Quick Tip

Yes, Command-F is Fine

“Why didn’t you Command-F that?” “Oh, wait, that’s allowed?”

I’ve had dozens of conversations like this with students of mine, online, and with friends. Many people falsely assume that being able to use Command-F (or Control-F on a PC) is something that will be disabled on the real day. This is untrue! LSAC has confirmed that this is allowed and, indeed, many students have successfully used this on real test administrations.

Why does this matter? For thorny RC questions where you just can’t remember where the word was located, it’s faster to be able to just search for it. 

Discussion

Preparing for the Real Day

An unfortunate reality is that most test-takers will do slightly worse on the real test day than in practice. Why? The primary reason is that many people do things differently on the test day than what they practiced. This is frustrating, because it’s not affected by the hundreds (or even thousands) of hours spent studying for the test; rather, a few hours on the real day are what create this outcome.

How can this be remedied? I’d suggest keeping four key things in mind.

First, take PrepTests as if they were the real test. It is extremely important that you take the test under conditions identical to how you practiced. Science is clear on the benefits of state-dependent learning (e.g., people remember facts better on a test when chewing gum if they studied while chewing gum). You should sit in the same room, take the test at the same time, etc. as all of your practice tests. Don’t change things up!

Second, don’t change your pre-test routine on the real day. If you eat breakfast before the PrepTest normally, do that on the real day. If you drink coffee, drink coffee. The same goes for everything: how you warm up, whether you exercise or not, etc. I learned the risks of deviation the hard way; I drank extra coffee on the real day for a jolt and felt myself get jittery, with the caffeine compounding normal test-day nerves. Don’t be like me! You also shouldn't give yourself any extra break time on PrepTests, since you won’t get that time on the real day.

Third, practice using the LSAT’s real format. 7Sage is a very, very close approximation to what the real LSAT will look like. However, there are some small stylistic/aesthetic/keyboard-related differences. The remedy is to go onto LawHub, owned by LSAC, which is where you will take your real LSAT. Do some sections here to get more familiar with the features; this should happen for your last few PrepTests before the real day, while the rest should be on 7Sage to maximize the use of analytics.

Fourth, recognize that the few days leading up to the test are vitally important. I’m not saying you should be studying a ton, since most of your skills will be “locked in” and you won’t be capable of learning much more. Rather, you need to go in feeling comfortable and ready to go. Don’t be tired, stressed, or burned out. Spend time with friends, get lots of sleep, and go in genuinely excited for the test!