Simple mistake or understanding?
Simple mistakes are those that occur because of something minor, such as not seeing the subtle distinctions between two words (e.g., "same" and "similar"), or not reading the question stem fully, or bubbling in the wrong choice on the answer sheet. These simple mistakes can add up and have a significant negative effect on your score. Suppose you got 73 questions correct for a score of 158 on LSAT PrepTest 50, yet made five simple mistakes. Correcting those five would result in a 161. Or, for high scorers, suppose you got 91 questions correct for a score of 171 on the same test. Correcting those five would result in a 177. On the other hand, mistakes due to a lack of understanding occur because you did not understand the question, passage, or answer choices, i.e., you were stumped. On the next full-length practice LSAT PrepTest that you take, try categorizing the mistake for each incorrect choice as either simple or understanding. That information will let you know what you need to address.
Correcting simple mistakes
Simple mistakes are easy to make yet somewhat difficult to avoid. Try the following:
Do fewer questions
Suppose you got eight questions incorrect: five because of simple mistakes, three due to understanding. The five simple mistakes probably could have been avoided had you spent an extra thirty seconds on each of those questions, and thus would need an extra two and a half minutes total. And, you likely spent at least two minutes on each of the questions that you got wrong because of understanding mistakes. Had you instead cut your losses after a minute into those questions, guessed, and moved on, then you would have had an extra three minutes to spend on the questions that you got incorrect because of simple mistakes, and thus might have avoided those simple mistakes.
Know when to cut your losses
Certainly this is easier said than done, but consider a few scenarios that can key you off to when you should bail out of a question:
| Inability to answer question: A common time leech is jumping to the choices before adequately knowing what a correct choice should do. For example, for argument structure questions you should be able to express the structure in your own words before analyzing the choices. If you can't do this for a particular argument, then you'll likely just waste time reading the choices trying to find one that seems right yet pick an incorrect choice. You're much better off cutting your losses by not reading the choices at all, guessing, and moving on. | |
| Question type: If you have gotten 80% of a particular question type incorrect on past tests, then you may wish to avoid that same question type on the next test. As soon as you've read the question stem and have identified it as a trouble question type, guess and move on. | |
Passage content: If you're terrible at understanding a specific type of content, e.g., science, then even if you're great at the type of question, your lack of understanding of the content can ruin things. For example, suppose you're great at support argument questions, but miserable at content about fossil fuels and/or profitability. Thus, for LSAT PrepTest 50, Section 2, Question 13, you might want to bail out after reading the passage (or even after the first sentence or two, once you recognize content that is difficult for you). |
Read for details
The difference between getting a choice correct or incorrect often boils down to seeing the distinction between two details. For example, on logic games, distinguishing whether the question asks for what could be true or what must be true; on logical reasoning, distinguishing between "can" and "will"; on reading comprehension, distinguishing between questions that ask for explicit information and those that ask for inferences. These and many other details appear throughout the LSAT and your recognition of the subtle differences may lead to a significant score improvement. If you have trouble with details, try using diagramming techniques to keep track of details that often make the difference between correct and incorrect choices. See Diagramming Logical Reasoning and Reading Comprehension Extra Help.
Correcting understanding mistakes
Many LSAT test-takers do not have backgrounds in logical reasoning and thus may have an incomplete understanding of a concept tested on the LSAT. They may try to learn these concepts purely through LSAT preparation material and LSAT PrepTests. But, keep in mind that the LSAT did not invent logic or reading comprehension, and thus you may improve your skills through other sources. For example, you may have a partial understanding of causality, and thus may have difficulties with more complex causal arguments on the LSAT. If so, try working through Richard Feldman's Reason & Argument, Chapter Ten, which is devoted to causal arguments.