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Hi everyone,
I’m currently signed up for the November LSAT, but I’ve been feeling really stuck and could use some advice. My practice test scores are still in the 140s, and even though I’ve been studying consistently, I’m not seeing the improvement I was hoping for. I’m aiming for at least a 157, but right now that feels out of reach.
I’ve been using 7Sage to go through the core curriculum and drilling with LSAT Demon (Basic plan), mostly focusing on Logical Reasoning and some Reading Comprehension. But honestly, I’m not sure I really know how to study. I watch the videos, do drills, and review my answers — but I don’t feel like I’m learning how to avoid the same mistakes or actually build better habits.
Reading Comprehension is by far my worst section. I feel like I’m always running out of time or just completely missing the structure and purpose of the passages. Logical Reasoning is a bit better, but I’m still not where I want to be.
I’m thinking about upgrading my Demon plan in October to get access to live classes and more targeted help, but I’m also wondering if I need to change how I’m approaching my studying in general.
If anyone has broken out of the 140s — especially using Demon or 7Sage — I’d really appreciate hearing what worked for you. How did you improve your Reading Comp? How did you review in a way that actually led to progress?
Thanks in advance — I really want to make this happen, but I know I need to work smarter if I’m going to reach my goal by November.
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14 comments
I totally understand. I was stuck in the mid-to-high 140s for six months. I just started scoring in the 150s about three weeks ago. I’d highly recommend The LOOPHOLE, it’s so important to understand an argument structure, translating arguments into your own words, and making inferences. I haven’t finished the book yet, I’m currently on Chapter 8 of 12, but it has already helped my LR score improve from 8/26 to 17+! And that’s without even finishing the section. I usually only complete about 17–19 questions per LR section. ALso, while reviewing BOTH LR & RC try to really question yourself about why the process & the AC is wrong. Then " reteach " yourself why the AC is right.
For RC, I’m still struggling myself, but a few tips that have helped me (even slightly) are: don’t take notes, actively read, make connections between paragraphs, and highlight the author’s attitude. I also try to find the main point of the passage before looking at the answer choices. Remember that most RC questions are essentially MSS, so be aware of strong language, look for textual evidence to support your answer choice, and if you’re in doubt, always look back at the passage.
Honestly just reading more in general, I read the Economist/Scientific American on my lunch break and make myself stop after every paragraph to come up with a main point of the paragraph and then a 1 sentence summary of the whole article. Also on RC sections emphasizing reading for structure, not detail. I try to prephrase every RC question answer before looking at the answer choices to see if I can find one that's close, which saves me time for the longer/harder RC questions where I do have to go back and hunt through the text. Not sure if you're already doing it but wrong answer journal everything I get wrong, and for LR ones I got wrong I make myself diagram them out following along with the explanation videos :)
I highly recommend looking up the Loophole's CLIR strategy/Basic Reading Comprehension drills, and work work on those. They have helped a lot, and they get to the foundational understanding of the stimulus. Especially the Basic Reading Comprehension, since it forces you to put it in your own words, and therefore, understand the stimulus, along with improve your memory (helps with time). A tip I saw/have practiced is to go through a drill, don't even look at the question, or the answers, put the audio recording on your phone, and talk/walk through each stimulus out loud (and try not to constantly reread).
What helped me was a mental shift in approaching sections. Before each section I would tell myself to focus on accuracy instead of getting through all the questions. All the questions you attempt you should be confident in those answers. No point in answering all 26 questions if you rushed through most of them. Focus on getting the first 16 questions in each questions right since those are the easier questions and points to get. Remember all questions are worth one point so focus on getting the easy ones first. After you focus on being accurate on the first 16 you could even guess on the rest of the questions (you will probably still get 3 right from random guessing) and still be able to average a mid 150. After that you will notice you will have extra time to accurately attempt questions 17 to at least 20 and get those additional points. Work smarter not harder. Then review what the questions types are that you a consistently getting wrong even when you spend a decent amount on time on them and drill/do review of the core curriculum for those question types until they start clicking. Long story short change your mental framing in approaching the exam. Through this, I am able to tell myself to focus on accurately answering the first 18 questions in sections and now I am entered into 160s after so long of thinking I was not capable of doing so. I also took a 2 week break to relief some pressure and stress off myself and it was the best thing I could had done. You are capable. Please keep going!
I can't say much about RC because I don't know how to really study for it. But a lot of my understanding of LR comes from knowing the question types and what they ask for. One resource that has helped me a lot is the Loophole, I recommend you to try that. I read the book in about a month and it really helped my overall understanding.