Take the LSAT under timed conditions
Read the instructions below to learn important test-taking advice. When you are ready, download the June 2007 LSAT and use our Virtual Proctor Video, which will help you keep time and simulate a real-life LSAT test-taking experience.
How to Take the LSAT
- Obtain an LSAT PrepTest!
People often over-worry which PrepTest to use. Indeed there have been some changes to the LSAT over the years, and so it’s important to use some newer tests in order to become comfortable with the format. That said, it’s great to do some older ones too, as there are some really tough games sections hidden away in there.
- A few pencils
During the LSAT, you will not be able to use a pen, nor will you be able to use a mechanical pencil. Just good old number 2s.
- Your answer sheet
It’s smart to actually fill in an answer sheet during your practice. Some people find it a distraction, so it’s important to make it part of your routine. If you suffer from test anxiety, practice taking a deep breath as you pencil in.
- An experimental section
We can’t stress enough how important it is to include an experimental section. Pull this section out of another LSAT PrepTest (it’s easiest to simply designate one or two PrepTests your experimental tests and divide them up). Since the real LSAT is five sections (it includes an experimental section during which LSAC is testing out a section on you for future use), you need to get used to the actual length of the exam. The experimental section of the LSAT generally (actually, it’s probably always), comes before the break. So, when you do an experimental section, do it first. If you tack on an experimental section at the end, you probably won’t take it very seriously. The point is to build up your stamina, not do extra sections for the sake of saying you’ve done it!
- Your own watch
When you take the LSAT there will be a clock on the wall, but it’s wise to have your own timepiece. The watch has to be analog (not digital), with no beeps or fancy electronic displays. Some test-takers like to re-set their watch to 12:00 at the beginning of each section to make it easier to track time.
- A high-protein snack
Your brain is a muscle, so it needs energy. Before the LSAT and during the break, be sure to feed it.
Prepare Your Space
- Turn off the cell phone
‘Nuff said.
- Quiet isn’t always better
While you probably want to generally find a quiet space in which to do your practice tests, you may end up taking the real LSAT in a surprisingly loud environment. Some common problems: construction outside your window, a talkative proctor (!), a fellow-test taker with the sniffles. You don’t want a small (or large) distraction to cost you your attention, so take a couple of practice tests in a café where you’ll have to forcefully block out the world.
- No computer distraction
Turn off all your e-mail reminders, applications, chats, etc. The LSAT is the most important part of your law school application, it trumps all of those!
- Create a ritual
If you suffer from test-anxiety, make taking the LSAT somewhat routine. Get the same snack, the same pencils, do the same thing during the break. Talking about the break...
- Timing and The Break
You have 35 minutes to complete each section. The proctors will not give you an extra 30 seconds, so don’t give it to yourself! The break will be between the 3rd and 4th section. During the break, we suggest the following:
1. Leave the room.
2. Go to the bathroom.
3. Wash your face.
4. Stretch, do jumping jacks, etc.
5. Eat a high-protein snack. - Marking your paper for easy review
It’s important to review more than just the questions you get wrong. You should be reviewing, at a minimum, the questions you get wrong, the ones that take you too long, and the ones for which you are not confident about your answer. It’s also smart, for Logical Reasoning and Reading Comprehension, to review the answer choices that were not easy eliminations. To make that easier, mark your test in a manner that makes it easy to decide which the easy eliminations were.
- Real testing bureaucracy
On test day, don’t be surprised when you’re asked to:
1. Show your ID and entrance ticket.
2. Have your fingerprint taken.
3. Fill in a lot of information on your answer sheet (including the hand-copying of an affidavit about your use of the LSAT)
4. Wait a long time for all of this to happen.
How To Review Your LSAT
- Predict before your score
So that you’re better prepared to make a decision about whether to cancel your test when you take the real LSAT, start making a practice of predicting your score after each PrepTest. Try filling in a chart like this each time (and you only need to fill it in for the four "real" sections):
Section 1 number correct: ____
Section 2 number correct: ____
Section 3 number correct: ____
Section 4 number correct: ____
Total correct: _____ = Raw score ____ = Scaled Score ____ - Use the Manhattan LSAT Tracker!
If you’re taking one of the tests we assign in our curriculum (June 2007, PT 46 – 50), or one of the more recent exams for which we’ve created a tracker, feel free to use our LSAT tracker to score your test and have the results analyzed.
- Wait at least an hour before reviewing your answers.
Give yourself a break! It's the same rule as swimming after eating.
- Review Questions
Review all questions that you answered incorrectly, took too long, or were difficult.
- How to review LSAT questions:
1. Review any Logical Reasoning or Reading Comprehension answer choice you could not easily eliminate.
2. For Logical Reasoning and Reading Comprehension, categorize the wrong answer.
3. For Logical Reasoning, write an analogous problem.
4. For Reading Comprehension, re-read the passage the way you wish you had.
5. For Logic Games, re-play the game the way you wish you had
6. And then do that again. - Get some professional help!
Feel free to use our forums to discuss any problems that give you trouble. www.manhattanlsat.com/forums See you there . . .
View answers and explanations for LSAT Prep Tests and Logic Game Challenges.
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