The Law School Admission Test is one of the primary determinants of the law school to which you will gain admission. The good news is, unlike many of the grades that you have earned which cannot be changed, you can always improve your LSAT score prior to taking the test. Acing the LSAT is an acquired skill that will hone itself the more that you study. Where that in mind, here are five do’s and don’ts for studying for the LSAT.
Do Take Many Practice Tests
Practice exams are the single most important resource for those studying for the exam. Take as many of them as possible because that is how you will learn how to answer the questions. Gear your studying towards these practice tests. When you attempt these exams, you will get a better idea of the areas on which you need to focus. Also, you will learn quickly where your weak spots are that you need to shore up with studying.
Take every practice exam possible, even if it means that you take dozens of them because this is how you learn how to take the test
Don’t Gloss Over Answer Explanations
When you take practice exams, they will always come with the answers. Most of these sample tests will have explanations for each of the answers. Knowing why an answer is correct or incorrect is invaluable. Test takers will always have the instinct to simply grade the answers without studying the reasons for these answers. This is a mistake because they are skipping over valuable information. Studying from the answer is key and one of the most valuable ways to place in context what you have just been asked and understand the skill as opposed to just learning the correct answer.
Do Study Consistently
It is better to study a smaller amount of time each day as opposed to studying for large chunks of time infrequently. Of course, taking practice exams will occupy large blocks of time, but make sure that you spent time sharpening and refreshing your skills in between practice exams. When you take too much time without honing your skills, you will have to relearn topics from scratch. Regular daily study, even if it is only a half an hour will keep your test-taking skills sharp and will mean that you are building on and adding to your skills.
Don’t Delay Studying
You are not going to learn the skills to ace the LSAT by beginning to study at the last minute. Immediately after Law School Admission Test registration, you should begin to learn the basics of what it expected on this exam. Once you have begun, you should steadily build up your studying time so that you can reach your stride in time for the exam. When you wait too long to begin studying, any progress that you can make will be tempered by the panic that you may feel when you realize that the LSAT is a difficult exam. The concepts and the material takes some time to grasp, and it is best to space things out so you are not trying to do too many things at once.
Do Pace Yourself
While you should begin studying right after Law School Admission Test registration, you should also keep a little something in the tank to keep you going through the test. If you start with too much intensity, you may tire yourself out by the time the final exam push needs to happen. Therefore, you should start moderately and increase your study efforts as the exam nears. This where you remember that taking the LSAT is the proverbial marathon instead of the sprint. You do not want to get too tired or burnt out when you really need to get in gear before the exam. Be mindful of how you feel while you are studying.
The LSAT is not an easy test, but it can be mastered. Provided that you have the ability to make a study plan and carry it out, you should take a deep breath and relax because you have the ability to conquer the exam.
