A lot of students spend a great deal of time practicing and stressing about Analytical Reasoning quesions, also called "logic games".  Human nature is such that we tend to focus on our weaknesses, rather than our strengths.  As a result, when students take that first diagnostic exam and miss, say, half of the Logic Games questions they freak out and are determined to master these question types.  This is exacerbated by the typcial Type "A" law student personality, that has succeeded in their undergraduate studies and has pretty much never failed at anything.

Prep courses often unknowingly add to the problem, because in their zeal to add value, they also focus on logic games, sometimes to the exclusion of the other question types-  Reading Comprehension and Logical Reasoning.  Once you have figured out a particular logic game, as with any puzzle, it seems easy and more significantly, can be apparently easily explained to others.  The problem with this is that there really is no "pattern" to logic games (however, there is a pattern to the other question types-  Reading Comprehension ("RC") and Logical Reasoning ("LR"), which I will discuss below), other than the basic question setup, which lends itself to some sort of diagram.  As a result, logic games preparation generally has a lower return on study investment than the other question types. 

On the other hand, RC and LR questions are almost pattern-like in their consistency.  With RC questions, anyone who has taken the LSAT can recognize the pattern-  a dense reading passage, followed by questions about the passage.  LR questions are almost always syllogistic (meaning, "if this, then that", requiring the test-taker to logically solve the problem.  As a result, both of these question types can be "drilled" through intensive preparation, and the skills required to solve these questions can be increased over time with that practice.

This is not to say that you cannot increase your skill in solving logic games problems.  I'm simply saying that you can more easily get better at RC and LR questions, and more quickly, than you can with logic games.  And because all LSAT questions count easily, depending upon how much prep time you have before the test, you may experience a greater "bang for the buck" with RC and LR  question practice than with logic games practice.

The other thing you should keep in mind is that the LSAT is a "head game" of sorts.  If you freak out during the test, for any reason, it is likely that you will not do as well as you could have.  Logic games tend to freak people out, especially people who have spend a great deal of time in LSAT logic games preparation, who suddenly encounter a logic games problem that seems unsolveable.  If you encounter one of those problems early in the LSAT on test day, it could potentially unnerve you to the point of affecting your overall performance. 

So, logic games preparation to the exclusion of practicing the other question types is a bad strategy.  A better strategy is to prepare equally for all question types, carefully monitor your progress early in your preparation, then adjust the ratio of prep time, depending upon your level of improvement.  If you experience good improvement on RC, but still aren't where you need to be, for example, it may make sense to invest more time in RC prep than logic games prep.

Finally, and arguably most importantly, remember that there is no penalty for guessing on the LSAT.  So, narrowing down the probable answers and then guessing between a couple of equally probable answers may statistically increase your chances of a correct guess.  And a guess counts the same as if you spend ten minutes sweating through an intense logic games question.

Everyone is different.  Different strategies work better for different people.  But don't fall for the "logic games trap" in your LSAT preparation-  spending most of your time trying to master this question type, to the exclusion of the other question types.

Be sure and read the other posts in my LSAT section, in order to get a good overview of the LSAT itself.  There are three basic question types:  Reading Comprehension (which measure your ability to read quickly and retain information), Logical Reasoning (which measure your ability to reason and detect implied and express assumptions) and Analytical Reasoning, or "logic games" (which measure your ability to analyze diverse facts and develop a cohesive conclusion).

Reading Comprehension  

There are approximately 26 Reading Comprehension questions.  Each Reading Comprehension question is a passage of about 450 words, followed by five to eight questions.  The passage is dense and frequently deals with subject matter which you will not be familiar with.  The purpose of Reading Comprehension questions is to test your ability to read carefully, comprehend new material, make inferences from the passage and apply the information.  

Different experts advise students to approach these questions differently.  Some advise you to read through the reading passage carefully, then read through the answer stem.  Others advise you to read through the answers first, then read the passage.  

Regardless of the technique you ultimately use, the most important skill you need to develop with these questions is your ability to use the process of elimination of bad answers (“POE”).  The trick is to eliminate incorrect answers as quickly as possible.

Logical Reasoning  

There are approximately 24-28 Logical Reasoning questions.  These questions typically contain very short reading passages, followed by answer choices.  Logical Reasoning questions deal with deductive and inductive logic and arguments.  You do not need to have had any formal preparation in logic to do well on these question types.  However, you should be able to identify in assumptions and premises contained therein, as well as appropriate conclusions which should or do follow from the given facts.

Analytical Reasoning

There are approximately 26 Analytical Reasoning questions.  The structure of the quesion is a fact patter, which provides information concerning the relationship among the various facts.  These questions, also called "logic games" are generally considered the most difficult of the LSAT questions.

Analytical reasoning questions involve a fact pattern with a group of variables and conditions, and the question tests your ability to derive conclusion regarding the relationships among the variables and conditions.   In my view, these types of questions arguably simulate more so than any other, the actual kind of thinking that goes on in law practice on a daily basis.

For example, you may be given a fact pattern in which a radio station programmer is trying to determine a radio program lineup.  There are certain condition regarding listener preferences and the order that groups of music may be played.  You are then required to determine the best programming order for an evening.  Another example of this type of question is the mapping question:  you are given relationships between cities and then asked to determine the optimal route for a trip.

Virtually all experts advise you to diagram the fact patterns of Analytical Reasoning questions.  For most people, diagramming is the only way to keep all of the facts straight.  

The key to success in Analytical Reasoning questions is to work enough questions in preparing for the LSAT.  This will ensure that you will develop your analytical skills and help you to think like the examiner.  Repeated diagramming and working through these questions will enable you to work through these question types more quickly.  Probably more so than any other question type, practicing Analytical Reasoning questions will increase your effectiveness.

That said, because these questions are generally the most difficult, you can spend a huge amount of time and get only incremental overall improvement in your test score.  You should keep in the back of your mind that you can score poorly on this section and still do extremely well overall.

In fact, you may spend a huge amount of time trying to improve your Analytical Reasoning score, and overlook the other question types.  This would be a mistake.   Unless you have limitless test preparation time, I would suggest that you spread your preparation evenly among the question types, carefully monitor your progress, and adjust your preparation accordingly, in order to achieve the highest degree of leverage from your preparation time.

There are common reasons that students incorrectly answer questions.  First of all, you cannot underestimate the effect of LSAT time pressures on your performance.  Given enough time, anyone could score in the 90-100 percentile range.  But for anyone who has taken a practice test will attest that the time pressure causes all kinds of opportunities to misread questions and make other simple mistakes.

The pressure is similar to that which you may have experience when the bases were loaded with two outs.  Or, the clock shows five seconds to go, your team is behind by one point and you take the outside shot.  You get the picture.

Not to frighten you, but I’ve passed two bar exams (for the uninitiated, the bar exam is a marathon test, typically lasting over two or three days) and still believe that the two or so hours spent taking the LSAT were among the most stressful of my career.  Take heart however (and read the other posts in this series), in that with steady practice, you can develop the skills tested by the LSAT.  More importantly, with practice you can build your confidence, which will in turn reduce your stress levels on test day.

That said, there are two things that you can begin practicing immediately to improve your LSAT scores:  (1) Slow down; and (2) Bubble carefully.

Under timed conditions, it is easy to misread the question.  The LSAT examiners often craft questions in a tricky fashion which capitalize on the examinee’s tendency to read a question too quickly. 

The obvious solution to this problem is to slow down and read carefully.  There is sufficient time to answer the questions, even with a relatively slow reading.

Another fairly common reason for incorrect answers is simply miscoding the answers on your answer sheet.  The antidote to this problem is to code your answers in smaller increments of 5-8 at a time.

Probably the most common reason for incorrect answers is that the test taker simply runs out of time.  The antidote to this problem is to budget your time as previously described.  If you run into a particularly difficult question, mark it for later in your test booklet or bubble in an answer on your answer sheet, and move on.

If you are on a tight budget, or simply prepare on your own, you can still do well on the LSAT.  Previously administered tests are available for purchase from the LSAC.   In addition, your local bookstore also carries numerous preparation books.  The real payoff in LSAT preparation is doing the practice questions. 

Keep in mind that any practice exams you purchase should have model answers and explanations.  Practice exams without explanations are pretty much useless for preparation purposes.

It is absolutely critical that you review these explanations, whether you answered the question correctly or not.  If you answered it correctly, you may be surprised to find that you got the question right for the wrong reason.

With enough time, almost anyone could answer virtually all LSAT questions correctly.  And that is where the key to success on the LSAT lies—the speed with which you are able to read, analyze the question stem, eliminate incorrect and come with the correct answer in a very short period of time.

Allow yourself ample time to prepare for the LSAT.

I would suggest that your preparation plan allow at least four hours of preparation time per day, for 8-12 weeks prior to the test.  I would do a self-administered diagnostic test to determine where you are as soon as possible.  If your score is not within 20 or so points of your target, then I would allow as much time as possible to prepare.

I did not take a preparation course and scored a 166, which was 95th percentile on the test.  I would suggest that you focus your preparation on old exams, rather than questions provided by commercial preparation sources.  Old exam questions simulate actual LSAT questions and provide a better measure of your progress in preparation than some of the commercial review questions.

You need to work through hundreds, if not thousands of practice questions.

There is no substitute for practice.  There are no shortcuts to success on the LSAT.  You must work sufficient questions such that the analysis and reasoning process become automatic to you.  This is because the test is so time-sensitive, that you will not have any time to really deliberate over your answers.  Further, you need to begin preparation for the LSAT as early as possible.  If you are taking the October test, I suggest that you begin preparation no later than the spring before.  Developing your LSAT “muscles” will take some time, if you want to do well.  You simply need plenty of absorption time to prepare.

Start with your own diagnostic exam.

Take an entire test, under strictly timed conditions (have a friend or spouse time you).  See where you stand.  You will likely be disappointed.  However, I can assure you that with LSAT questions, “practice makes perfect.”

Begin to work practice questions under untimed conditions.

As you work through problems, check the model answers (with explanations, if available) carefully, in order to understand what the correct reasoning process was for that question.  It is very important that at least initially you review the answers immediately after answering the question.  Think about the question again.  Think about your answer and why you got it right or wrong.  You should do this, even if you answered the question correctly.  You should prepare this way for a few weeks.

After you have begun to get a sense of the reasoning process for the various question types, you should then begin to incorporate timed questions into your practice sessions.  Over time, you will transition to all preparation questions under timed conditions.  However, you must ensure that you carefully review the model answer for every question your answer.  You will begin to develop a feel for the questions and intuitively eliminate many incorrect answers.  In addition, your reading and analytic skills will improve and your scores will increase. 

Begin Practicing Sections of LSAT Practice Questions Under Timed Conditions.

This is an essential step in your preparation.  You have become familiar and comfortable with the question types and developed your own methods for solving the problems.  You should begin to work sections of practice exams under timed conditions.

This is where I spent most of my LSAT preparation time.  I worked numerous sections of questions in the same increments as on the actual exam.  I would then score my results, and review the model answers and explanations.

Work Complete Practice Tests Under Timed Conditions.

This is also an important step in your exam preparation.  Working a complete exam will give you a sense of the mental stamina that will be required on test day.  Working sections will enhance your ability to read, reason, and analyze.  However, the LSAT is to a large extent, an endurance contest.  It is intense, draining and requires relentless attention to the questions.  You must be able to keep your focus throughout the exam.

If Possible, Do Some of Your Preparation Work At the Test Center.

Frequently, the LSAT is administered at the local university.  If at all possible, plan to do some of your test preparation at the test site.  Studies have shown that students perform better on exams where they have familiarity with the test site.  Your brain will, in essence, be trained to respond to the environment.

However, if you cannot practice at the test site, don’t sweat it.  As an alternative, I would suggest that you simply tour the test site, if possible, a few days prior to the test.  The most important thing is to know how to get to the site and become familiar with it.

The most important thing you can do to prepare for the LSAT is to take practice test upon practice tests.  In a way, preparing for the LSAT is like preparing for any competition.  It requires repeated practice of the task at hand.  If you work sufficient practice questions, over time, you will develop the mental “muscles” you need to succeed on the test.

Many people take courses in preparation for the LSAT.  Although these courses may offer a few test-taking “tricks” such as using process-of-elimination and diagramming your answer, there are no real shortcuts to the LSAT.  The courses are fairly expensive, however, the do provide you with abundant old actual exams to practice with, instructors who did well on the exam, and most importantly a preparation schedule. 

These courses will typically start with a diagnostic exam (on which you will probably do poorly) and an exam at the end of the course that demonstrates your improvement.  I reserve comment as to the inherent difficulty of the “before” and “after” diagnostic exams.

There are numerous choices regarding commercial prep courses for the LSAT.  Arguably, the “granddaddy” of them all is the Kaplan course.  Today, Kaplan, Inc. is an educational service conglomerate, offering preparation courses in just about everything, from the SAT to the MCAT.  Kaplan’s traditional LSAT preparation course costs approximately $1200.

In addition, Kaplan has in recent years hugely broadened its horizons by offering secondary education, university level and postgraduate education.  In fact, Kaplan recently started an Internet law school, Concord University.  Concord University, although not ABA accredited (it is classified as a correspondence school), it is registered with the California Committee of Bar Examiners and graduates are eligible to sit for the California bar exam.

Another popular course is Testmasters, which also offers preparation courses across the country.  Testmasters involves approximately 80 hours of live lectures, practice LSATs and costs about $1250. 

You can spend hundreds, or even thousands of dollars on your LSAT test preparation.  In addition, preparation course companies offer private tutoring and advice on how to get accepted into your law school of choice.  You can spend thousands of dollars for this kind of personalized coaching.

Whether you take a review course is up to you.  A course may give you extra confidence you need to do well on the exam.  It may give you discipline and a schedule to properly prepare for the LSAT.  You will also be able to interact with an instructor and your peers, which may be of some benefit.

On the other hand, you may waste a lot of time commuting to and from the course location, and listening to lectures which may or may not be useful.  The fact that you are taking the course may give you a false sense of security and result in overall less effective preparation.

You should also understand that these courses cannot offer you any easy way out of the LSAT.  There are no “commonly asked questions” on the LSAT.  No instructor has any real inside information regarding the test.  Certainly, these courses offer substantial benefit—diagnostic and practice exams, suggestions for each question type and overall exam strategies. 

However, your performance on the LSAT, as with everything else in law school and law practice is largely up to you.  You will have to wrestle with the questions and develop your analytical skills through an investment of substantial time and effort, in order to do well on the LSAT.  This is true regardless of whether you prepare for it on your own or with a course.

This is the first in a series of posts over the next week or so, designed to help students planning to take the LSAT.

Given that there is likely not much you can do about your undergraduate grades at this point, and the heavy emphasis law schools place on the LSAT score, you should not approach the LSAT lightly.  A high LSAT score will likely be the determining factor in your acceptance to a highly ranked school.  Regardless of where you decide to go, a high LSAT score will assure you choices.  As previously explained, many schools offer scholarships based upon LSAT performance.

The LSAT is administered four times per year at locations across the country.  Many law schools require that you take the test no later than December, in order to be considered for fall admission.  However, you would be wise to go ahead and take the test earlier.  This will give you more time to make plans and also give you time to take the test again, if you decide that you need to.  However, as previously discussed, you should keep in mind that most schools will average your test scores.

So, if you do very well the second time you take the test, but poorly the first time, your average score will be mediocre.  My advice is to prepare well in advance of the test, so that you will only have to take it once.

The test includes five 35-minute sections of multiple-choice questions and one 35-minute essay question. Areas tested are reading comprehension, analytical reasoning, and logical reasoning. One of the test sections (you will not know which) is not scored and used by the test administrators to evaluate new questions.   The writing sample is not graded by LSAC, but copies of your essay are sent to your prospective law school, along with your test score. The score scale for the LSAT is 120 to 180.

The LSAC describes the test as follows: “The LSAT is designed to measure skills that are considered essential for success in law school: the reading and comprehension of complex texts with accuracy and insight; the organization and management of information and the ability to draw reasonable inferences from it; the ability to think critically, and the analysis and evaluation of the reasoning and arguments of others.” (source:  www.lsac.org).

 The LSAC website is your first stop in your LSAT preparation process.  The website, www.lsac.org will enable you to register for the test, What the LSAC will not tell you is that, in order to perform well on the test, you will need to invest hours in taking practice tests and working practice questions.

Timing is everything on the LSAT.  Each 35-minute section consists of approximately 24-26 multiple-choice questions.  This means that you will have approximately 1 and a half minutes to read the question stem, read the answer choices, eliminate bad answer choices, choose an answer and blacken in your answer sheet.  If you still doubt how difficult this will be, the best thing to do is to take a practice exam, under timed conditions.  You will quickly be convinced that the LSAT is one of the most demanding tests that you will ever take.

Here again, as with law school grades, the grand scheme of the examiners is to take a huge number of candidates and somehow sort and sift through them on an objective basis, thereby force ranking them and making it easier for law schools to make their admissions decisions.  Your task is to end up at the preferred end of the ranking.

When I walked out of the LSAT test center at the Monterey College of Law in 1997, I had no idea of how I had done on the test.  If my score had come in at a 148, I don't think I would have been surprised.  I surely didn't think I scored a 166 (which was fortunately how it turned out).  I simply had no idea. 

During my LSAT prep, I had begun to develop a "feel" for how I had performed on the questions (toward the end of my preparation, I generally scored between 158 and 161).  And because I could immediately grade myself, I was able to quickly determine whether my "feeling" was accurate, which it usually was. 

However, on that beautiful day in Monterey, California as I walked out of the test center, I just didn't know.  As a result, I quickly began to engage in a pretty negative debate with myself as to whether or not I should cancel my score.  Ultimately, I decided that, other than the fact that I just didn't feel good about the test, I could not identify anything that would suggest that I had performed any worse than I did on my practice exams.

According to the LSAC, you have six days after the test to cancel your score.  The cancellation form is available at their website at http://www.lsac.org/pdfs/ScoreCancellationForm.pdf. 

But before you make this fairly important decision, you might want to ask yourself the following questions:

1.  Was there something significant going on either shortly before or during the test?  Examples would include illness, or a significant personal event, such as a relationship break-up.

2.  Did anything happen during the test that significantly distracted you?  Examples would be the person next to you humming to himself throughout the test, or sniffling uncontrollably.

3.  Was there a major mechanical misfire during the test?  An example would be that you discovered late in the test that somehow you had miscoded a number of your answers, and you had to correct the "bubbling".

If you cannot identify something, other than a vague feeling that you did not do well, you should make the decision to cancel very carefully.  As was mentioned above, I did reasonably well and did not feel good at all about the test (by the same token, I took two bar exams and felt the same way, but managed to pass anyway).  On the other hand, I suppose that some of you may have better intuitive skills than I.

Regardless, whatever you do, make your decision and then promptly forget about it.  If you decide to cancel your test, forget about it.  If you decide to hold 'em and your score doesn't turn out as well as you had hoped, forget about it. 

This is the first of many gateposts in the Law School Labyrinth.  Part of the purpose of the journey is to teach you how to analyze and make decisions.  If you fret after every one, you will find yourself among the burn-out crowd way too early in your blossoming legal career.  It's sort of like trying to time the stock market.  This is a long-term play and you will have many opportunities to correct your course.

And, by the way, that's the point.  If you want it bad enough, you will become a lawyer after all.  You will get accepted into law school.  You will pass the bar.  You will find a job.  You just will.