Need to shake up your LSAT study habits? Try these tips!
When you get a question wrong, consider what makes each incorrect answer choice incorrect.
When we check our answers on a practice exam, it may seem obvious in retrospect why a particular answer choice was correct. However, it can be much more difficult to explain why other answer choices were wrong (this can be especially true when an incorrect choice is phrased similarly to the correct answer choice). Focusing on the minutiae can lead to breakthroughs that can accelerate your growth.
Document your mistakes and return to them later.
It’s completely normal to make a significant number of mistakes when taking LSAT practice exams, especially when you begin your studying journey. One error that students often make is not spending enough time reflecting on their mistakes; students mentally note they got an answer wrong, reflect briefly why another choice is correct, and move on. I recommend instead being methodical in documenting the mistakes you make. What kind of question was it? In what section of the exam? Which practice test? Having these data points let you go back weeks or months later and take another stab at answering the question. Even if you remember the correct answer choice later, you still internalize the mistake so you won’t make it again.
Collect comprehensive data on the practice exams you take.
Like the data about your mistakes, record qualitative and quantitative data about the practice tests you take. Of course, converting your raw score to a numerical value can provide an objective measure of your progress. But it’s also important to document how many mistakes you made, the kind(s) of questions gave you trouble, and how you felt while taking the exam.
This data can be especially useful in evaluating when you’re ready to take the LSAT. If you are not achieving your desired score(s), consistently making a significant number of mistakes in a particular section, or you run out of time often, that may be a sign that you should continue skill-building until you’re ready to conquer the exam.
Don’t burn through test-prep material before developing a systematic approach to taking the LSAT.
There is a plethora of old LSAT exams available on the LSAC website, and one may find it tempting to blow through these practice exams quickly to gain practice taking the exam. Doing this may not be wise – the LSAT is a learnable test, and as such, it’s important to learn how to tackle each question type before taking full-length practice tests. Though practice tests are an important mechanism for improving your score, taking them without the right skillset may not produce your desired result and may even end up delaying your progress.
Experiment with the reading section (and other question sections and question types).
Various test prep companies, articles, and tutors will provide you different approaches to tackling the reading section. For example, some will suggest you take notes as you read, writing brief summaries of the paragraphs, while others recommend the opposite. There is value in both approaches to the reading section, but the only way to know which is better is to try both approaches yourself. Experiment with different question types and see what approaches best suit your style.
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