Advice on preparing for the flex in August

[cmorris32]

Hi PowerScore!

I am pretty excited that this August test is flex, although I'm concerned about finding a quiet place to take the test. As of now my college (Fordham University) is returning to in-person classes on August 26th. I suppose I will have to find a quiet place to take the exam in my 6-person dorm room, or maybe I will end up going home for the weekend. I am a first-time test taker, so I will definitely be using the $45 score preview option.

I was wondering if you could give me some advice on preparing for the flex in August. I just completed a PowerScore online course, and I also have read all of the Bibles. I have the workbooks and question type training. My goal score is 167-168 (GPA: 4.0). My most recent practice test was 161 (October 2013 Flex), with 96% accuracy on Logic Games, 69% on Logical Reasoning, 63% on Reading Comp. The one question in games that I missed was rule substitution. My weakest passage in reading comp was the comparative reading passage. The questions that I got wrong in LR were as follows: Assumption-SN (2), Flaw-SN (1), Flaw-CE (1), Must Be True (1), Parallel Flaw-FL (1), Strengthen-PR (1), and Weaken (1). I am studying 10-6 everyday, and the LSAT is basically the only thing I have going on over the summer.

My first question is, from now on should I only take flex exams as practice tests? Or is it advantageous to do a mix of both flex and regular tests still to increase my mental stamina?

My second question is, now that I know August is flex, should I split my time evenly between RC and LR?

My third question is, I am having a difficult time applying my improvements made in practice in RC to the actual practice tests. I have watched the Clinic and listened to the podcast about eliminating and identifying weaknesses, and I have done a variety of passages for each test. (The speed test is my main weakness.) However, when I get to the actual practice test, it seems like the improvements I made don't carry over.

My fourth question is, do you have any advice for not getting discouraged after getting a practice test result? I feel like after each practice test I am kind of bummed that I did not make a big improvement. However, it feels like the concepts are starting to come together more, and I am starting to really understand concepts such as conditional reasoning and causality.

Any advice that anyone could give is greatly appreciated. I'm so sorry this is so long!!!
- Caroline

[Stephanie Oswalt]

Hi Caroline!

Thanks for the post! Since there are multiple questions here, I moved your post to its own thread, to avoid confusion with the August Flex announcement. One of our instructors will respond below.

Thanks!

[cmorris32]

Hi Caroline!

Thanks for the post! Since there are multiple questions here, I moved your post to its own thread, to avoid confusion with the August Flex announcement. One of our instructors will respond below.

Thanks!

Thank you!

[Paul Marsh]

Hi Caroline! Nice job on your practice tests.

1) It comes down to preference, but I think a mix of both is probably helpful. Certainly take plenty of Flex tests to be comfortable with the format, but taking the occasional longer test to boost your stamina will likely be helpful. The actual test day is naturally more stressful and mentally draining, so having over-trained your endurance can only help in my opinion.

2) Since there's only one LR section on the Flex test, it makes sense to dedicate a bit less of your study time to LR than you would have for a "regular" test. However, I would still spend more time on LR than on RC. LR has so many question types, and it can take a serious amount of time to really master them all. In my experience, LR is the section where putting in those long study hours pays off the most.

3) I didn't see a question for this one, but it seems like you're looking for tips on how to get faster at RC? It's difficult to say without seeing your approach to RC passages. I'd strongly recommend signing up for a one time private session with one of our tutors, who can assess your approach and help you with specific things you can do to improve your speed. Just a general tip that I find helpful on saving time - after each paragraph, take a second before moving on to pause and think through what the main point and structure was of that paragraph (maybe jot down a quick note next to it). That way, when you get to the end of the passage you have a mental map of each paragraph. This should keep you from having to go back and re-read.

4) Great question. A couple things.

First, keep telling yourself that this takes time. Preparing for the LSAT is like learning to build a quality piece of furniture. First you have to gather all the furniture making tools (in LSAT terms, "gathering all the tools" means that you've learned all the concepts like conditional reasoning, causality, etc.). Then you need to read the manual of how to build the furniture (for the LSAT, this is equivalent to learning the correct approach to each question type). But just because you've now got the tools and read the manual, that doesn't mean that you're suddenly a master furniture builder! The first few pieces of furniture you build will still probably look pretty bad. You have to practice using those tools again and again until applying them to every situation is second nature. Only then can you actually build some decent furniture. This takes a huge amount of time and practice. So don't get discouraged because your score didn't shoot up right away when you learned all those concepts. Even if you were to have total conceptual mastery of the ideal way to approach every question on the LSAT - that wouldn't be the end of your studying, it's more like the half way point. You would still need to get to the point where you can apply that conceptual mastery effortlessly and quickly in practice, without even thinking about it. That can only come with consistent practice over a solid stretch of time. So keep at it!

Second, try to keep a process-based mindset about your studying. Don't think, "I need a higher score on this stupid test to get into law school and then I can forget about all this stuff". The LSAT is by far the best predictor of your law school grades; this is because the skills you're developing in order to do well on the LSAT are also absolutely critical to performing well in law school (and in your career as lawyer!). Being able to narrow in on the specifics of an argument, understanding precisely what two people are agreeing/disagreeing about, internalizing the main point/structure of a passage without needing to re-read it - all of these (and many more) are crucial tools in law school. My point is, you're not just studying for a test. You're working hard to develop the skills you'll need to succeed in school. If you can make that one of your primary goals, then I think it's easier to keep a positive mindset.

Hope that helps! Best of luck with your continued studying.

[cmorris32]

Thank you, Paul! That is very helpful advice. I really appreciate your response

[imanz]

Hi!

So, I've been studying for the LSAT since June. I just got done with all my initial prep (Powerscore bibles & initial practice tests). I was originally planning to take the LSAT in October and still somewhat am. However, I still signed up for the August flex because I'm not great at logical reasoning (I get 3-6 wrong per section each time), but I'm much much better at RC and LG. So, my question is now, should I model my practice tests like the flex or the in-person exam?

Also, side question: how do I get better at LR, specifically parallel reasoning and errors in reasoning?
Another note, I don't know if this is useful, but my last few practice scores have been (165, 164, 170, 166, 175 - I think this was a fluke)

[Stephanie Oswalt]

Hi imanz,

Thanks for your post! I moved your post to a very similar question about preparing for the Flex test that we received the other day. Please review the above advice, and let us know if that helps, or if you have additional questions!

Also, we have some great LSAT Podcasts that may give you some helpful info on how to improve on Parallel Reasoning and Flaw questions:
https://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/the-po ... questions/
https://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/lsat-p ... mon-flaws/
https://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/lsat-p ... mon-flaws/
https://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/lsat-p ... mon-flaws/

Thanks!