i think another good question to ask yourself is if test fatigue may be a factor by the time you get to a second LR section. This was a huge factor in my own range for LR; I'd have my first LR section be -2 and then my second -9. For me, it was building up my endurance of switching to the next section and being prepared for another LR section because that can very well be what your test is like. LR is also a section that feels the most mentally draining/have to concentrate the hardest for each question vs. RC passages or LG games. What helped me is doing 2 LR sections back to back and trying to have the same level of concentration with my answering/timing strategies because if you get two LR back to back on the day of the test, you'll at least get a 10min break between section 2/3 and if both sections are the 3rd/4th sections, you're done after!

i think thats completely dependent on where your target score is and if you were hitting it when you took august and now during prep for October. It also helps to know what may have 'went wrong,' in august. was it your first test? were you extremely nervous? did you get a particularly hard section? once you're able to figure that out, then you can tackle it better and feel better about whichever test you choose to take. You know yourself the best and its only you going in to take that test so whatever decision you make it should be honest to yourself.

@ said:

@ - I think something to consider is that if they register for November, but do score well in October, they won't get full refund if they decide to drop out of the November test.

But if you don't mind risking losing that $ then it would be nice to have that extra take in November.

That's very true! LSAC gave those who took the August test a chance to get a full refund for October since it was the first 4 section exam after the last flex in June, but that most likely won't be possible for November. If you have an LSAC fee waiver, then you get two lsat registrations free. Since the whole law school application process is so tied to financial ability, its definitely something to take into consideration when registering for a retake date.

If you're already scoring where you need, pushing to January may not be necessary if you can get your score in November. There's only a rush when you really need that extra time to improve your score. If other aspects of your application are already done, then all the more reason to take your second (if needed) in November rather than January as you put yourself in a better place with admissions. The general rule is, the longer you wait to apply, the less spots will be available. Having another test date in your back pocket while you take October may also take some stress off your shoulders. With your first take, there's a lot more anxiety just on how the whole process looks like, which can impact your score too (that's how it was for me at least!). Once your October score comes out and its either what you want or not, you can cancel November. Just remember a school won't consider your application if they know you're registered to take another test (usually).

try looking at what is is you're getting wrong- is it a certain type of question (main point? Weakening/Strengthening?) and if it is, what is it about the question that you may be having trouble understanding-- maybe it's understanding what the question is asking, how you're interpreting the answer choices, or even how you're reading the passage itself (are you identifying premise/conclusion? how the argument or facts are laid out?) --usually once you're able to identify what types of qs it is you're getting wrong, you can go back to that lesson and review it, make sure you clearly understand how to identify/attack it, then try again.

1 Find your areas of weakness - are there certain LR questions that you keep getting wrong? Flaw? NA? Weaken? If there's a pattern, then that just means you now have a way to attack it. Next, you need to understand if its conceptual or not.

2 If it's not conceptual, then are you getting things wrong due to confidence, fatigue, nerves? I find a wrong answer journal is especially helpful with LR questions because on top of 7sage analytics data, I can write down what my thought process may have been in getting those questions wrong and then how to avoid that for future PTs. To get more analytics/data, you'll need to take more PTs, preferably timed so you have a better idea of where you would be under testing conditions. In between tests, definitely do drills of questions you might typically miss from PTs 1-35 and timed LR sections to get in the habit/build endurance for 25-26 Q LR sections. Both are helpful to hone in on weaker areas and get in the habit of moving through LR at a testing pace.

With RC, its also a matter of patterns as well - are you getting certain types of passages wrong - science/finance/humanities, etc.? Do you start getting things wrong more in the last passages verses the first? Are comparative passage an issue, regardless of content? If its unfamiliarity with certain types of passages, just remember all RC passages are from actual published content so find a journal/newspaper/magazine that revolves around that content and start reading maybe a short article every few days. I know I'd freeze when it came to science passages, so sciencenews or other websites that had more of the content forced me to employ the same reading style and level of understanding I would for others RC passages. It might be helpful to look at your analytics here as well - are you getting phrase in context Qs wrong (where they say this line says x, what's another way of saying this?), main point? I do like JY's strategy of forcing yourself to summarize each paragraph and then how it's building the argument/creating the structure of the passage. For every Q that refers to lines #-#, I always go back, no matter how well I think I remember what is said. Like LG, spending time up front with RC makes the difference and having a good understanding of what the passage is talking about and HOW its constructed can make some questions (i.e. Main Point) go faster so you can spend more time on Qs that are more involved.

General tip for both, SKIPPING - I skip on LR so I save time on Qs that I might not get even if I had 3min to spare in order to get to the easier questions that do pop up later. If you want to rack up as many correct questions as possible, you have to know what you're looking at and what would be an effective use of your time. On RC, sometimes I'll do a passage that has 8Qs first vs one that's 5Qs, or even getting the comparative passages out of the way.

These are just some general tips, but in general, re-building your familiarity with the sections as well as meaningful review and analysis of questions can have a huge impact on your studying.

Hope this helps and Good Luck!

I think alot of it comes down to the pressure you're putting on yourself. I don't know your particular situation but I've been in a similar boat where I've felt like this was my last chance, i NEED to do well on this or else x, y, z, and the best advice I can give you is that in the worst case scenario that you don't get the score of your dreams, the world won't crash around you. You'll still be alive, still be capable, and still be determined to get to the law school you want. Sometimes we focus way too much on having our plans go exactly the way we want, but the reality of life is they rarely do and the sooner we accept that its okay for things to be different than what we'd like, it's okay to be disappointed, its okay to not get the exact score you want, you can and will figure things out, the sooner you can live better and with more peace in mind. This goes beyond the lsat or law school because there will always be a new thing to focus and stress yourself on, it won't go away just because you get a good score because your worry may shift to something else, like tests in law school and internships, etc. Being scared of your mind and body failing you when you need it the most is a terrifying place to be, but also one that can be alleviated when you remember you're not in a war with yourself even if that's what your mind wants you to think. The only one that can get you through this test is yourself, you gotta to remember to be kind to your body and mind even when it feels like it's trying to sabotage you because it rarely is.

Q22 was a great reminder that a word difference can completely change an AC from wrong to right! Was stuck between A/C and couldn't decide which one was better because it looked like both were saying the same thing, but 'entails' changed the entire relationship put forward by C! When down to 2 answers and they both seem like they're saying the same thing, look for the differences in wording.

Actually read this as a flaw question without realizing it asked for method of reasoning. Great example of how you identify a Qstem can change your answer and thought process!