LSAT Retake

[LSAT Hopeful]

Hi Powerscore,

I began studying for the LSAT in late May with the Princeton Review's 165+ course. My diagnostic was a 137 and my highest score so far has been a 157 (although my average is a 153) and my target score is a 165. The prep course ended in July so since then, I'd been studying on average 5-8 hours a day/ 6 times a week. I wrote the August LSAT-flex on the 31st and I'm not too confident about my score so I am planning on retaking the test. I am registered to write the October LSAT-flex (which would give me a little over 3 weeks to prep), but I am strongly considering withdrawing and taking the November LSAT to give me more time for preparation. RC is currently my worst section. I struggle with the "prepare" step (so reading the passage and understanding the structure, tone and purpose of the passage) and the inference and reasoning questions. I usually take 5-6 mins and it takes at least 10 minutes to get through the questions, so I only end up getting through 2-2.5 passages. I know that I will need to review my strategy for reading comp (especially when it comes to speed- I have the accuracy but I am aiming for at least 3 passages), and I'm not sure if that is something that can be accomplished in 3 weeks. For Arguments, I am usually attempting 15-18 questions per section and my accuracy ranges from -2 to -4. I am really good at determining the question type, but I struggle a lot with understanding the stimulus (mentally separating the premises from the conclusion and understanding what's wrong with the argument and what I need to do to fix it) and pacing. Sometimes, I find myself reading the stimulus 2-3 times or reading it once or twice and looking through the answer choices and then going back and reading again, which wastes way too much time. My best section is logic games. My accuracy ranges from -2 to -6 depending on whether I make it to the final game. I started using the Logical Reasoning Bible about a week and a half before the August test and I found it very useful so I plan on using that to review for arguments. But, I know that for arguments and reading comp there are a lot of basic skills that I need to improve on before I can see significant improvement. Taking all that into account, I wanted to know if you all think it's feasible for me to get a 165 if I write in October (I just started school so I know that my course load won't be as rigorous, and I'd be working at least 8 hours a week, which would give me a lot of time to study) or if it would be smarter to write in November (I am applying to Canadian law schools so applications are due November 1st, and then school work usually picks up around then so I don't want to burn myself out - although starting now would ensure that I could spread things out). I know I'd be more prepared if I wrote in November, but it's annoying because I already registered for the October test and the refund's only 50usd, so re-registering for November would mean that I'd be wasting a lot of money. Also, if anyone has any advice on what I can do to improve specifically on reading comp (or any names of RC tutors) that'd be very much appreciated:)) I've heard that I should highlight or take notes, but I find highlighting structural words and things I see in the question stems to be really helpful.

Sorry that this is so long and for adding all of these details by the way, I just thought it'd help to better understand my situation.

Thank you!

[Luke Haqq]

Hi LSAT Hopeful!

Thanks for the thorough explanation, and happy to offer some advice on the questions you raise.

LSAT Test Date

Given that you mention that you're currently able to be "studying on average 5-8 hours a day/ 6 times a week," my opinion on your question of the October versus November test is that you should certainly lean toward October. If a person is retaking the test and has the time, it seems best to keep up the momentum/start it back up and hit it hard for three weeks of crunch time. Expanding it out to November makes it quite likely that studying will be somewhat lesser in intensity and energy in studying, even if it's for the same number of hours per day. Additionally, expanding out to that date pushes back the time that an admissions committee will make a decision on your application; for many schools, this means that spots are starting to fill up.

Reading Comprehension

You write,

RC is currently my worst section. I struggle with the "prepare" step (so reading the passage and understanding the structure, tone and purpose of the passage) and the inference and reasoning questions. I usually take 5-6 mins and it takes at least 10 minutes to get through the questions, so I only end up getting through 2-2.5 passages.

Regarding preparation, first, it's important to pause after reading a passage and use PowerScore's VIEWSTAMP acronym (Viewpoints, Structure, Tone, Arguments, and Main Point). Many people move straight from reading a passage into the questions, which is understandable given the time pressure. However, it's worth taking a moment after having read a passage to reflect on what you just read--and the VIEWSTAMP acronym provides a great structure for doing so. This certainly doesn't need to be as long as one would spend on logic games in the process of diagramming and finding inferences. Rather, even if you spent 15 seconds after reading a passage to digest and organize it, that can give you a significant leg up when you start on the questions.

Second, given that LSAT administrations are currently in the LSAT-Flex format, I've suggested to some of the students I tutor that they might find it helpful to draw a box for each paragraph on their scratch piece of paper. This is because marking up key aspects of the passage (definitions, enumerated lists, examples, etc.) is important for being able to find what you're looking for quickly, when you're doing the questions. Since all one is able to do on the LSAT-Flex is highlight text (as well as flag questions), drawing a box for each paragraph allows you to make much more nuanced notations if you want to. So, for example, if a new viewpoint is given at the bottom of the first paragraph, then on the scratch paper, you could write a "Va" or "Vx" (for "author's viewpoint" and "Person X's viewpoint") next to the bottom of the first box on your scratch paper.

Finally, consider doing the passages out of order. In particular, since you mention that you are getting to 2-2.5 passages, I'd recommend starting with the comparative reading section. People tend to find these often among the easier types to address--e.g., one is facing less of a wall of text but rather two smaller chunks, and many find the compare/contrast questions about similarities or differences between the passages to be more approachable question types. Starting with those will therefore hopefully ensure you get fully through an otherwise doable passage (rather than leaving those points on the table). This also can also set the pace and give you more confidence for the remainder of the passages. You can then either start from the beginning and go through the passages in order, or you can spent 5 or so seconds flipping through and choosing topics that interest you. Again, this helps prioritize passages so that you get to the most approachable ones--and hopefully this will also enable you to reach the goal of confidently getting through 3 rather than 2-2.5 passages.

Arguments

You write,

I am usually attempting 15-18 questions per section and my accuracy ranges from -2 to -4. I am really good at determining the question type, but I struggle a lot with understanding the stimulus (mentally separating the premises from the conclusion and understanding what's wrong with the argument and what I need to do to fix it) and pacing. Sometimes, I find myself reading the stimulus 2-3 times

Similar to my advice about RC, many students seem to undervalue the process of stopping after reading the stimulus/passage. Rather than reflecting about VIEWSTAMP and the structure of what one read, in arguments it's critical to try to pre-phrase answers as one is reading the stimulus and in light of the question stem. While you are reading the first time through, for instance, if you spot a flaw you should try to identify it (e.g., was it circular reasoning? mixing up sufficient and necessary conditions? is there a new element in the conclusion not found in the premises?). With the question stem in hand, you can additionally seek to try to pre-phrase a response. For example, if it is a weaken question involving causal reasoning, there are 5 main ways to do this (show the cause without the effect, show the effect without the cause, show an alternative cause, show that the causal relationship is reversed, show that there is a problem with the data). Having those 5 things memorized in the background should be helpful in giving you a starting point for pre-phrasing on specific questions. As with the fundamentally important goal of identifying the conclusion whenever they exist in stimuli, aiming to pre-phrase also should help you be more engaged when you read it the first time and hopefully decrease the chance that you re-read and consequently lose time.

Logic Games

You mentioned that your "accuracy ranges from -2 to -6 depending on whether I make it to the final game." That's a great range to be in! Comparatively, it certainly seems that games are your strongest. At the same time, many find it the best section to make headway in a relatively short amount of time in gaining points. In your case, it would seem like that goal would involve comfortably getting through all of the games. Given the range of the number wrong on your games sections (which is typically the shortest section, around 22-23 questions), it certainly seems worthwhile to continue to work on those (perhaps focusing on more advanced concepts like stacked variables or numerical distributions) so that you were instead more in the -2 to -3 range.

[LSAT Hopeful]

Thank you so much for your detailed advice!

[LSAT Hopeful]

Also, quick question about reading comp, would you recommend writing down the main point of each paragraph in addition to the VIEWSTAMP method with the boxes? Or to just focus, on the main point of the passage as a whole? And then revisit each paragraph if needed to answer the questions?

[KelseyWoods]

Hi LSAT Hopeful!

To fully understand the main point of the passage as a whole, I think it is important to understand the main point of each paragraph as well (each of those paragraphs is there for a reason--to support the main point of the passage!). This also goes back to VIEWSTAMP--"Structure" involves knowing what the main point of each paragraph is.

I recommend taking each passage one paragraph at a time to make sure that you are really tracking what's going on as you read and not getting lost in the in the full passage. After each paragraph, I would pause to think about what the main point of the paragraph is. Note that sometimes when students are trying to identify the main point of the paragraph, they try to summarize everything that's in the paragraph. But it's important to focus more so on the purpose of that paragraph and the type of information it provides, rather than getting too bogged down in specifics. You should definitely go back to the passage to answer questions so fully understanding all of the specifics is unnecessary. When identifying the structure of the passage, you should be focused on understanding the passage as a whole and knowing which paragraphs to come back to for what kind of information. So describe the main point of a paragraph as "describes the mechanism of embryo polarity" rather than "embryo polarity occurs when..." It's not about capturing all of the details within the paragraph; it's about thinking about why that paragraph is there, how it fits in with the passage as a whole, and what type of information you would come back to that paragraph to find. In that same vein, when you are reading paragraphs, think about how they connect with the other paragraphs you've read so far. For example, you might end up describing the structure of a passage as: "the prevailing viewpoint of most scientists," "new evidence from a small group of researchers that challenges the prevailing viewpoint of most scientists in the 1st paragraph," "the author's argument as to why this new evidence from paragraph 2 does not conclusively disprove the prevailing view of most scientists in paragraph 1."

So understanding the main point of each paragraph is key. But whether you write out the main point of each paragraph is more of a question of personal preference/needs. Personally, I always think about the main point of each paragraph and I attempt to underline a phrase or sentence that reminds me of what that main point is. For me, that's sufficient. But I have had other students who are very successful at RC who write out the main point of each paragraph because it helps force them to really think about it and they find it is easier to keep track of that information. There is no one perfect way to diagram a passage that works for everyone. It's about finding what works best for you specifically. I usually encourage students to experiment with a few different ways and really think about whether what they are doing is helpful to understanding the passage and/or to going back to the passage to answer questions. For you, I would probably start by writing out the main point of each paragraph when you're practicing to train yourself to always look for it. Once you've got the hang of it, you can decide whether or not it's something you need to always write out or not.

Tl;dr: Definitely think about the main point of each paragraph. Whether or not you write out the main point of each paragraph is up to you!

Hope this helps!

Best,
Kelsey