Effective and Best Studying Practices, New and LSAT in 1 Month?

[Callista]

Hello!

I have a month until my LSAT end of April and would love some tips and help in knowing how to structure my studying. I have been studying the LSAT for the past few weeks, following the outlined schedule for a 2-month plan on the PowerScore website, but I haven't been able to consistently study the past couple weeks with my job and family things always coming up. I've already postponed my LSAT as it was originally scheduled for March, and do plan to re-take around August, but I want to make the most of my first test.
I've been seeing and hearing many other LSAT students take timed and untimed practice tests and seem to be very advanced in their studies, so I am not sure if I should still be tackling each LSAT section or incorporating practice tests before test day. I've just finished tackling LR and have yet to start on LG and RC. I'm feeling a bit worried and discouraged as I'm still really new, seeing so much different information online and from people I know, and also feeling immense pressure from the approaching test-date.
Still not 100% comfortable/confident in identifying LR question family types - would memorizing these and sufficient/necessary indicators be helpful and valuable? How soon should I start incorporating practice tests (timed/untimed)? What studying tips and best practices would you recommend to be most effective, and how much should I be memorizing?
Thanks a bunch for your time and help in advance.

[Beth Hayden]

Hi Callista,

It's a lot, I know! Try not to feel too overwhelmed because you can always take it again, and there's a lot of time between now and applications for the next cycle. Setting that aside, here's my advice for how you can spend the next month.

If you only have an hour, that's ok, just try to make it a really productive hour. Having limitations on your time can actually be a good thing because it forces you to focus on what is most important. Right now you want to get down the basics and get comfortable with the different sections.

But once you've got that foundation, practice is by far the most important thing. This is not a test of knowledge, it's a test of skill. Think about how you learn a sport. You might talk through the rules of the game at first, strategy, form, but the majority of the time you are going to spend practicing those skills and analyzing what you can do better next time. Don't just memorize sufficient/necessary indicators, make sure you understand how conditional reasoning works and practice it! This test is not going to ask you to list off every indicator word, but you will need to be able to (1) spot when conditional reasoning is present and (2) parse out which condition is sufficient and which is necessary.

Since you're just getting started, you probably aren't ready to do timed sections and that is 100% ok. Start with doing individual practice problems in the book and trying to understand the answers. Spend more time on question types you struggle with and do drills for things like conditional reasoning. Then you can start doing untimed sections, move to timed sections, and finally add in practice tests so you are doing a mix of timed practice tests and timed sections. As a general rule, the closer you get to the test the more timed practice tests you should be doing.

Yes you want to get comfortable with the time constraints, but you don't want the time pressure to get in the way of learning. Focus on accuracy and you will naturally get faster as you get better. Also, once you do start doing timed sections, try not to rush because it tends to be more detrimental than helpful.

Finally, know that the number of practice tests isn't nearly as important as what you do with them. Every practice test is an opportunity to learn and improve. Be thorough in your review and don't move on until you understand each question (you can always check the forum and ask us here).

I hope that helps, good luck!

Beth

[Callista]

Hi Beth!

This is incredibly helpful and encouraging - thank you so much for taking the time to provide me with amazing tips! I was really worried I was behind, but I'll focus on making the most of my time and really understanding the material. I feel much more at ease and reassured.