Study habits

[Tommy2456]

Hello, I need help. I recently took the test in June and did not receive my target score. I am attempting to take it again. But I want to make sure that I properly study this time. I have been using the Powerscore bibles and they are great. The thing is I feel that I am just reading the chapters but not retaining. I want to take notes but I really don't know how to do that to make the notes more helpful that just having random bits of info on paper. Can someone gives some advice on how to study and take notes besides reading on and on? I do not think I am quite ready to take another practice test quite yet because I need a little refresh. When do you stop reading and start practicing? Help!!

[David Boyle]

Hello, I need help. I recently took the test in June and did not receive my target score. I am attempting to take it again. But I want to make sure that I properly study this time. I have been using the Powerscore bibles and they are great. The thing is I feel that I am just reading the chapters but not retaining. I want to take notes but I really don't know how to do that to make the notes more helpful that just having random bits of info on paper. Can someone gives some advice on how to study and take notes besides reading on and on? I do not think I am quite ready to take another practice test quite yet because I need a little refresh. When do you stop reading and start practicing? Help!!

Hello Tommy 2456,

The question of how to study properly is a very large-scope question that may have been occupying students from time immemorial, and from kindergarten onward. It is good that you are taking notes, and hopefully reviewing them. It also seems you are taking practice tests, which is good.
So while there may not be a magic technique of study with 100% guaranteed success we can offer you at this point, maybe there are things you can do to help retain knowledge from books. Besides reviewing your notes regularly, maybe you can give yourself tests on the notes. Say, you could write an essay, "What are all the techniques I remember for dealing with grouping games?" Or you could make flash cards of a sort, e.g., "What is the Assumption Negation Technique?" or "How do we deal with Parallel Reasoning questions?" These might force you to articulate your knowledge so that it is more easily present in your mind, rather than something just trapped in a book or some notes that you forget the content of.
And you may think of various techniques yourself. But in any case, don't despair; many students have managed to absorb PowerScore lessons in meaningful ways, which means there's a good chance that you can too! Good luck.

Hope this helps,
David

[Tommy2456]

Ok great! Great advice, thanks a ton!

[Nikki Siclunov]

Hey Tommy 2456,

Let me add my 2c to David's excellent advice above.

First, let's acknowledge that the LSAT is not a knowledge-based test: it tests certain skills (close reading, critical reasoning, information synthesis, etc.), not knowledge of philosophy, logic, or law. Based on what you've told us, I'm afraid you're approaching test prep the wrong way.

Let me elaborate.

For many students, test prep is just like any other college-level course: you read the textbooks, take notes, then test yourself with practice questions or past exams. This is understandable, but somewhat misguided when it comes to the LSAT. While a solid conceptual foundation of the material is still key, you need to start taking practice tests early, and do it often. It is absolutely essential to determine early on what types of questions are giving you the most trouble, and practice test reviews present a unique opportunity to do that. What good is understanding the Assumption Negation Technique in the abstract if you're having trouble quickly negating complex or compound statements? Likewise, what good is knowing the Unified Grouping Games theory if you're having trouble applying the Hurdle the Uncertainty principle to Defined Grouping Games?

You see, all the Self-Study plans we've designed around the Bible Trilogy, not to mention the FL LSAT course itself, involve rigorous training with both specific question types (MBT, Justify, Weaken, etc.) and practice tests. Such training should be conducted alongside studying the Bibles, or coursebooks. Check out the link below and see how a typical self-study course is structured:

PowerScore Self-Study Plans

What do you notice? While the basis for most weeks is a chapter or two from each Bible, the rest of your training involves either with question-specific problem sets or with practice tests. Otherwise, the theory you learn is easily forgotten, regrettably so. You complain about not being able to retain all the relevant information, and I can easily see why: you simply haven't used it enough, not to the point of internalizing the techniques and making them your own.

Please let us know if there is anything else we can help with, and good luck on the test!

Thanks,