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July 13, 2020

What is the Best Way to Review LSAT Practice Tests?

What is the Best Way to Review Practice Tests

On the PowerScore LSAT Discussion Forum, there have been discussions about how to best review practice LSATs and homework problems. Students often make a critical error when studying. I want to address that and lay down a framework for optimally reviewing the problems you complete. This will help you get the most out of the time that you spend studying.

What is the Critical Study Error Many Students are Making?

Most students review the questions they missed and not the ones they answered correctly. This is the most natural error in the world, but you must review every single question you complete in order to get maximum value from the time you spend studying. As I have discussed, you can’t get all of the information contained in a question by looking at it once. Although you may have answered a question correctly, you may not have fully understood the question. And, equally important, there may have been a way to do the question more quickly or more decisively. In other words, just because you answered a question correctly does not mean that you answered it optimally. Nor does it guarantee that you can repeat your performance the next time you encounter the same concept. Last, as Jon Denning has said, great test takers treat success in much the same way they treat failure. Further insight into victory is as likely to facilitate continued victory as an understanding of mistakes is to promote future avoidance.

As you review your practice tests and homework, look over questions you missed, but also assess questions you answered correctly. If the question was perfectly clear to you, check it quickly and move on. However, if you had any hesitation at all in choosing the answer, make sure to go over the problem in the same manner as if you had missed it.

The Methodology

Ok, with that critical piece of strategy covered, let’s outline a consistent approach to reviewing questions. In the past, we’ve talked a lot about how to take practice LSAT tests, so I’m not covering that here. Instead, I’m going to specifically talk about how to review any test or homework problems you complete. There are three ways you can approach reviewing questions. Why discuss three different ways? Because using a single way can become tiresome and feel unrewarding, so it’s useful to mix it up on occasion. In general, the first method is best when you first are studying or feel “stuck.” The second and third methods are better towards the middle or end of your preparation. All methods could benefit from a tracking mechanism. We offer tracker sheets in our free LSAT Self-Study Plans. Feel free to use those as-is or use them as a model for ones you create. Note that the final 7 steps will be identical in all method and are presented at the end. Let’s look at each.

Method I: Blind Review

This method delays your consideration of the answers until after you’ve had a chance to carefully examine each problem. Perfect for if you’re trying to determine whether you really understand each problem or if you were getting lucky. It’s especially useful if you are struggling at a score plateau or find your scores bouncing all around.

  1. After you complete the test or question set, do NOT check the answers. Instead, write down every question that you felt you struggled on at all or felt less than certain about. If you couldn’t finish certain questions, add those to the list with a notation that they were unfinished.
  2. Next, go back and review every question un-timed, including the ones you did not answer. Your goal is to understand each question as well as possible, so take your time.
  3. As you complete the review of each question, determine whether you would have kept the same answer choice or changed your answer to a different choice. If you change an answer, make notes in your tracker as to the reason you changed your answer. Example: “CE: Didn’t see the causal conclusion” or “Down to 2, missed a word in (B).”
  4. With every question now reviewed in detail, you can now check all your answers against the answer key.  You should produce two separate scores. One score for your original timed performance and another score based on the answers you changed during your blind review. Your second score should be better!
  5. While your first score tells you what you should have received, your second score tells you the questions that really tricked you. So let’s go through each type of answer:
    • The ones you didn’t mark as a problem.

These can be your best friend or very dangerous. If you didn’t mark a problem as difficult and answered it correctly, then no problem. But if you missed it then this question tricked you. Stop and analyze it closely, and make  a special note on your tracker about the question (later you’ll review all these super tricky problems together in order to find any deep patterns you might be missing).

    • The ones you marked as a problem but kept your answer the same.

If you mark a question as difficult but kept the same answer both times and it turns out to be the correct answer, then no problem. But if you missed it, then you’ve come across an idea or formation that you need to learn more about. Stop and review the problem, seeking outside explanations if needed.

    • The ones you marked as a problem but changed your answer.

If you changed your answer away from a right answer but to a wrong one, first determine why you changed your answer. What drew you from your good choice to a bad one? Then, make sure to mark these problems as well, because your grasp of the main concept or wording in the problem needs work. Stop and review the question until it is clear. If you changed your answer from a wrong one to a right one, then good! You saw a difference from the first pass to the second, which shows improvement. Make a note of what happened, and re-examine the problem so that next time you see the right answer the first time. And finally, if you were wrong with both answers (!), then review the problem thoroughly before placing it in the super tricky category from above.

 

Method II: Delayed Blind Review

The second method of review has you to delay your understanding of why you missed the question in favor of having a second opportunity to figure the question out while working on it. This method can provide you with a deeper understanding of the questions and a better ability to understand how and when to apply the right techniques:

  1. After you complete the test or question set, immediately check the answers.
  2. Write down every question that you missed or that you answered correctly but found to be a challenge, but do NOT write down the correct answer.
  3. Next, after taking a break of anywhere from a few hours to a few days, go back and review every question, including the ones you answered correctly. Your goal is to understand the question as well as possible, and to re-answer each question that you missed or felt was challenging.
  4. If there is any obvious deficiency that’s causing you to miss questions in the set you just completed, go study that topic immediately. For example, let’s say that you noticed that you kept mis-diagramming conditional rules in Logic Games. If that’s apparent to you, go study that topic right then. The idea is that if you see that something is causing your problems, don’t delay in attempting to address it.

Method III: Immediate Review

The last way provides immediate gratification, and is useful if you are low on study time:

  1. After you complete the test or question set, immediately check the answers.
  2. Write down every question that you missed or that you answered correctly but found to be a challenge.
  3. Next, go back and review every question, including the ones you answered correctly. Your goal is to understand the question as well as possible.
  4. If there is any obvious deficiency that’s causing you to miss questions in the set you just completed, go study that topic immediately. For example, let’s say that you noticed that you kept mis-diagramming conditional rules in Logic Games. If that’s apparent to you, go study that topic right then. The idea is that if you see that something is causing your problems, don’t delay in attempting to address it.

The Final Steps to All Methods

  1. As you complete the review of each question, make notes in your tracker regarding reasons you missed the question. Example: “CE: Didn’t see the causal conclusion” or “Down to 2, chose wrong one.”
  2. If there is any obvious deficiency that’s causing you to miss questions in the set you just completed, go study that topic immediately. The idea is that if you see that something is causing your problems, don’t delay in attempting to address it.
  3. Wait a few days, then redo the questions you missed or gave you trouble. Take a few days off from studying that particular test or set of problems. After another three days (preferably longer), return to the question set and review any question that was confusing.
  4. If you still can’t answer the problem correctly or figure out what you did wrong, consult an answer source. If you’ve given yourself at least two strong looks at the question and still do not understand it fully, consult an external answer resource. That might mean asking your PowerScore LSAT course instructor or tutor, looking at one of our publications, or posting a question on our LSAT Forum.
  5. Every 10 to 14 days, review your tracker and note the areas where you are having problems. Then restudy the concepts in your course books, in the Bibles, or with your tutor.
  6. When you run into difficulty, don’t panic and don’t place undue weight on isolated results. Your performance will naturally vary, especially as you complete more and more problems and tests. These variances are natural (see my article on The Casino Effect), and you must understand that subtle variations in your performance are natural.
  7. If you do have a legitimately bad result (such as an unusually low practice test score), don’t look at that as the end of the world. Failure, while not desirable, can provide you with certain benefits. So, if you do suffer a legitimate reversal of fortune (and not just the random kind mentioned in #9), then make sure you get every possible benefit from that failure.

Pick One and Give it a Go!

I covered the main ways to review questions because some people prefer one approach over the other. When you are just starting out, experiment with all three and see which one you prefer. If you like to mix things up, use different strategies depending on how you feel about the test or problem set you just completed. Sometimes you absolutely have to know why a problem is wrong, and sometimes you can wait. If you think you could use some outside help getting you to your full potential, review your results with a tutor!

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Posted by Dave Killoran / LSAT Prep / LSAT Prep, Practice Tests 15 Comments

  • Arman Ricardo
    September 13, 2016 at 3:41pm

    Hello,

    I began my studying about the start of the summer. My diagnostic was 140 i am now PT around the low 150s. I want to get a 165 come December, is this reasonable? What would you suggest i do to achieve my goal seeing that i will also be in school this semester, although not my most hectic semester.

    I have done about 10 timed tests and maybe 6 untimed tests (which i score in the high 160s). Albeit i admit my reviews have not been thorough and certainly not of my correct answers.

    I am just wondering what you would suggest? How many days a week?

    Thanks
    Arman

  • Arman
    September 13, 2016 at 3:47pm

    Thanks!

  • Arman
    September 13, 2016 at 3:47pm

    Would appreciate a response, thanks alot!

  • Dave Killoran
    September 13, 2016 at 3:52pm

    Hi Arman,

    You only just posted this (about 10 minutes ago, I think), but I’m actually already working on a response to you! It just takes more than a few minutes for us to craft a quality reply, but we always reply to questions and comment on our blog and forum. So, you’ll get a reply pretty quickly on this one (probably within 30 minutes from the time it was posted, which is really I fast I think), but at other times it may take longer (such as a day).

    So, please keep an eye out here and you’ll see a reply from me shortly. Thanks!

  • Dave Killoran
    September 13, 2016 at 4:06pm

    Hi Arman,

    Thanks for the question! First off, congrats on the score increase so far—it’s always nice to see steady progress, especially when you know there are things that you could do that would make your studying even better (such as more thorough reviews and reviewing correct answers). Is a score in the 160s possible? Certainly. You still have plenty of time until December, and it appears that you know some steps you can take to do even a better job studying. However, for me to determine how realistic such an increase is, I need a lot more information. I wrote an article that explains the type of info we need, and that article is at http://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/need-lsat-advice-how-to-help-us-help-you . If you could read through that and then supply information on as many of the pieces of info requested as possible, that would give me a far better base from which to make an analysis of your chances. You can post that answer here, or on that article—whatever you prefer is fine.

    Second, you might find it interesting to read my lengthy exchange with a student of ours on our LSAT Discussion Forum: https://forum.powerscore.com/lsat/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=4666 . He was attempting to go from the 140s into the 170s, and we talked about a wide range of topics that related to his pursuit, and many of those relate to your quest as well. He ultimately increased his score by 24 points, so I think you’ll find it an interesting read.

    Once you post back more details about your performance and studying up to this point, I’ll post another reply to you. But, just as an fyi, I probably won’t be within 30 minutes of when you post—I have several meetings coming up that will take a lot of time today 🙂 I’ll do my best to get back to you asap though. Thanks!

  • A
    September 15, 2016 at 1:39pm

    Hi sorry about that must of been a computer glitch..i am responding in one of the links you provided with my detailed information of study so far

  • Arman
    September 15, 2016 at 2:17pm

    Thanks Dave, I replied in the first link “Need LSAT Advice, help us hep you”

    Look forward to hearing back from you.
    Arman

  • Arman
    September 18, 2016 at 2:57am

    Hi Dave, thanks for replying on the other post. I followed your link here and have provided the info below.
    Test Date: Dec 3rd 2016

    Study History: Since May have been taken a free prep class through University’s Law faculty for “low income, high potential” candidates. Helped me improve my diagnostic from 140 to low 150s. I’ve done a total of 9 timed PT in the PT30-50 range and some random sections on the side (definetly no more than 20 PT have been touched in total). During the summer months totalled about an average of 20-30 hrs a week of independent studying.

    Scoring History: Diagnostic 140. Other scores have been, 150,143, 151, 148, 151, 151, 155, 151, 149. Section scores are as follows: LR 7-10 wrong, Games 2-4 wrong, RC 7-10 wrong rough averages. In terms of finishing, LR most of the time i dont get to finish the last 5 and i guess, Games im typically finishing unless there is a really tricky game or i make a stupid mistake, and then RC i always guess the entire last passage alot of the times im just skimming the actual text because time is running out. Highest LR 6 wrong, Games 2 wrong, RC 7 wrong.

    Target Score: 165! but 180? sure why not 🙂

    Prep Material: All three bibles (RC is 2015 edition) and every LSAT up to PT74. Money is tight for me so i cant really afford to buy more material. I have read the RC and LR bibile not the games bible. To be honest law school students have been extremely nice and have given me some of their old LSAT prep books like Kaplan and Manhattan but havent even open them (my loyalty is to Powerscore, i hear they’re the best :))

    Problem Areas: LR is where i really want to improve as its 50% of the exam and im not really finishing it on time. Also my timing as im not completly most sections. In terms of questions on LR my weakest are probably Flawed Reasoning, Assumption, Must be True, and Weaken but i havent really been tracking my issues.

    Other info: my exam is in the morning and im a morning person so im usually in the library studying in the morning. Im back at school now 4th and final year. 10 hrs a week of class this semester in Pol Sci, so alot of reading. I really just need a set schedule or routine to follow on a weekly basis using the material i have right now. How many PT a week? Reviewing day of writing or the next day? can i split my day into lsat work in the first half of the day — lunch/break–school homework in the evening?

    Thanks alot any advice is appreciate
    Arman

  • Dave Killoran
    September 19, 2016 at 10:11pm

    Hi Arman, I’ve received your comments and the email you sent in to the office as well–thanks for those! With the LSAT happening this Saturday, we are just slammed at the moment trying to help students prepare for that test, and I have a queue of dozens and dozens of questions I’m attempting to answer. So, I will get to you questions as soon as I possibly can, but it likely won’t be for a day or two. I’ll do my best to make it even sooner, though. Thanks!

  • Arman
    September 20, 2016 at 3:40am

    Hi Dave, thanks so much!
    I guess I should add I’m scheduled to write this Saturday but I will be cancelling my score due to my situation. I think that’s the smartest move.
    Look forward to hearing back from you!

    Best
    Arman

  • Dave Killoran
    September 21, 2016 at 11:36pm

    Hey Arman,

    Ok, thanks for the info above! A few quick things:

    1. If you know that you are cancelling your score this weekend, don’t take the test. Better to delay it and not have it count as one of your three takes within a two year period. Cancellations count, postponements don’t!

    2. Based on the very helpful info you posted, I wouldn’t focus on doing a lot of tests, and would maybe do about one per week on average for the time being. I say that because I would focus more on learning concepts and reviewing questions. Doing a large number of test without having the methods locked down will just lead you to repeat the same mistakes over and over. So, I would spend a lot of time reviewing concepts and techniques, then slowly start to take more and more tests.

    3. For the test you do complete, use the Second method (Delayed Blind Review) on this page: http://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/the-best-way-to-review-lsat-practice-tests. do your review the day after or two days after, depending on your schedule.

    4. You can definitely split your day up into halves, and I see now problem at all with doing the LSAT work in the AM and your school work in the PM.

    5. You are right to focus on LR, not only because that is 50% of the test, but because your work in LR will help somewhat with RC too.

    6. Right now, begin tracking your issues! Without data, you are flying blind and only guessing at what is giving you trouble. We need more data! that said, both Must Be True and Flaw/Method questions are critically important, and focusing on them will help you solve other question types as well.

    Ok, that should get you started, and consider the advice I gave in the first point above–burning an LSAT take isn’t ever advisable.

    Thanks!

  • arman
    September 24, 2016 at 7:18pm

    Hi Dave, thanks so much! I’m thinking of taking a week off just to recover from any possible burnout effects i have. So as per your instructions i will begin with sections as oppose to full tests.

  • Dave Killoran
    September 25, 2016 at 2:54pm

    That sounds good Arman! Please keep me posted on how it goes 🙂

  • Jonah
    July 29, 2017 at 7:43am

    Hi Dave,

    I haven’t taken a practice test in a few weeks but I’ve been hitting around 148-150. My diagnostic was 142. However, I have been reviewing the Bibles and doing sections, and I’ve gone from missing 13 per LR section, to a last one of 7. My LG sections have received similar results, though these are untimed since I’m still trying to get down the mechanics.
    My question is if I can get a 163 by September 16th. I have exactly 7 weeks, and I’ve read that people have increased 20+ points in 6 weeks, such as a 149 to a 171, but I’m still unsure if it’s real to be honest. Are there any study tips you think may be helpful? I am understanding more and more of what I did wrong every time I go through the questions, usually getting the correct answer the 2nd time around without knowing what the correct answer is.
    Any help is much appreciated.
    Thank you,

    Jonah

  • Dave Killoran
    July 29, 2017 at 5:13pm

    Hi Jonah,

    Thanks for the message! I’m always stoked when I see students looking for a big increase, because having that desire is the first step towards making the journey. So, to answer your first question, are jumps of this magnitude possible? Yes, definitely. I’ve seen it lots of times and irrefutably it is something that has occurred and will occur again. Does it it occur for everyone? No, which leads us to the second part of your question.

    The second step is hard work, and it looks like you’ve started putting that in as well. They key now is to shore up any gaps in your knowledge and then to relentlessly practice with the ideas and review everything repeatedly. In other words, the LSAT has to be your best friend to have a chance of making this leap in short order.

    The shore up the gaps in what you know requires studying. The LSAT tests a wide variety of areas each time, which makes some tests better for you and some worse. I talk about that here: http://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/bid/310634/welcome-to-the-lsat-casino. For students who aren’t 100% on the fundamentals or who aren’t machine-like in the consistency of their approach, these variations in exams often reveal themselves in varying performances. LR is great on one test, but then not so great on the next while LG seems to do the same thing, but on different tests. You fix it by doing the following:

    1. Track of everything you do because you need to know where your weaknesses are.

    2. Make sure you really know the concepts and techniques. For example, can you diagram LG rules without thinking, do you know all the standard inferences, or do you know all the ways to break down causality in LR, and so on. Instant execution with no delays is your goal.

    3. You look at questions repeatedly until they are second nature. Review, review, review. Stumble on a question? Look at it again a few days later. Stumble again? Look at it one more time a week later. Get to know questions so well you could teach it to your friends without missing a beat, and without stumbling over any of the ideas (and if you can actually teach it to a friend, even better!).

    The above is work, I know, but it’s also the one proven way create large score increases. You have to make this test your friend and try to learn as much as possible about it.

    Please let me know your thoughts. Thanks!

  • Amarantha Gomez
    October 05, 2017 at 5:03am

    Hi Dave,

    My name is Amy. I took the LSAT in September I plan to take it again in December. I started the Power Score LSAT course in July. I finished the course with a 160. By August I was at 163. I hit the wall in mid-august at 165. I want to push for a 170(+) for my December test.

    I used a lot of my practice tests during my September preparation. I’ve been taking some of the older practice tests, some of which I’ve seen before. Though there may be one or two questions I recognize, for the most part, there is nothing that seems obvious to me while I test. Are these test still good indicators of my performance?

    LG is my weakest area. I usually get -5/4. I struggle with grouping games, in particular, both timing and conceptually. Grouping takes me the longest and is where I am most prone to unforced errors. Advanced linear games are a struggle regarding time as well. The other games are not particularly difficult for me, but I would like to become better with my timing. I often push the 9min mark on most games. As of now usually, I only have 6 min left for my final game. I’d like to fix that.

    My LR’s have been -4/-6. Any tips for pre-phrasing? I find it challenging in certain questions or when I am in a crunch for time. The question types that I commit most errors on are the must are must be true & most strongly supported, justify, parallel & parallel flaws, assumptions, and MOR. When I get these questions wrong I find that the correct answer was one I had as a strong contender. How do you suggest I deliberate between two answers in these cases? Lastly my powerscore instructor was adamant that the we narrow down our first 10 questions to 10 min. I find that I push the limits of those 10min. Any tips for speeding up? The frustrating bit is that sometimes I’ll take 12 min on the first 10 questions and get -2 on those 10, and I will spend the same amount of time on the next 10 and get them all right. I realize the first 10 are the easy ones I just don’t understand why I have such a slow start there.

    Lastly, my RC is my strongest section. Usually, I have -3/-4. I would like to narrow those errors slightly, maybe to -1 or -2. I struggle with humanities. I’ve started to drill those RC’s more, and I’ve seen some improvement. I seem to commit errors on viewpoint questions semi-regularly. Any tips? How do you suggest I improve my speed here as well? I always find myself at a bit of a rush towards my final passage questions. I find that I make more errors here because the time adds a slight panic to my thought process.

    Thanks in advance for your help!

    Amy

Comments

  1. Teresa says

    January 9, 2021 at 8:11 pm

    Hi Dave,

    I’ve been studying for 7 weeks now but not meaningfully. My diagnostic was a 144. I began with the Princeton review book for basic understanding. After I finished that book I mainly used Khan academy for questions but realized it was not effective. I took a prep test yesterday and scored a 142. My goal is a 180. I have the LSAT Trainer and do a chapter a day. Spring semester I will be taking 5-3 credit classes and 2-1 credit minis for a of total 7 classes. I have worked my spring schedule to do 30 hours a week for LSAT. I ordered LSAC prep tests about 35. I’m worried because I’m having trouble understanding questions in RC/LR. It takes me a few minutes like 3 or 4 minutes to connect questions and support. RC-15 LG-14 LR-11 wrong. How can I structure my time better to fix my issues? I really want to improve to the high 160s by the end of February. I want to take the June LSAT 2021. I am determined and plan to take a course towards the end of my self study. Should I switch books to Powerscore Bibles?

    Reply
    • Dave Killoran says

      January 11, 2021 at 1:13 pm

      Hi Teresa,

      Thanks for the message! How about I tell you how the books work, and then hopefully that will give you the right information to make the decision? I suggest that since you know yourself better than I can, and so you will know if what we do here will appeal to you 🙂

      Our approach is to be comprehensive and detail-oriented. And we use that approach since that’s what the LSAT is. We want to give you tools to solve problems, and strategies and methods to understand what the test makers are doing to you. We’re also aimed at students who want to score high, and so while we start with the basics, we do try to move fairly quickly from there into some very high material. Many, many high scorers have use the LSAT Bibles before, including students who received 180s.

      From a comparison standpoint, as far as what you’ve used I’d say the following:

      Princeton Review: A long time ago this company was a big deal in the SAT space, and from there they moved into a bunch of different tests like the ASVAB and Dental Admission Test. But, as I understand it, they went through a bankruptcy and then were sold several times to different companies. Since then they haven’t been a player in the LSAT space in my opinion, and I don’t consider what they do to be LSAT-centric (and how could it be–they have books for dozens and dozens of tests it seems). We’ve had numerous students use their materials and then come to us, and they’ve made many comments to us about being very happy they found us.

      Khan: I think Khan is great as a study tool because they give you free LSATs. And everyone likes free stuff! So, on that count I think doing the questions they have is useful. But, as many students have told us, it’s not really a course. they don’t talk strategy very much and the explanations leave a lot to be desired.

      Trainer: This is probably the best of the lot that you’ve used so far. Because it’s an all-sections-in-one book, students tell us that it’s less comprehensive than the LSAT Bibles, and less detailed oriented. I consider it a good entry book, but not on the level of the Bibles.

      Personally, I feel strongly you’d benefit from the information in our books, but that’s a decision I want you to be comfortable about 🙂

      I hope that helps you in your decision, and feel free to ask us additional questions. We’re happy to help!

      Reply
      • Teresa says

        January 11, 2021 at 4:37 pm

        Thank you! All my Preptests came in today. I started my spring schedule early to get into the routine. When I get a tutor I will definitely go with you guys.

        Reply
  2. Melissa Camp says

    September 14, 2020 at 6:33 pm

    Hi there,
    Can you please suggest a simpler method for reviewing past tests or sections? I am trying to figure out how to incorporate these review methods into my studying but I am kind of hitting a wall. They don’t seem compatible with the online Flex test format offered here on the Powerscore website. They seem to be written more for people working with paper copies of the test.
    For instance, if I wanted to try the first method of reviewing (which is the one that makes sense for me because my score is bouncing around) I could take the test a first time and use the flag feature as I proceed, marking each question that was hard or on which I guessed. The instructions say to write all these question numbers down when you’re done with your first, timed, attempt at the test. I can manage that by just clicking ‘Review’ which gives me all my flagged and guessed questions. So I write all the flagged question numbers down.
    Now I am supposed to review the whole test again with no time restriction and somehow make a new record of my second, un-timed answers. The answer I chose first needs to be visible so I can make a note about why I changed it if I do. But the only way I can think to do that is to record all my first run answers in an excel sheet or something and then have a neighboring column for the second attempt, a third column for the ones which I flagged and a fourth column for the correct answer choice. I would need excel formulas to show me which ones I flagged and changed, which ones I flagged and missed, which ones I didn’t flag but missed the first time or the second time or both and so on….
    I like the idea of giving us a review method but this seems over the top. How can I take the test a second time with no time limit in the digital online flex format and still have access to my first attempt answer choices without breaking out an excel spreadsheet? Is there a better way to use the features of the site to review mistakes and tricky questions quickly and effectively?

    Thank you,
    Melissa

    Reply
    • Jon Denning says

      September 30, 2020 at 8:29 pm

      Hi Melissa – thanks for the questions, they’re good ones!

      A combination of the Flag feature and the Show/Hide Correct Answers feature should allow you to do exactly what you’re looking for here: as you work through a section or test, flag any questions about which you’re uncertain or that you’d like to review, then on the Results page that’s automatically produced when you finish you’ll see your answers and flags, but not the correct answers (they’re hidden by default). So when you scroll down to the individual question results you’ll be able to see the questions that you marked, but you won’t know whether the answer you selected is correct or not. To review the flagged items, just click on those individual questions (the question number on the left) to pull them up, untimed, and then select the answer you believe is correct on this second pass. Do that for each flagged question, jotting down your “new” (second-attempt) answers as you go.

      Then when you’re done, at the top of the results page select Show Correct Answers and the right answers for each question will display, revealing how you did. You can check several things at this point: how accurately you flagged questions (did you mark the ones that you missed indicating your uncertainty was called for, did you fail to mark any you missed indicating you were overconfident, etc), how well you did on your first, timed pass (original answers vs correct answers), how different your untimed results were (did any flagged questions’ answers change on your second attempt, did your performance improve untimed and by how much, etc), and so on.

      Finally, you can add any of the questions that you’d like to review later to a collection library using the Save feature on the far right, allowing you to return to important items in the future as needed. In other words you can build a set of key questions to revisit down the road, either to remind yourself of important ideas, or to confirm that you truly understand initially-challenging content, or simply as a collection of warm up items that you intend to work through pre-test.

      I hope that helps you out with Blind Review, but please let me know if you have further questions!

      Reply
  3. Sebastian says

    August 7, 2020 at 6:25 pm

    Hi! I was curious whether using an editing service for my personal statement would harm my admission chances (if they ask for it)? Even if the other aspects are fine.

    Reply
    • Dave Killoran says

      August 10, 2020 at 7:13 pm

      Hi Sebastian,

      No, it wouldn’t. It’s more or less the same thing as having a friend read your essay and make comments, although professional editors are obviously quite good at seeing problems (your friends might be too, but typically not quite on the same level). I don’t know of an instance yet where it’s been an issue, and in any case it’s very rarely asked.

      Thanks!

      Reply
  4. John says

    July 31, 2020 at 8:06 pm

    Thank you for the response!

    I did also have two kind of random questions if you could address them.
    1. For safety schools, where i am above 75th percentile gpa and lsat, is it almost a given you would get in if you don’t have any dings like a really bad ps or any c&f issues?

    2. Is it bad if your personal statement is focused on an area like say education law and the school does not have a specific program or emphasis on that area of law?

    Thank you!

    Reply
    • Dave Killoran says

      July 31, 2020 at 8:10 pm

      Hi John,

      Thanks for the reply! Here you go:

      1. Generally yes. Although a bad PS can be a huge issue: I’ve seen 180s rejected from schools before due to arrogant essays, so you do need to be a person they want to see every day.

      2. No, especially if it becomes something you might help expand when they are there (perhaps start a new journal?). The law school “team” is made by having people who play all positions, so they won’t look at this negatively 🙂

      Thanks!

      Reply
  5. John says

    July 30, 2020 at 11:16 pm

    Hi!

    I just wanted your thoughts on my chances at a t14 school. I have a 167 with a 4.03 cum and i would say average rest of application (ps, lor, etc..). I am a URM but not sure if this is enough to comfortably make it in (without it being a reach).

    Thank you!

    Reply
    • Dave Killoran says

      July 31, 2020 at 6:24 pm

      Hey John,

      With that profile, your chances are really good across the spectrum of schools in the T14. the T3 will always be iffy simply because they are very hard to predict, but I’d expect multiple acceptances with money in the T14 as a whole. So, nail the essays and take your shots!

      Thanks and good luck!

      Reply
  6. Ace says

    July 15, 2020 at 1:03 am

    Hello Dave,

    I began studying for the LSAT two weeks ago. My cold diagnostic yielded a 153 and after two weeks dropped to 150, yet blind review pulled the score up to a 163. Part of me shivers at the thought of the LSAT dictating which Law School I attend. That said, with 35 hours a week to study for the LSAt, LG being strongest (Missing one or two points) to RC, the weakest section, Is it truly possible to jump20 points by the October or November Test this year? I truly appreciate your devotion to assisting students!

    Reply
    • Dave Killoran says

      July 15, 2020 at 7:22 pm

      Hi Ace,

      Thanks for the message!

      First, don’t worry about that score drop. That’s normal, and this explains why that happens: https://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/why-did-my-lsat-score-go-down-when-first-i-started-studying/

      Second, that’s a solid amount of time for weekly study, and time spent is probably the biggest factor in score increases. So yes, that’s the kind of time you need to make that leap! Make sure to spend a lot of time on both LR and RC. It looks like reading speed and/or comprehension of their challenging text may be causing you some issues, so you want to attack that head on!

      You can get there, and keep working hard!

      Reply
  7. Marah says

    March 2, 2020 at 10:45 pm

    Hi!

    How do you recommend students track their ~issues~? Should we do it by question type, skill type, or what?
    Thanks in advance!

    Reply
    • Dave Killoran says

      March 3, 2020 at 2:09 pm

      Hi Marah,

      We have a Performance tracker over at https://studentcenter.powerscore.com/self-study, and inside that I recommend that students print out several sheets and then track it primarily by question type, followed by reasoning type. That way it’s easy to sere any developing issues 🙂

      Thanks and good luck!

      Reply

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