One complaint I hear about preparing for the LSAT is study burnout. Reviewing dry reading passages, diagramming logic games and identifying logical fallacies can get repetitive.
While there is no magic shortcut to avoid practicing real LSAT questions, you can find ways to exercise those same brain muscles to vary your study routine.
[Discover how to make the most of LSAT practice tests.]
Note: These three tips are not intended to replace your LSAT practice exams. Instead, think of these approaches as cross-training. You can supplement your formal LSAT studies with playful pastimes you may already be doing on a daily basis.
1. Read the editorial page: LSAT reading comprehension passages are often excerpts of academic writing. The editorial page of your favorite periodical is similar in several important ways.
As short opinion pieces, the length of an editorial page makes for good LSAT reading practice. The tone — intended for cerebral, educated audiences — is dense enough to require thoughtful readership. The goal of presenting and defending a position mimics the kind of thesis-driven content you’ll find on the LSAT.
To transform this pastime into LSAT prep, read quickly and actively. Pretend this — and the LSAT reading comprehension section — is a scavenger hunt.
Do a super quick read of the article to get the lay of the land, then check your list of questions for what you’ll need to find. Then go back to the passage, taking time to do a careful search to ensure you’ve located the right piece of “treasure” for each “clue.”
[Learn to master the LSAT reading comprehension section.]
Practice actively skimming the editorial page. Pay attention to more than content but don’t sweat the details. Instead, look for big landmark ideas that will help orient you.
Identify the column’s thesis and how the author formulates his or her argument. What is the structure? What key theme can you locate in each paragraph? How do the ideas conceptually evolve? What key evidence supports the author’s claims?
You are not expected to remember specific details on the reading comprehension section. But it is helpful to remember where to find those details when you revisit the passage. One way to improve this skill is to understand that essays have a form. Practice identifying the structure of articles you read for pleasure.
Another way to make a game of the editorial page is to skim the piece and then turn the essay over. Write down one or two words that describe each paragraph. Then jot down a sentence that describes what you think is the author’s main point. Revisit the page and see how much you remembered.
If you make understanding structure a habitual part of your reading experience, it will be easier to locate correct answers within the body of the LSAT passage.
2. Do brain teasers: Sudoku and KenKen can be downright addicting. Studying for the LSAT? Not so much.
While people attempt these puzzles for pleasure, brain teasers can also help you sharpen your LSAT logic game skills. That’s because brain teasers like Sudoku rely on schematic representations of information. They require you to make logical deductions and take sequential, logical steps.
These are the same skills required to tackle logic games. Whether diagramming a sequencing game, grouping game, matching game or hybrid, you need to be comfortable symbolically representing data and methodically analyzing information.
Unlike reading comprehension or even logical reasoning, we tend to use the skills required in logic games less in our day-to-day lives — unless you are a brain-teaser junkie. So go ahead and indulge in this play.
[Understand the setup and rules for logic games on the LSAT.]
3. Follow politics: Politics and law are inextricably linked. Understanding the political landscape will help you navigate your law school experience, since policy informs regulations and enforcement.
Yet, following politics can also help you on the LSAT. Statements in the political sphere tend to contain many of the logical fallacies you’ll encounter on the LSAT.
Regardless of political affiliations, politicians across the board are guilty of using curricular reasoning, flawed comparisons, equivocation, ad hominem attacks and so forth. Such fallacies can be hard to avoid when making impassioned arguments in a high-stakes setting with little time for clarifications and elaborations.
As you listen to pundits, representatives of special interest groups or anyone who is trying to convince the public of his or her position, ask yourself: Am I convinced? If not, why? How would I describe the problem with the argument?
For an added bonus, create a list of common logical fallacies you encounter on the LSAT. See how many fallacies you can identify, if any, in the political rhetoric around you. The ability to identify logical fallacies in everyday speech is one LSAT skill most directly related to the practice of law.
Having questions about how to avoid LSAT prep burnout? You can reach me at lawadmissionslowdown@usnews.com.
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