With myriad and ever-growing LSAT preparation resources available to future lawyers, many prospective law school students don’t know which to trust and how to use them.
As we’ve previously discussed in this blog, the Law School Admission Council’s own research shows that commercial LSAT preparation tools — that is, courses, tutoring and prep books — and official LSAC materials create the best results.
[Compare LSAT preparation methods.]
Commercial LSAT study tools are generally designed to provide a preparation road map and be easy to use. Official LSAC materials, on the other hand, offer very little guidance as to how to most effectively use the materials to study. Here’s how to best use the three different types of official LSAT practice tests that LSAC offers.
The June 2007 Exam
The June 2007 LSAT is the only real LSAT that is available for free on the LSAC’s website. When I work with students who have never encountered the LSAT before, I advise them to start by taking this test under timed, simulated conditions.
The June 2007 test is the oldest available test with the comparative reading passage, so it serves as a good diagnostic test while preserving the more recent tests for use later in your prep. After taking the test, review your results, noting both your overall score and your score for each section.
Use this information to inform your preparation strategy. If you are already scoring close to your target score, you may consider saving yourself money and engaging in some form of self-preparation. In my experience working with students, those who score in the mid-160s on their first test — without having done any prior preparation — usually have what it takes to score in the mid-170s on their own.
If you are already performing well at one or two of the three test sections but fall short in the others, consider a tutor or an LSAT course option that focuses only on the sections that give you trouble.
[Discover what you need to know about LSAT online video courses.]
Books of 10 LSAT Tests
In addition to the June 2007 exam, LSAC offers approximately 70 other official practice tests. Use the older tests to practice specific question and game types and to improve your timing. Save tests 52 and up to use as complete, timed, simulated LSAT tests.
As we’ve noted in prior posts, it’s critical to learn how to make the most of both untimed and timed practice tests. Focus your initial prep on untimed tests and then focus your final month on timed tests.
[Learn how to use timed LSAT practice tests.]
The Official LSAT SuperPrep
In addition to providing previous LSAT tests, LSAC also offers six tests — three in “The Official LSAT SuperPrep” and three in “The Official LSAT SuperPrep II” — with detailed explanations of every question and answer choice.
“SuperPrep” contains three older, previously undisclosed official LSAT tests from 1996, 1999 and 2000, respectively, while “SuperPrep II” contains three official LSAT tests from the last 10 years . All three have the comparative reading passage, but only one has never been disclosed before.
The greatest benefit these books provide is a look inside the LSAT creators’ minds to learn how they understand the questions and answer choices and then use their approach to refine your own.
I recommend focusing on “SuperPrep II,” taking the tests at least a week apart toward the beginning of your transition to full, timed practice tests. By giving yourself a week or more between tests, you allow yourself time to review and internalize the explanations, modify your own approach and repeat that process after each test.
After you take a test, read the creators’ analyses of all the questions you got wrong. In cases where their approach to a question differs from how you intuitively approached a question, consider changing your strategy to more closely match theirs.
Study their analyses of not only the questions that you got wrong but also of all other questions of that type to solidify your understanding of their approach. Focus particularly on the incorrect answer choice you chose to understand why it is wrong.
Note, however, that for almost all test-takers, the SuperPrep books are not enough, particularly because they lack a systematic approach to preparation. You will not find a comprehensive approach to each question type that you can then easily apply to other similar questions, nor will you find guidance on how to conduct your overall preparation from a week-to-week perspective. This is where additional support is most helpful.
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Test Prep Tips Using 3 Official LSAT Tools originally appeared on usnews.com
