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Hello! I wanted to reach out on here and see if someone might have a magical answer for me :) I have taken the official LSAT twice now, both times scoring a 135. I have never been a decent test-taker. I study by taking drilled practice section and practice exams, reviewing my wrong and correct answers along the way. However, seeming that I keep a consistent score it does not seem to be helping. Does anyone know how I should start improving my score big? My goal is a 155 and I am feeling so defeated. I signed up to re-take the LSAT in June, just in-time to apply for school. I am worried about getting the same score for the third time and then giving up. Please help!!
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Hey Brianna, when I was starting my prep, I was in a similar situation. I have 2 suggestions that helped me.
I found that going through each question type and making a note card with the strategy for each question really helped. Take for example a Weaken Question, I would say your first job is to find the Conclusion, second is to find how the conclusion is supported, third go evaluate the answer choices (here a note about ignoring the validity of the choices and focusing solely on how the argument is impacted would be helpful), finally Elimate wrong answers (make note of common wrong answer types, wrong direction, no impact, etc.). Use these notecards on easy drill sets (level 1-3) with no time pressure; getting better at the skills should be your biggest priority, not accuracy (yet). Slowly progress onto more difficult questions; the wording will be more challenging, but the general patterns remain fairly constant. Section 2 of PT 158 has 3 Level 5s and 4 Level 4s, meaning if you ace the Level 1-3s, you can theoretically score your 155.
Once you feel comfortable with the skills required for each question type (there is a lot of overlap between questions), then focus on developing your own specific testing strategies. I, for example, start every LR section on Question 13, which gives me more time to work through the harder ones and forces me to be a little faster on the earlier/easier questions. Similarly, Match the Reasoning takes me, and probably everyone, longer than most other questions. So if I am pressed for time, I will skip it and go back later. Prioritize questions you know you have a chance on and skim ones that you REALLY struggle with.
Some other notes, a few of the other responses mention other materials. I too used the LSAT Trainer (can buy on Amazon) and found it to be very helpful for developing my strategies and figuring out what I am weakest at. Tutors are also helpful, some people learn better from an instructor than on their own. Getting a tutor is not itself "sufficient" to ensure a better score, but it has helped me and many others.
Gunning for 155 is very attainable; it amounts to about 25-30 questions total, or about 7 per section. I have gone from the 140s to 165 on test day and am pushing for a 170 now. In my opinion, the key to LSAT improvement is knowing what works best for you and drilling your strategy. You should feel like it is second nature on test day, and this confidence will serve you well. 6 months is plenty of time to improve, and I think you can even surpass your target score. You've got this Brianna!
Hi, when you took the LSAT were you averaging around 135 on PTs? Most people recommend that you should be hitting your target score by the time you are registered for the exam.
And although your score hasn't changed, it doesn't necessarily mean that your studying isn't helping at all! It can be really frustrating (I stayed around my diagnostic score for a long time) and feel like nothing is working despite the hours you're putting in, but I firmly believe that as long as you are consistently putting in the work, you will eventually see it in the scores.
Some other tips that currently help me:
Reviewing core curriculum over and over again
Identify the mistakes that are fixable (misreading something, skimming too fast, not reading every AC) and intentionally avoid those in my practice
I've also read other LSAT materials like The Loophole and LSAT Trainer, and they are good resources to supplement your 7sage curriculum
Practice diagramming efficiently (translation drills, etc)
You've got a lot of time until June, so it's great that you're addressing this now! The discussion tab here has a lot of really helpful tips and connections to tutors as well that can be beneficial :-)
My best advice
Supplement 7Sage with other resources / different study companies. 7Sage is one of way learning the LSAT, but their method may not work the best for the way you learn. You may need to learn/try different LSAT methods to find the one that fits for you.
YouTube videos
Reddit/Forum Discussions
The Loophole, LSAT Trainer, etc.
Write notes intentionally. Don't just copy EVERYTHING from J.Y. Try your best to summarize the concepts in your own words. Of course sometimes it's okay to just copy paste, but try to paraphrase when possible.
Try to explain questions/concepts to others. If you can vocalize your thoughts to someone, it may be useful in solidifying concepts.
Don't overstudy/move too fast. There is a fine line between quality and quantity. I don't know the pace you've been learning, but it's possible you are moving on from lessons before you have solidified the knowledge.