have to jump in and do the practice!

Practice can be scary. You'll get things wrong. You'll make mistakes. But that's the point! The practice shows you what you've learned, and what you still need to practice. What steps sink into your head automatically? What steps are less intuitive for you? The only way to really know is to try. It's one thing to read all about prephrasing, but until you try it in practice, you won't recognize how it's hard for you personally. Does your brain try to rush through to the answers? Do you freeze trying to come up with a prephrase? Are you too specific? Too general? That's the goal of practice.

It's tempting to want to know ALL the things before diving into practice, but it actually is going to be much harder for you to do that if you are trying to practice all the skills at once. Going through reading then practice back to back will help you solidify your knowledge, and build your skills. If you feel like you HAVE to have a big picture view before trying any questions, do a quick read through the text, then a slower pass through the bibles where you intersperse practice with study.

Keep up the great work!