Enroll Now

Preparing for the LSAT

There's no getting around the fact that taking the LSAT is stressful.  Your score on the exam is one of the major factors that determines which law schools you'll get into – so it's natural to experience exam day anxiety.  The only sure-fire way to prevent these nerves is with practice and preparation.  A good LSAT preparation program includes the following three elements:

Test Structure

The first thing to study when you begin preparing for the LSAT is the way the test looks and how it's structured.  You may already know that the test consists of five 35-minute segments, only four of which will contribute to your overall score.  However, if you don't know how each of the segments will look on paper, it's time to pick up a test prep guide.

Test prep guides from all the major companies – like Kaplan and the Princeton Review – are available at your local bookstores, but they can be pricey if you buy them new.  The best thing to do is to go online to Amazon.com and research the different guides that are available before you buy.  You'll find user reviews online that will give you an idea of each book's strengths and weaknesses, enabling you to choose the book that best meets your needs.  Just be sure that if you buy used, you buy a copy without highlighting or completed practice tests.

Test-Taking Strategies

Once you're familiar with the structure of the test, it's important to learn how to best utilize the time you have to answer questions.  Test-taking strategies include such techniques as eliminating as many wrong answers as possible before choosing your response and learning how to pace yourself during more difficult questions.  Most of the test prep guides you can buy include a section on these strategies.

However, it's not enough to just read about the strategies.  If you don't practice them as part of your LSAT test preparation, you won't be able to use them efficiently when you're actually taking the exam.  To start, take a few practice tests and see where your weaknesses lie.  Do you tend to get hung up on tough questions or have trouble with certain question types?  Try to find specific test-taking strategies that address your individual needs.

Specific Skills

The LSAT includes analytical reasoning and logical reasoning sections – both of which can be difficult if you aren't familiar with this type of question.  Again, the best advice is to practice, practice, practice!  As you go through sample questions, you'll start to get the hang of answering these types of questions.  If you find that you're weaker in one area than another, consider investing in a guide that specifically focuses on your trouble area.

The more practice you put into the LSAT, the more comfortable you'll feel on exam day.  This can make a huge difference in your performance, since you'll be able to focus better if you aren't feeling nervous and unprepared.  It's not fun, but the time you spend practicing test-taking strategies and preparing for specific types of questions will pay off big time in your LSAT scores.

Quick Links: