“The test isn’t trying to trick you, Rachel”, said Mike Ross, the test genius on the hit legal show SUITS while coaching the firm’s paralegal who had floundered multiple times while appearing for the LSATs.
Maybe, the test is trying to trick you. Maybe, it isn’t. Tests with multiple-choice questions appear more confusing to most candidates than those that ask for straightforward answers. Multiple choice question based tests often pit a person’s gut against logic. It isn’t the lack of preparation that makes a person perform badly but conflict between what is wrong and what seems right.
So, how do you devise LSAT multiple-choice question Strategies ?
- Do not be afraid to guess: Being sure is good. Although, taking a guess based on your gut isn’t unadvisable. What do have to lose after all, since there no negative marking unlike SAT! Even if you get it wrong, it will be a zero, not a negative.
- It is a long, long road ahead: Andrew Brody, national content director for LSAT programs for the Princeton Review, compares preparing for the LSAT to training for a marathon. He encourages students to keep their minds sharp at all times, but not to overwork them. A sharp training exercise and moderate trading is better strategy to get you over the hump, not just a zombie like focus on nothing but excruciating hours of prep.
- Don’t just practice, analyse: After your mock test, take a moment to look at your wrongs. Don’t stop at making a list of misses and hits. Look at wrongs and try to figure out why you got them wrong in the first hand and you probably won’t repeat the mistakes again. Do not move on till you fix. Move on only when there isn’t anything left to fix.
- Sharpen your skills: LSATs and a subsequent career in Law require a lot of dense reading and a detailed insight and analysis of things. Continue reading, analyzing news, debating and writing. You would be remarkably improving your chances. Not everything comes from mock tests. Reading, writing and comprehension practice will go a long way.
- Look out for those easy questions: Yes, this is a devious technique but it helps you score a bunch before you move ahead to scratch your head over the tougher questions. Answering the easy questions and getting them right will ease your mind and equip you better for the tricky ones that are yet to be answered and gives you a decisive edge.
