Retake Advice for June '13 LSAT

[andiep]

Hello,

I am seeking advice on a specific schedule to follow for the next 4 months in preparation for the June LSAT. I took the December 2012 LSAT for the first time and did terrible (140). I took the Powerscore Online course that lasted from mid September to the end of November. But with 2 jobs, grad school work, and other factors I was unable to diligently keep up with all the materials and homeworks provided; leaving me to take the Dec. LSAT completely unprepared mentally and academically. It was a lot of material, which is great and helpful, but it was overwhelming to organize it all effectively with my previous schedule.

I suppose the fact that I only did 3 practice tests prior to the actual test was not the best approach either. But now that I have cleared my frenetic schedule and am not as busy and have quite a bit of time until June, I am confident--with a good, systematic study schedule and complete focus--that I can substantially improve my score to the 150s.

If there is any advice that can be shared, I would highly appreciate it!

Thanks,

AD

[Adam Tyson]

I think you've already hit on the big ideas that you need to embrace to get ready - make more time for studies, review the course material, take more practice tests. I'm guessing that you no longer have access to the online student center to allow you to review the lesson recaps, etc.? If you do have that access, I would start back at the beginning - review a lesson, do the material in the course book including all the homework, then do that again. After a few lessons, take a practice test, immediately score it and analyze it to see where you have room to improve, and study those area again. Then do it all again with the next few lessons.

If you don't have access any more, you at least still have the books, so work through them systematically, and take lots of practice tests along the way. Start slow - one per week for now, so you don't burn out or run out of tests. In April ramp that up to two per week, and in May 3 per week, all while studying what you've done right as well as where you may have fallen into traps.

PowerScore has some great additional resources, including this forum, the various Bibles, and other books, including books full of practice tests. There is also tutoring, of course - call the home office to inquire about that if it's something you want to know more about.

Good luck! With the right plan, and with dedication to the work, the increase you are looking for is completely within your reach.

Adam

[andiep]

Thank you for your helpful response!

I just checked and I still have access to the online lessons. Would you recommend to go over each lesson in its entirety? I ask because I am not sure whether to start over and review each part of the lesson, or look over it and focus solely on taking more practice tests since I failed to do so last time. If that is the case, I purchased a book full of complete LSAT exams, so that I can take plenty of practice tests from here until June.

Also, I have been advised by some friends who did really well to take different sections and time myself, then go over the questions I missed. How much weight should I place on taking on such an approach?

Thank you for your insight,

AD

[Nikki Siclunov]

Dear AD,

Sounds like you have all that it takes to make the next few months as productive as possible: the Powerscore course-books, access to the student center, and - above all - time. Here's how I'd structure my study plan:

1. Take another diagnostic test. If you haven't been exposed to the LSAT in awhile (and it sounds like your last rendez-vous with the test was back in December), it's always a good idea to draw another line in the sand, so to speak.

2. Spend at least a few weeks going over every single lesson in our course. By that, I mean literally re-do the Lesson questions, then read thoroughly the methodological overviews provided in each Homework section before proceeding with the homework questions. Since you're scoring in the 140's, I bet you still don't have a solid foundation with at least some the concepts being tested on the exam (conditional reasoning, causation, logical fallacies, etc.). Don't ignore the marathon sets in the later lessons - do them timed, if at all possible. The rest of the homework should, generally, be untimed.

3. When doing your homework, make sure to review thoroughly every single question you missed. Good news - they are all explained online! Use these explanations to your advantage, and try to alter your approach to resemble ours as much as possible (not saying we always have an answer for everything, but as far as the LSAT goes - I think we've pretty much nailed it

3. Download the supplemental sections from the Student Center - they contain hundreds of additional questions for you to practice with. You mentioned practicing with test sections timed separately - I think that's a wonderful idea. Just make sure you thoroughly review each question you miss.

4. Start taking practice tests. The sooner the better, but make sure to cover your conceptual basics first. I'd say 1-2 tests/week should be enough. Here's how you should take each test:

1. While taking a practice test, notate any question you had trouble with. Even if it later turns out that you got the question right, it pays to review that question again.

2. When scoring your test, mark the questions you missed without indicating the correct answer choices in your booklet.

3. Do something else for a few hours to clear your head - do not review the test immediately after it's done.

4. Re-do all the questions you missed, and try to figure out the correct answers to these questions on your own.

5. Review all missed questions against the correct answers, including any questions you had trouble with. Identify the reason(s) why you struggled with these questions: was it the wording of the stimulus or the conclusion? Maybe you did not understand the structure of the argument? Did you misunderstand the question stem? Perhaps you failed to prephrase a reasonably good answer to that question? If the stimulus contained conditional or causal reasoning, did you have an issue with the diagram? Was the answer you chose a common "decoy" answer for such types of questions?

6. Using your homework and any supplemental questions available at your disposal, identify similar questions or games to the ones you struggled with. The similarity may be as simple as identifying similar question stems, or as involving as figuring out what aspects of the argument you struggled with the most (conditional or causal reasoning, numbers/#, formal logic, etc.)

7. Over time, you should start seeing patterns in the types of questions you are missing. These patterns should help you hone in on your weaknesses and address them well before the test date.

That's it... and throughout this process, don't hesitate to get in touch with us if you need any help! That's what we're here for.

[moshei24]

Just to be sure you understood Nikki correctly: after taking the first diagnostic, spend a few weeks getting the concepts well before taking another practice test. I think that's what he meant. If he didn't, my bad, but that's still my two cents. Get at least a solid foundation before diving into full tests.

Good luck! And also, don't burnout. Take few day breaks if you feel yourself getting overwhelmed.