How I Scored a 180 on the LSAT, Part 2

^{By the Top Law Schools Editorial Team · Updated October 2026}

 

Part 2: Full-Length Tests, a Simulated Experimental Section, and Pattern Recognition

 

A perfect scorer explains why full five-section practice tests beat section drills, how to simulate the unscored section, and how to see that most Logical Reasoning questions repeat. Editors' notes show how to apply the method to today's LSAT.

 

Editor's note. This account comes from a TLS member who took the June 2009 LSAT (later released as PrepTest 57). At the time, the test had five multiple-choice sections, including Logic Games, and was taken on paper. Today the multiple-choice LSAT has four 35-minute sections: two scored Logical Reasoning, one scored Reading Comprehension, and one unscored variable section of either type (LSAC). From August 2026, most candidates test in person at a test center (LSAC). The author's core method, practicing under full test conditions and learning to see repeated argument patterns, matters even more now. Our Update boxes translate each step.

 

The Method in One Table

 

Principle	What the author did	2026 version
Learn the basics fast	Two weeks with one strategy book	One to two weeks of question-type fundamentals
Focus on hard questions	Used an advanced-question book instead of easy drills	Filter LawHub drills to your hardest question types
Full tests, not sections	Nearly daily full-length tests for three weeks	3 to 5 full four-section tests per week in the final month
Simulate the experimental section	Inserted a scored fifth section from another source	Add a fourth section from an unused PrepTest and score it separately
Match test-day timing	Tested at the real start time, with the same watch	Test at your appointment time on the digital interface
See patterns	Reduced LR questions to their logical skeleton	Keep a pattern log by flaw type
Control test-day variables	Scouted the test site, kept caffeine routine unchanged	Same, plus completing Argumentative Writing early

 

My Study Approach

 

I took the June 2009 LSAT and began studying in mid-April. I started with a general strategy book, concentrating on Logical Reasoning and Reading Comprehension. I never took a cold diagnostic. I wasn't interested in my unprepared score; I wanted to know what I could do after studying.

After about two weeks, I took two practice tests from that book and scored 166 and 170. A week later, with no extra study, I took my first official LSAC PrepTest and scored 179. I never scored below 173 on an official test after that. My takeaway: commercial practice tests can feel harder or simply different from the real thing. That turned out to be useful later.

Once I had the fundamentals, I shifted almost entirely to full practice tests rather than strategy books. The only other book I used focused on the hardest question types. That made my study time efficient: I wasn't grinding through easy questions that would never trip me up.

Update. Fundamentals still matter, but use official questions from LawHub wherever possible, because they match the real test's logic and difficulty. Commercial material is useful for extra drilling and for the "experimental section" trick below.

 

Why Full-Length Tests Beat Single Sections

 

From mid-May, I took practice tests almost every day. I drove to the library and started each one around 1:00 p.m., the start time of the June test that year. I timed myself with the same watch I'd wear on test day.

I'll admit I snacked during many practice tests, which you can't do during the real test. So I also took several tests with food only during the break, to make sure snacks weren't inflating my scores. They weren't.

Full tests mattered more than anything else for me. They challenged my concentration and endurance, and they forced me to perform under stress. A single 35-minute section is easy to manage emotionally; you don't have hours of test stretching out in front of you. Doing one section at a time was simply too relaxing to prepare me for the real thing.

The LSAT tests stamina and self-discipline. When else are you asked to concentrate without interruption for hours?

Update. Today's test is shorter: four 35-minute sections with a 10-minute break after the second. Stamina still matters, and the 10-minute break is the only rest you get. Practice the full four-section sequence, including the break, at your appointment time.

 

How to Simulate the Experimental Section

 

Official PrepTests are published without the unscored section, but the real test includes one, and you won't know which section it is. If stamina was a challenge for me, practicing with fewer sections wouldn't prepare me.

Here's what I did. I set aside four tests from a commercial source and broke them into individual sections. I inserted one of those sections into each official test as my "experimental" section. Because I knew which section was fake, I gave myself a reason to try hard on it anyway: I scored it. After every four official tests, I had used all four sections of one commercial test, so I combined those raw scores and gave myself a scaled score for that test too.

Commercial sections had another advantage. A common fear is that the experimental section will be strange or poorly calibrated and will rattle you. Commercial questions, which felt a little different from LSAC's, simulated that perfectly.

For the rest of my study period, I took one full five-section test nearly every day. My low was 173 and my high was 180. I averaged 176.5 at the end. On test day, I was repeating something I'd done about 16 times in three weeks.

Update: the 2026 version of this trick.

1. Reserve two or three unused official PrepTests as your "experimental bank."
2. For each practice test, add one Logical Reasoning or Reading Comprehension section from the bank, in a random position among the four sections.
3. Score the bank section separately and track it as its own running score.
4. Don't use Logic Games sections from older tests. The current unscored section is always Logical Reasoning or Reading Comprehension.

This keeps your practice at four sections and teaches you to give full effort without knowing which section counts.

 

Logical Reasoning: Every Question Is an Old Question in New Clothes

 

Logic Games and Logical Reasoning look different, but they test the same thing: combining rules and drawing correct inferences. Just as you can reduce a game rule to letters and arrows, you can reduce a Logical Reasoning question to its abstract structure.

 

Example 1: The Biased-Source Argument

 

One released LSAT question (June 2007, Section II) goes roughly like this. A consumer notes that a report calls a company's packaged meals non-nutritious. But the report was commissioned by the company's biggest rival, which reviews early drafts. The consumer concludes that, because the report is biased, the meals must actually be nutritious.

Strip away the details and the argument has three parts:

1. A claim is made.
2. The source of the claim has a reason to be dishonest.
3. Therefore, the claim is false.

 

The hidden assumption: having an ulterior motive for a claim means the claim is false. In arrow form, Motive to mislead → Claim false. The correct flaw answer says the argument treats evidence of bias as evidence that the report's claims are false.

 

Example 2: The Same Question, Different Nouns

 

Later on the same test, a question argued that politicians make promises to get elected, so their promises are selfishly motivated and therefore unreliable. Different topic, identical skeleton: a claim, a motive, and the conclusion that the claim must be false. The correct answer says, in effect, that a promise isn't necessarily unreliable just because it was made with an ulterior motive.

This was the most important thing I learned. After about ten practice tests, I realized Logical Reasoning is highly repetitive. Every new question started to look like an old question with politicians swapped for scientists or public safety swapped for animal behavior. The fallacies stayed the same.

The number of distinct argument structures the LSAT uses is finite. Every practice test makes it less likely that the real test can surprise you. When you miss a question, figure out why. Then when it appears in its next disguise, you'll recognize it.

Update: a pattern log for today's test. With Logical Reasoning now two of three scored sections, pattern recognition is the highest-return skill you can build. Keep a log with these columns: Pattern name (e.g., "attacks the source, not the argument"), skeleton in letters, a sample question number, and the typical correct-answer wording. Common patterns to track:

Pattern	Skeleton
Source attack (ad hominem)	Source has a motive → claim false
Sufficient/necessary confusion	A → B, B, so A
Correlation treated as causation	A and B occur together → A causes B
Unrepresentative sample	Some X have trait → all X have trait
Absence of evidence	Not proven true → false
Part/whole	Parts have trait → whole has trait
Equivocation	Key term shifts meaning between premise and conclusion

For the formal-logic patterns, use our conditional reasoning guide.

 

Logic Games: A Historical Note

 

The author loved Logic Games but found it the section where he was most likely to run out of time. His advice was to look for deductions during the first read rather than reading the setup twice, and to practice hybrid games, which combine common game types and were often the hardest.

Logic Games were removed from the LSAT beginning in August 2024. If you study from older PrepTests, skip the games sections. The deduction habit, actively looking for what must follow as you read each rule, transfers directly to Must Be True and Sufficient Assumption questions.

 

Reading Comprehension: Mark to Stay Engaged

 

Reading Comprehension was my least favorite section because it isn't much fun. The hardest part was staying focused through four dense passages.

I underlined or bracketed important parts: conclusions, major pivots, key evidence. Oddly, I almost never went back to those marks when answering questions. But the act of marking kept me engaged and aware of the passage's structure.

My other advice: remember that this section isn't only testing comprehension. It also asks about principles, reasoning, and the strengths and weaknesses of arguments in the passages. The LSAT never stops testing your ability to reason.

Update. The digital interface includes highlighting tools. Practice with them on LawHub so your marking habit transfers. Because the unscored section may also be Reading Comprehension, prepare to read up to eight passages on test day.

 

Test-Day Strategy

 

In my year, the June test started at 1:00 p.m. while the other administrations started in the morning. The afternoon start helped me. I could finish my normal morning routine and get more sleep, which mattered because anxiety keeps me from falling asleep at night.

The day before, I visited the test site to plan my route and check parking. On the actual day there was unexpected construction and parking was a mess. Still, I recommend scouting your test center ahead of time.

I function best with caffeine, so I brought iced coffee and drank it during the break. My general rule: don't change your routine on test day. Don't take extra caffeine for a boost, don't cut back to avoid bathroom breaks, and don't switch to an unfamiliar source. The same applies to any as-needed medication. Do what you did on practice days.

Finally, I was looking forward to the test. It wasn't easy, but it was more engaging than most of what I did in school or at work. You get to sit down for a few hours, think hard, and change the course of your life. Anxiety is normal. In the big picture, it's a good day.

Update: 2026 test-day checklist.

• Format: In person at a test center for most candidates since August 2026, with limited exceptions (LSAC).
• Argumentative Writing: Unscored, taken remotely on your own computer, available as early as eight days before your multiple-choice test; you need a completed writing sample on file before your score is released (LSAC).
• Break: One 10-minute break after the second section. Check LSAC's current test-center rules for food and drink.
• Score cancellation: You can cancel within the window after testing that LSAC sets in its Candidate Agreement; LSAT Score Preview lets you see your score before deciding.
• Test limits: Five tests within the current and past five reportable score periods and seven lifetime (LSAC).

 

A Note on My Experimental-Section Data

 

A careful reader might object: if I always placed the fake experimental section among the first three sections, weren't those scores inflated because I was fresher? Fair point. I chose to accept that risk rather than distort the scores on my main tests, since the goal was to make the real sections feel like a full-length test. It would have mattered for an experiment. It didn't affect the usefulness of the practice.

Update. On today's test the unscored section can appear in any position. Randomize where you place your bank section so you practice full effort in every slot.

 

Editor's Companion: Putting the Full-Test Method to Work

 

The author's core insight was that full-length tests under realistic conditions build the endurance and composure that single sections can't. The sections below, written by TLS editors, turn that insight into a routine for today's four-section, in-person test.

 

A Sample Full-Test Day

 

Time	Activity
60 minutes before your test-center start time	Wake up, eat the breakfast you'll eat on test day, review your top five mistake-log rules
Start time	Sections 1 and 2 (35 minutes each), no pauses between them
After Section 2	10-minute break; stand up, drink water, eat a small snack
After the break	Sections 3 and 4
Immediately after	Note your gut feeling about each section and any questions you guessed on
Later the same day or next morning	Blind review, then score and full review

 

Reviewing a Full Test in about 90 Minutes

 

Full review of every test is non-negotiable, but it doesn't have to consume your whole day.

Step	Time	What to do
1. Blind review	30 to 40 minutes	Redo every flagged or uncertain question untimed before checking answers
2. Score both versions	5 minutes	Compare timed and blind-review scores to separate timing issues from understanding issues
3. Analyze misses	30 to 40 minutes	For each miss, write why your answer was wrong and why the right answer is right
4. Update your logs	10 minutes	Add entries to your mistake log and pattern log
5. Pick tomorrow's drill	5 minutes	Choose the question type to drill before your next test

 

Building Endurance Gradually

 

If you're starting from short drills, don't jump straight to daily full tests. Build up:

Phase	Practice
Weeks 1 to 2 of timed practice	Two consecutive sections, three times a week
Weeks 3 to 4	Full three-section scored tests
Weeks 5 and later	Four-section tests including an "experimental" section
Final three weeks	Four-section tests three to five times a week, as the author did

 

A Pattern Log: Recurring Flaws to Recognize Instantly

 

The author's point that "every question is an old question in new clothes" is most useful when you can name the pattern within seconds. These are the flaw patterns that appear most often on Logical Reasoning.

Pattern	What it looks like	Typical cue words
Correlation treated as causation	Two things occur together, so one must cause the other	associated with, linked to, those who... tend to
Sampling error	A conclusion about a group based on an unrepresentative sample	a survey of, among those who responded
Reversal of a conditional	Treating a sufficient condition as necessary	if, only if, requires
Negation of a conditional	Concluding the outcome won't happen because a sufficient condition is absent	if not, without
Attacking the source	Rejecting a claim because of who made it	has a financial interest, is not an expert
Appeal to inappropriate authority	Relying on someone outside their expertise	a famous actor says, a respected economist claims about medicine
Equivocation	Using a key word in two senses	a word repeated with shifting meaning
Part-to-whole (composition)	What's true of parts is true of the whole	each member, the team as a whole
Whole-to-part (division)	What's true of a whole is true of each part	the company is profitable, so every division is
False choice	Assuming only two options exist	either... or, the only alternative
Absence of evidence	Concluding something is false because it hasn't been proven true	no evidence shows, has not been shown
Circular reasoning	The conclusion is assumed in a premise	restatement in different words
Percentage vs. number confusion	Treating a rate as an amount, or vice versa	percent, proportion, number of
Mistaking a necessary condition for enough	Assuming that because one requirement is met, the outcome follows	requires, is necessary for
Overlooking alternative explanations	Concluding one explanation is correct without ruling out others	must be due to, can only be explained by

 

When you miss a Flaw, Weaken, or Strengthen question, label it with one of these patterns in your log. After a few weeks, you'll find you can name the pattern while reading the stimulus.

 

Reading Comprehension Passage Types

 

Reading Comprehension is a full scored section, so it deserves the same pattern-based approach.

Passage type	Common structure	What to track
Law	A legal doctrine, a critique, and a proposed alternative	The doctrine, the critic's objection, and the author's position
Natural science	A phenomenon, competing hypotheses, and new evidence	Which hypothesis the evidence supports
Social science	A study or theory and its limitations	Methodology and the author's reservations
Humanities	An artist, writer, or movement and a scholarly interpretation	The interpretation and how the author evaluates it
Comparative reading	Two shorter passages on a shared topic	Where the authors agree, disagree, or use different approaches

 

The author's tactic of marking passages to stay engaged works well with these structures. On the digital interface, use the highlighting tool for the main point, viewpoints, and shifts in argument.

 

Test Day in 2026: An In-Person Checklist

 

Since August 2026, most candidates take the LSAT in person at a test center (LSAC). The author's emphasis on controlling test-day variables matters even more now.

When	What to do
Two weeks before	Confirm your test center, appointment time, and identification requirements in your LSAC account
One week before	Visit or map the test center; plan travel and parking; test your commute at the same time of day
Three days before	Taper; take your last full test no later than this
Day before	Light review only; pack your ID and approved items; sleep at your normal time
Test morning	Eat your usual breakfast; arrive early; don't change your caffeine routine
At the break	Water, a small snack, a short walk; don't discuss the test
After the test	Complete LSAT Argumentative Writing if you haven't already; LSAC requires a writing sample on file before it releases your score

 

LSAT Argumentative Writing

 

Argumentative Writing is unscored but required, and schools read it. It's taken remotely and gives you 50 minutes, including 15 minutes of prewriting (LSAC). Tips:

• Take it early, so your score release isn't delayed.
• Use the prewriting time to identify the key issue and outline your position.
• State your position clearly, address at least one counterargument, and write in clean, organized paragraphs.
• Proofread. Schools treat it as a writing sample.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

 

Should I Practice with Full-Length LSAT Tests or Individual Sections?

 

Both, but full-length tests matter most in the final month. They build the stamina and stress management that single sections can't. This author took a full test nearly every day for the last three weeks.

 

How Do I Simulate the LSAT's Unscored Section?

 

Add one extra Logical Reasoning or Reading Comprehension section from an unused PrepTest to each practice test, place it randomly, and score it separately so you have a reason to give it full effort.

 

Are Logical Reasoning Questions Really Repetitive?

 

Yes. The LSAT uses a limited set of argument structures and flaws. After about ten practice tests, most questions start to look like familiar patterns with new subject matter. A pattern log speeds up that recognition.

 

Is the LSAT Still Five Sections?

 

No. Since August 2024, the multiple-choice LSAT has four 35-minute sections: two scored Logical Reasoning, one scored Reading Comprehension, and one unscored section. Argumentative Writing is separate and unscored.

 

What Should I Change on Test Day?

 

Nothing. Keep your caffeine, food, sleep, and medication routines identical to your practice days. Scout the test center in advance and finish Argumentative Writing before test week.

 

How Long Should I Spend Reviewing a Full Practice Test?

 

Plan on about 90 minutes: blind review of uncertain questions, scoring, analysis of every miss, and updating your mistake and pattern logs.

 

How Do I Build Stamina for the LSAT?

 

Build up gradually from two consecutive sections to full four-section tests, then take full tests three to five times a week in the final weeks, at your actual test-center start time.

 

Sources

• LSAC, Specifications of the LSAT and LSAT Argumentative Writing
• LSAC, The LSAT: remote testing and distance exceptions
• LSAC, Types of LSAT Questions
• LSAC, Candidate Agreement 2026-2027
• LSAC, LawHub