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I'm trying to figure out a good timeline and pace for myself in terms of reading the LR powerscore bible which is 541 pages, and the LG bible which I believe is around 402 pages. I plan on taking the June 2011 LSAT, and I'm prepping now (giving me about 6 months). However, I want to read both bibles from front to back, but yet have maybe a month or so left over to be able to do some practice test. How long did it take you guys to read the bibles in its entirely? I know some will say to not read the whole thing and just to read the chapters on my weaknesses, the thing about that is, I did poorly taking a prep test cold and I feel weak in all aspects, so I basically need to start from step 1 and so etc.

Start as early as possible!

FWIW I started in August for the October LSAT and finished the whole LG Bible and about 12 chapters of the LR Bible but my study schedule was brutal. I did at least one chapter every night except for the nights that I took practice tests (every week for the first month and then every other day for the last 3 weeks or so). I was still reading the LR Bible the morning of the test! I wish I'd had more time to absorb and review and practice the material.

I'd say start NOW because your scores will go down while you're still figuring out the strategies in the book and won't really improve until you've practiced a lot.

but yet have maybe a month or so left over to be able to do some practice test

This is not nearly enough time for practice tests. I read both bibles in little less than a week. For me, the material was not that hard to grasp and I found that practice helped the most to see these methods in action. That being said, the best practice is actually doing timed practice tests. Be strict on your times, because the proctor will be, trust me. Do not short-change yourself by spending 5 months on the methodology and only one month putting it into practice. There are over 60 practice tests you can take and I recommend doing every single one if you have 6 months. Review your answers (right and wrong) the next day and you will start to see how the methods tie in together. There is no substitute for dedicated self-study.

It should take you no more than two months to read both bibles (and that is with a slow prep schedule). You must dedicate yourself to reading them and completing the drills. Then you need to really buckle in and practice what you learned.

Would you guys recommend me to read through the bibles before attempting to do the practice tests? I'm sort of OCD about getting things done before moving on to the next, in other words, I feel as if I need to get down the strategies from both LR and LG before seriously practicing it in prep books. And then of course after that, I would start mixing it up between powerscore bibles and the preptest books as I'm reviewing right and wrong answers. Also, thanks for the great advice so far by you guys. I'm going to pace myself to complete both bibles maybe within 2 months then using the next 4 months to practice practice practice.

As Dexter stated, if you are going to take 2 months to do the bibles, then you MUST commit to doing the drills and learning the methods. The next 4 months of practice tests will be the most important part of your plan.

Underdog180 wrote:Would you guys recommend me to read through the bibles before attempting to do the practice tests?

Yes - learn techniques first, then apply them as you complete full-length practice exams. Sounds like you have the right idea.

Just remember you can read both bibles 4x front to back and will still be marginalized by say he test. You need to do lots of practice test. Do not think you can get the bibles done and then take a few pts and say ok now i'm ok. The key is pratice test.

Best possible advice I read here is to first test for accuracy (untimed tests, then timed), then speed (timed while keeping accuracy), then endurance (making sure you don't get taken down by that peksy fifth section). Add on a sixth at the end just so you get really used to taking the LSAT. Be sure to review every single mistake and questions for which the answer was not immediately clear to you. Unless you get 165+ on your cold diagnostic, it takes at least 3 months of good prep to reach a place where you can attack just about every question. I went through all 60 PTs over 5 months, and then some of the harder ones a second time.

Underdog180 wrote:Would you guys recommend me to read through the bibles before attempting to do the practice tests? I'm sort of OCD about getting things done before moving on to the next, in other words, I feel as if I need to get down the strategies from both LR and LG before seriously practicing it in prep books. And then of course after that, I would start mixing it up between powerscore bibles and the preptest books as I'm reviewing right and wrong answers. Also, thanks for the great advice so far by you guys. I'm going to pace myself to complete both bibles maybe within 2 months then using the next 4 months to practice practice practice.

Absolutely not. You're going to be learning a variety of new skills as you progress, and should be putting each into practice as you learn it, not waiting until you've learned several new things and then trying to incorporate them all at once.