Tips!

mfmadrigal

I'm planning on taking the test in September. I already did all the core curriculum. I have also gone back and review sections where I need help. But, I am not improving very much. I am scoring147-152 on timed PT. During blind review 160, which is around the score I want. During my reviews things make sense to me, but once I am taking a PT test, I feel everything I know goes out the window. I know I don't know everything, but most of the time I just make stupid mistakes. So, does anybody have any tips as of how I can study in a way I can see improvement. I feel what I have being doing in the past its just not helping, since my score is not improving!!!

LSATcantwin

Excuses me using an analogy here to give advice, we all know that analogies rarely make for good arguments but hear me out haha.

Pretend you are a kid at school. There is a bully who has been picking on you a lot recently, he's a big intimidating guy, lets call him L.S. Adam. You know that you need to stand up for yourself one day, so you enroll in Karate. You've practiced for a couple of month's learned some basic moves and feel good. Then you remember that L.S. Adam is a HUGE dude. Do you want to fight him before you really master Karate? Do you want to risk his size crushing your fundamental knowledge of how to fight? Nah, you're a super star, you know better than that. You continue practicing until things become second nature. You practice your kicks and punches to the point where you don't have to remember how to do them, you just do them. You become the next Bruce Lee. You go to school and find L.S. Adam. This dude no longer looks so big. He throws a hay maker at you, but you don't care. Instinct and reflexes guide you. You kick L.S. Adam's ass. He never picks on you again. Your friends cheer! your crush kisses you! The day is yours.

That is what you want to achieve on the LSAT. You want to make the fundamentals, so fundamental that you spew them out in your sleep. They become such a part of you that you can't help but arguing with your Mom about how she relied on a sample size that is not representative. (Because I said so is NOT a valid reason mkay...)

So get back at those fundamentals. The September test is a hop-skip and jump away. The kind of improvement you are looking for is HUGE. 10 points is a jump it takes people months of practice to make.

Do your best at fundamentals for now. It's your best bet for improvement. Learn inferences, learn diagramming, learn to spot conclusions. This is where you beat the test.

JDtobeeee

Keep drilling on question types that are giving you the most trouble (between taking full timed PTs)

jberger295

Drill drill drill. Methodical drilling - I found it helped to buy the books of old tests, go to a coffee shop, and work through it making sure I understood EVERYTHING. You've got this!

Alex

@mfmadrigal said:
I'm planning on taking the test in September. I already did all the core curriculum. I have also gone back and review sections where I need help. But, I am not improving very much. I am scoring147-152 on timed PT. During blind review 160, which is around the score I want. During my reviews things make sense to me, but once I am taking a PT test, I feel everything I know goes out the window. I know I don't know everything, but most of the time I just make stupid mistakes. So, does anybody have any tips as of how I can study in a way I can see improvement. I feel what I have being doing in the past its just not helping, since my score is not improving!!!

I'm interested to know more about what types of questions you're missing and why you think you're missing them?

Perhaps it might be helpful to do some timed sections and practice dealing with the pressure of timing. If you truly feel like everything goes out the window it could just mean you need more practice with the fundamentals; this can be achieved through completing problem sets and reviewing lessons from the CC.

mfmadrigal

@LSATcantwin Your analogy makes a lot of sense. I think I might have to come to terms with the fact that I might need to take the test in December as well. I am just afraid of how realistic that might be if I want to go to law school fall of 2018. I probably just need more time practicing and practicing since that seems to be the answer. But, I am already having moments with my family like the one you mentioned in your reply. Last night my Costa Rican 82 year-old was arguing that a natural distaster always follows an Eclipse. My first reaction was like her argument it's flawed. It's a correlation/causation flaw. So I am learning, it's just not showing in my score.

@JDtobeeee & @jberger295 May I ask how exactly are you drilling? I just want to make sure I am doing it right.

@"Alex Divine" in LR mainly flaws and NA. I have already reviewed the CC twice. Most of the time I choose the wrong answer wrong during the timed section and during BR I get the right answer, because I have more time to think. So, time is playing a big role in the issues I am having. I will just continue practicing.