LSAT Suggestions? Forum

[ac8876a]

While doing timed practice sections/tests, I always seem to miss a lot of questions due to careless. A lot of the answers choices I get wrong isn't because I didn't understand understand, but more so I missed a certain detail or wasn't focused enough. Any suggestions to help this problem?

[Lexaholik]

While doing timed practice sections/tests, I always seem to miss a lot of questions due to careless. A lot of the answers choices I get wrong isn't because I didn't understand understand, but more so I missed a certain detail or wasn't focused enough. Any suggestions to help this problem?

I had the same problem. You'll probably have to figure out your own personalized way of fixing this issue but here's what worked for me:

1. Double down on speed. Accept that you're careless and try to do questions as fast as possible in your first pass without worrying about careless mistakes.

2. Circle questions you feel uncertain about or that you might get wrong due to carelessness.

3. Go back and review the circled questions in a second pass.

4. Repeat steps 1-3 as you see fit.

What you should absolutely not do is slow down your test taking to be more "careful." This is what I tried at first, and incidentally, what I was taught growing up. If you're careless you're probably a fast test taker. Relying on your strengths (by taking tests quickly and doing multiple passes) is far more effective than trying to become something you're not (slow, methodical, and accurate).

[ac8876a]

While doing timed practice sections/tests, I always seem to miss a lot of questions due to careless. A lot of the answers choices I get wrong isn't because I didn't understand understand, but more so I missed a certain detail or wasn't focused enough. Any suggestions to help this problem?

I had the same problem. You'll probably have to figure out your own personalized way of fixing this issue but here's what worked for me:

1. Double down on speed. Accept that you're careless and try to do questions as fast as possible in your first pass without worrying about careless mistakes.

2. Circle questions you feel uncertain about or that you might get wrong due to carelessness.

3. Go back and review the circled questions in a second pass.

4. Repeat steps 1-3 as you see fit.

What you should absolutely not do is slow down your test taking to be more "careful." This is what I tried at first, and incidentally, what I was taught growing up. If you're careless you're probably a fast test taker. Relying on your strengths (by taking tests quickly and doing multiple passes) is far more effective than trying to become something you're not (slow, methodical, and accurate).

The sounds good^^ Im going to try this, thanks!

[Abraham Lincoln Uni.]

You still want to keep the pace of answering the questions in a timely manner but you must figure out how to remain focused. For example, it can be turning the fact patterns into a game or making them interesting in a way so you stay engaged.

It is also wise to mark the questions you were “careless” in answering and determining if it is a certain type of question, is it during a certain time in the exam, or whether the topic does not interest you, which can be the reason you lose focus.

Also, you should keep practicing and building up your test and question bank. The more exposure you have, the more likely it will become automated in that you will know how to answer the question without losing too much focus, especially if you see the same or similar type of question.

[Blueprint Mithun]

While doing timed practice sections/tests, I always seem to miss a lot of questions due to careless. A lot of the answers choices I get wrong isn't because I didn't understand understand, but more so I missed a certain detail or wasn't focused enough. Any suggestions to help this problem?

Attention to detail is one of the biggest skills that the LSAT tests on, and that is required of a lawyer. It's especially easy to miss details on the LSAT because the test requires you to get through a lot of content in a relatively short period of time. The ideal LSAT-taking pace is a quick one. But you have to be as focused as possible while maintaining this pace.

There are certain words and indicators on the LSAT that are more important than others. These might not leap out at the untrained eye, but an experienced LSAT taker has been conditioned to notice them. These include quantifiers like some, most, and all statements, as well as logical strength indicators, like might, probably will, and definitely will. I teach my Blueprint students to become familiar with these during the first two lessons, as they are fundamentally important to mastering the test.

When I prepped for the LSAT, I initially found it extremely difficult to concentrate at a high level for an 4 or 5 section practice test. So in order to build my endurance, I worked on it incrementally. I started by doing two sections in a row, then upped to it three. Once I felt comfortable with that, I began taking a 15 minute break after the third and adding a fourth section (emulate the real LSAT's break). After several weeks of that, I finally attempted the full 5 section test. I then did about 20-30 more of those.