Studying Help!

courtnie.besich

I am just wondering if we are suppose to go through all the lessons and then tackle the PTs one by one after we have worked through the syllabus. Do people incorporate the PTs into their studying or does everyone work through all the lessons first?

chrijani7

Hey your question completely depends on when you want you write and what level of knowledge you have for the LSAT already. For instance, when I took the 7sage course I had already ready the LR Bible and finished half the curriculum last summer. So when I registered again this summer, I did around 2-3 tests throughout the course just to keep the whole process familiar. The tests were both timed and untimed and I used them for drills/BR afterwards as well, it also helps that I have a lot of tests (every one available). So it depends on where you stand, when you plan to write, how many tests you have available.

I would not recommend writing tests if you are a "beginner", as it will likely just be a waste. It is CRUCIAL that you learn ALL the fundamentals across all sections before you start timed test. This means completing the course (don't rush) and doing slow timed/untimed drills with THOROUGH review. Why am I stressing these points so much? Because I thought I was some kind of exception to the rule when I began studying last summer. I breezed through the Bible, crushed most of the 7sage course, took some untimed practice test, and rushed right into full timed tests after about a month and a half. From my experience, this lead to achieving somewhat of an improvement, but I couldn't get above 155. So, I ended up having to post pone the LSAT and started studying again this summer. I followed the advice people gave me, and said "you know what, I will actually try to follow some sort of structure" (i.e: slow drilling, etc.). I cannot stress this enough, how important it is to realize that you are likely not some sort of superhuman and there are absolutely NO SHORTCUTS to improving your score (maybe you are some exception).

The whole point of all this is to not get so hung up on taking tests. Yes, it is true that they are the best practice. But they are only useful if you know what you are doing and reviewing them properly, you should take away some kind of learning point from each test. If you have no bearing on the fundamentals going into the test, then how are you suppose to review? you may not even have a clue of what the real error was that you made. So, to conclude, take the tests when you believe you are prepared. You should have a high level of accuracy with untimed materials before you move into timing yourself.