The LSAT: Approaching the Test

As you begin your LSAT preparation, you will become familiar with the three main sections of the test: Analytical Deduction, Logical Reasoning, and Reading Comprehension. If you want to learn more about the individual sections, make sure you check out my first blog post to familiarize yourself with the basics of the test.

Throughout your prep, you will start by learning the broad overarching concepts, and how to approach each question type – whether this be on your own with prep books, in a course, or with a tutor. The Legally Bright LSAT Prep Course will take care of everything you need to know as part of this “learning phase”. Details on the LSAT Prep course can be found here.

After the “learning phase”, where you familiarize yourself with the strategies to attack each question type, you will enter the “practice phase”, where you apply everything you’ve learned to drilling LSAT practice exams. The phase leading up to the test dedicated to practice is really where you’ll see massive improvements in your score. Today’s post will be about the “learning phase”, and some advice for each section of the LSAT. I will dive deeper into the “practice phase” in a future post.

Mastering Logic Games

Ah, logic games. In my experience, this is either test-takers favourite or least favourite section. For many of my friends, they would be able to score flawlessly on all four questions within a timed section, and also have time to spare to check their answers. For me, it was never possible to complete all four questions within the time constraints of the test. Luckily, this section is the most learnable on the test by far, so if you are like me and this material does not come naturally to you, do not lose hope!

My main tip for this section is really focusing on identifying the type of question you’ll be faced with in this section, and attempting to identify which Logic Games question type  is easiest for you. For example, the “sequencing” games were easiest for me, while the “grouping” games tended to be the hardest. This allowed me to prep more with the questions I was weaker at. Also, I was someone who was never going to complete all four logic games when I took the test (I would complete three, and then guess the answers for the final game). So, on the actual test, I was able to ensure I completed the games that were easiest for me and would take the least time, and ensured the hardest game for me was the one I guessed the answers on.

Mastering Logical Reasoning

For this section of the LSAT, I find it helpful to always start by indicating the main premise and conclusion of each question. The premise is evidence for the main conclusion. This might seem like an obvious or useful test, but Logical Reasoning questions are designed to be as convoluted as possible, and sometimes the main conclusion can be camouflaged. Learning to identify the conclusion right away will really help with this section, as the entirety of these questions are based on your ability to analyze (or infer) the support for the conclusion. Once you have identified your conclusion, always ask yourself “why?” What about this evidence makes the conclusion true? That is what will be your premise.

Another tip I have for this section is identifying the different question types within the section. There are many question types within the LR section, so ensure you consult with study materials to familiarize yourself with the question types, and the different hints you can look at for how to identify them. When you are practicing LR questions, ensure you identify what question type you got incorrectly the most. For example, when I took my practice tests, I almost never missed an “identify the conclusion” question, but almost always missed the “weaken the argument” questions. With that knowledge in mind, I was able to constantly drill “weaken the argument” questions, and become stronger with that question type. 

Mastering Reading Comp

This was my favourite section of the LSAT, as I have always been a fast reader. To me, this is the hardest section of the LSAT to “learn”, but it is definitely still possible! 

If you are not a fast reader, while you are preparing for the LSAT, make sure to practice your reading through subtitles on TV or Netflix. This will help your eyes learn to read and digest information faster – plus, it’s something you can do to better yourself even when on study breaks!

There are a number of approaches for attacking this question, such as reading the passage first, reading the questions first, or skimming first. My personal approach was always to read the questions first, so I could know what information I was looking for when reading the passages, but this is a very personal thing so ensure you try out all the different approaches and see which works best for you!

My next tip is to Use. Scratch. Paper. This is a step that many people think they can by-pass when preparing reading comprehension, but it is so important for being able to tackle the section. Use your scratch paper to identify:

• The main point of the passage

• The author’s attitude

• The main argument/conclusion

Make sure you write out the answers to these questions IN FULL SENTENCES. This will seem like a waste of time at first, but the more you practice this the better you will get. Then you can write these out in short form, and perhaps you will eventually get to a place where you can identify these in your head.

Prioritizing your Study

I think also identifying the sections you are weaker versus stronger in is of paramount importance. For me, I recognized from the beginning of my prep that the reading comprehension section came quite naturally to me, while the logic game section was much more difficult. Once I identified the section I struggled with the most, I made sure to dedicate extra time in my study schedule to drill just that section. Also for me, I decided it was worth spending the money to book some sessions with a private tutor to help me identify my issues in the logic game section and learn strategies to help me improve my time.

Conclusion

I hope all of my tips were helpful! The other thing I will say is that the LSAT is an incredibly learnable test. What I mean by that is that it is unlike tests you would take at school where you are expected to memorize information and repeat it. No part of the LSAT is content-based, it is all about learning different strategies to help you identify the type of question you are expected to answer. There’s a whole range of question types in each section, and the first part of your studying will be devoted to working through all of these different question types and learning how to identify each one. You will then learn the process to answer each of the many question types. Remember that you will be learning something totally new – don’t worry if it takes more time than you expected to be able to grasp the material