When it comes to the LSAT, time is NOT your allay!

Time is the currency of life. It is also  the currency of the LSAT.

timeYour LSAT test score is NOT a reflection of whether you can answer LSAT questions. It’s a reflection of effectively you answer questions relative to other test takers. Most  people can correctly answer most  LSAT questions if they have enough time time. Most  test takers do NOT have sufficient time to answer all LSAT questions in a meaningful way. That said, there is no penalty for putting the wrong answer on the LSAT. Make sure  you select an answer to every question.

Some thoughts on LSAT Timing

Your must  pace  yourself so that you answer as many questions correctly as you can. This is NOT the same as thinking about and interacting with every question.

1. You might do better by interacting with three of the four logic games or three  of the four reading comprehension passages and guessing on the remaining one. Instead of spending approximately 9 minutes on each of 4  passages  or  games you might spend 12 minutes on each of three  passages or games. Guess the on the last passage or game. For some LSAT test takers,  interacting with fewer questions results in more correct answers.

2. Accept the principle that you will “run out of time”. Learn to “run out of time”  when you encounter the questions that  are hardest for you. You should  attempt  the logic games in the order that you like  them best. Same goes for  reading comprehension passages. Scan each logical  reasoning section to identify the questions that you think will be  most  problematic. Leave  those questions for last.

3. Your goal  is  to respond  to each question efficiently. This means:

A. You  must always  get your “best guess on record”; and

B. Remember that its always better  to get a question wrong very quickly than to invest far too much time in getting in right.

4. As the above  “tweet” suggests, you will always be under time pressure.  Get used to being uncomfortable. Part of  your LSAT prep is learning to perform under  the restrictive time conditions.

Some Thoughts On Practicing LSAT Timing

“There are many people  who KNOW WHAT TO DO”, but “CAN’T DO WHAT THEY KNOW”.

Nowhere is this more true than on the LSAT. You must do lots of practice LSAT testing under  the time constraints of the test. How many?  There is no “one size fits all answer”. My suggestion is  that you do enough practice tests so that on test day you “will be comfortable being uncomfortable”.

Remember:

“Its not  practice that makes  perfect, its’ perfect practice  that  makes  perfect.”

John Richardson