As regular readers of the Law Admissions Lowdown blog know, the LSAT is unique among standardized tests offered in the U.S. While it has some basic similarities to the SAT, GMAT and GRE, it is significantly more difficult than these tests and plays a much larger role in the admissions process.
Most people who take the LSAT have also taken at least one of the other exams, and a common general mistake that LSAT takers make is using the same study strategies they used for other standardized tests or for high school or college exams. Although these strategies are often helpful in other contexts, they often mislead those preparing for the LSAT.
[Erase three top LSAT preparation myths.]
Here are three common study techniques that may be counterproductive when preparing for the LSAT.
1. Cramming: For tests that require you to internalize content, such as facts and formulas, cramming — that is, devoting almost all your time to studying in the few days leading up to the test — can be helpful. On the LSAT, however, this can be deadly.
A key characteristic of the LSAT is that it is almost content-free. Instead of being asked to recall things you have learned, you are being asked to apply rules, processes and methods to new situations, just as law students do on exams and lawyers do in practice.
A good LSAT student will have internalized these rules, processes and methods weeks before the actual exam and will have spent the six to eight weeks before the exam practicing and refining the application of these methods. You simply cannot cram a method into your brain and then be able to apply it efficiently a few days later.
Instead, spend t he few days before the exam preparing yourself mentally and psychologically for the exam. This means doing almost no LSAT-related work, especially during the two days prior to the exam.
Instead, use that time to relax and make sure you are not too mentally taxed. This will make you fresh, sharp and focused on test day.
[Learn how to prepare the week before the LSAT.]
2. Studying too many hours a week: Just as cramming for the LSAT doesn’t work, neither does devoting all your time to the exam. In many academic and testing contexts, the number of hours you spend preparing, particularly as the test approaches, directly correlates to success. The LSAT requires a more nuanced approach.
Instead of trying to maximize the total number of hours you spend preparing, aim to prepare steadily and consistently over a long period. Ideally devote 10-15 hours per week to the LSAT over a period of approximately four months.
Zealous students will often plan on studying for 20, 30 or even 40 hours per week, especially in the month before the exam. The reason this doesn’t work is that LSAT preparation is extremely mentally taxing: You are essentially learning entirely new approaches to familiar situations and applying those approaches under extreme time pressure.
Because of the intensity of this preparation, devoting more than 15 hours in a week generally yields diminishing returns. Instead of trying to squeeze in another five or 10 hours of studying, make sure you are getting enough sleep and rest to give your brain the time to internalize the LSAT way of thinking.
[Create a four-month study plan for LSAT success.]
3. Forgetting about timing: Almost all other tests are designed to give you enough time to get to most, if not all, questions. The LSAT does the opposite: It is designed so that almost everyone doesn’t have enough time to answer every question. Unlike preparation for other tests, LSAT preparation should involve a significant amount of timed preparation.
Many LSAT students devote almost all of their preparation to isolated practice problems and untimed full sections. This approach may help you get to near 100 percent accuracy, but 100 percent accuracy doesn’t do much good if you are only getting to half the questions on the test.
Use the first two months on primarily untimed work. But during the final six to eight weeks, focus at least half your preparation on timed work, including full, timed practice tests and sections.
Students often avoid doing timed work because they know it is more difficult and will likely — at least initially — yield worse results than untimed work. But it is essential. You won’t be able to maximize your score on test day unless you practice under timed conditions.
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3 Study Habits That Won’t Help on the LSAT originally appeared on usnews.com
