PTs, Reviewing, and Studying Timing Forum

[7Steps]

Hey everybody,

First time poster here! I'm looking at taking the LSAT in February 2015 and am just beginning to study. My first two practice tests yielded a 158 and 162, respectively. As with most other people on this site, I'm striving for as high a score as possible. If I'm not scoring in my desired range by the time January come around - or at least am close enough to it - I'll delay taking the exam until June 2015.

I've looked over a large number of study guide posts on this site (they're great!) but am a little confused in regards to what the most efficient way for me to proceed is. So far, I've simply been reviewing my mistakes on the PTs the day after taking the test. Would it be best for me to continue doing this (testing and reviewing two times a week) for a month or so and then delving into the study guides (Powerscore, etc.) or take the time to really get into the review books, master the concepts as much as possible, and then go on a four month streak of pure PT/review? I have access to PTs 7-56 as well as the Bibles and several other oft-noted study guides.

Thank you! It's great to finally be on board.

[downbeat14]

IMO, it's better to really master concepts at the beginning rather than gobbling up practice tests. I would spend ample time with either the LSAT Trainer or the PowerScore Bibles for a month and focus on mastering specific question and game types. You may want to take PTs during that month to see if things are sticking, but save the bulk of the PT-taking until after you have mastered the concepts. Also, you mention having access to 7-56. Make SURE to get access to the later PTs (up to 72 once June is published)!!!! The test has changed a bit in the last several years. I would also recommend at least looking at/doing the logic games from PTs 1-6 if you can. The older games are starting to rear their ugly head, and a lot of people got burned on the June exam because of it.

Once you get into the bulk of your PT work, make sure to analyze your miss trends and do drilling along the way to fix any holes. For example, after I took a few PTs I noticed I was missing a disproportionately large number of ID the Flaw questions. I went through and drilled a bunch of those for a few days and started to notice some patterns with how they structured correct answers and distracting wrongs. In the next few PTs, I missed far fewer of these questions.

[7Steps]

Thank you!