Preparation for the Exam

[KwakuS]

Hello,

I am taking the LSAT on August 14, and my PowerScore prep opened on May 12. I was coming back from finals then so I didn't really start studying hard until recently. I completed the first lesson and did the homework but I now realize that I made a couple mistakes in starting out. I started without a long term plan, which was a problem because I was not sure exactly what to do when and how to incorporate the supplemental material. Now, it's the first week of June and I'm a little worried because I'm not exactly sure if I can get everything in on time.

What are general suggestions for moving in the right direction? I've started working on a long-term plan with a goal of 6 hours of study a day. Is that too much? I notice though that the lessons are three hours, the homework questions do not take more than four hours in a week for one lesson. Should I be looking for extra practice questions to fill up the time? And how important are the supplemental materials and podcasts to our study?

Thanks,
Kwaku

[Stephanie Oswalt]

Hello,

I am taking the LSAT on August 14, and my PowerScore prep opened on May 12. I was coming back from finals then so I didn't really start studying hard until recently. I completed the first lesson and did the homework but I now realize that I made a couple mistakes in starting out. I started without a long term plan, which was a problem because I was not sure exactly what to do when and how to incorporate the supplemental material. Now, it's the first week of June and I'm a little worried because I'm not exactly sure if I can get everything in on time.

What are general suggestions for moving in the right direction? I've started working on a long-term plan with a goal of 6 hours of study a day. Is that too much? I notice though that the lessons are three hours, the homework questions do not take more than four hours in a week for one lesson. Should I be looking for extra practice questions to fill up the time? And how important are the supplemental materials and podcasts to our study?

Thanks,
Kwaku

Hi Kwaku,

Thanks for the post! I've asked our instructors to respond in more detail to your questions, but for starters, we do offer a 12-week study plan on your On Demand Course Online Student Center (scroll down past the lesson videos and you should see it listed there). This should help give you a framework of how to use your course resources. Your test date puts you a couple of weeks shy of 12 weeks, so feel free to amend that study plan as you see fit based on the time frame you have and your strengths/weaknesses.

Another helpful tool to note is the "Critical Homework List" for every lesson that reduces the workload to a much more manageable amount. The critical homework list for each lesson can be accessed via your Online Student Center in the “Lesson and Homework Supplements” section. You can find the critical homework list under the “optional” material in each lesson.

Thanks and happy studying!

[Ryan Twomey]

Hey Kwakus,

So I will give an input as well. I think this all depends on the type of person you are and what your work schedule is like.

With my students, I have the approach of getting through the course, then saving some time for practice tests after all the material is completed. I am less concerned with practice tests while you are still making your way through the course as you have not yet learned all the material yet.

But if you study for four to six hours per day, you will make it through the course very quickly, and I don't think there is a problem of making your way through the course material in this manner as long as you are diligent and make sure you understand each concept.

Conditional reasoning in lesson two, you could probably do numerous times. I usually have my students look at that lesson at least two to three times. Assumption questions, parallel reasoning questions, and grouping games are another spot where students get tricked up, so make sure you understand these concepts.

You could make your way through the course in about three weeks if you spend six hours a day on the material, and then you would have about the remaining weeks for practice tests with timed sections. You could do a test every other day, and then review it, then the following day focus on reviewing a concept that you struggled with or doing timed sections of a specific section you need work on.

I hope all this helps, and feel free to reach out again if you have any other questions or if any of this does not make sense.

Best,
Ryan

[KwakuS]

Thank you both very much! I really appreciate the help and it makes me feel better about going forward. If I have any more questions I will be sure to let you know. Thanks again!