4 weeks study guide for LSAT
Exam: LSAT Test - Law School Admission Test: Logical Reasoning, Reading Comprehension, Analytical Reasoning
The Law School Admission Test (LSAT) is the most widely accepted standardised test for admissions into law schools across the world. One of the critical factor influencing a law school applicant’s admission for a career in law, it is extremely important for a test taker to be thoroughly prepared to take up the LSAT. A good score in LSAT opens up avenue for candidates of getting an opportunity to join the top law schools in the world for pursuing their career. Apart from the courses and group interactions that help candidates prepare for the test, the main efforts for preparation have to come from the candidates themselves. A good score in LSAT requires the candidate to follow a proper study plansystematically, which demands the test takers to primarily be self-motivated and the desire to do their best for achieving a high score.
Preparing for LSAT:
With the LSAT score becoming more and more competitive, the preparation for the test must ideally be started at least three months before the LSAT. Following a regular study schedule is a must and cramming up studies for the last two weeks will be of any benefit to perform well in the LSAT. The first two months of the preparation should be directed towards working on each section individually by dividing the 60 days equally for each of the four sections. For candidates who find themselves comfortable with any of the four sections can also modify their study schedule to focus more on the other sections.
The last month before the LSAT must be exclusively directed towards taking the full LSAT prep tests. The purpose of taking up these full prep tests is not only to develop the endurance level for performing well on the test day, but also for identifying and improving on various other factors of great significance in achieving a good score in the test. The importance is not on taking up maximum number of prep tests but on reviewing the performance in each prep test to reduce the weaknesses and turn them into strengths by the actual LSAT exam.The candidates can maximise their potential of getting a high score in LSAT by optimally utilising the prep tests for the following purposes:
Analyse the Prep Test Results
While much importance is given to the quantity or number of prep tests taken before the test, quality is the other side of the coin which cannot be compromised at all. Both the quantity and quality play an important role in improving the capability of the candidate to take up the real test. The quantity helps in developing the endurance level needed to avoid chance of exhaustion during the test while focus on quality is required for the candidate to understand their weaknesses and eliminating them gradually by recording improvement in those areas through every prep test.
The idea of quality goes beyond just going through and understanding the explanations of the questions that were not answered correctly but also a detailed analysis of the weaknesses in terms section categories, question types, topic of passages in which a candidate seems to be losing their focus, for example passages relating to science etc. The more candidates can focus on identifying their weakness, the better they will be able to tackle and eliminate them before the final test day.
Improving on Speed
Managing the speed is an important aspect to successfully accomplish the LSAT without a compromise on accuracy. This demands considerable amount of streamlining of the answering process in each section. The base of improvement is speed must not be swiftness in doing a question, but smoothness in arriving at an answer by simplifying the working out process of questions of every section. For example, in case of Logical Reasoning questions the best way to work out is to start with determining the argument’s conclusion first. Working on setting up the Logic games in a readable and systematic manner consistently would be beneficial for the LSAT test. This would avoid any mess in the scratch work which may result in consuming time to understand what is written and also making out where exactly what point was written. Thus, lesseningthe clutter in the scratch work will make it easier for the candidate to refer them while answering the questions and save time.
Similarly, the Reading Comprehension questions can also be answered faster and with accuracy by following some tips such as marking up the passages and underlining important lines while reading the passage. However, the candidate must be careful not to overdo the marking up and underlining most of the sentences as this will result in waste of time. Effectively marking and tagging the paragraphs and underlining the critical points in the passage would help in saving a lot of time.
Maintain Health and Manage Stress
In the last few weeks it is extremely important for the candidates to keep up their health and refrain from being stressed out. Stressing out and bad health can hamper the preparation as well as the confidence of the candidate to take up the exam. It is thus important to be systematic in the sleeping times, eating habits and be able to manage stress during the last days before the test. A proper sleeping habit has a great impact on the cognitive abilities and sustaining long-term memory of prepared content for the candidate. Eating healthy diet with an emphasis on energy foods is also essential for effective functioning of the brain for the test. Managing stress is equally important for a candidate and the best way to manage it is to do any activity that helps the mind of the candidate to relax. Stress management would prepare the candidate mentally and emotionally for the LSAT.