Last Minute LSAT Prep: One Week Until Test Day

With only one week till the LSAT, you may be feeling a bit nervous. That’s totally understandable, but lucky for you, we’ve got what you need to make the most of your study time.  We’ve rounded up the best last minute LSAT tips for each section so you can get the most out of your final days of LSAT studying and conquer test day. Let’s jump right in so you can rock the LSAT!

Last minute LSAT Tips for each section

With only 7 days left for studying, make sure you know the most important last minute LSAT tips for each of the exam’s three sections. Check them out below. If any of the suggestions are completely foreign to you, be sure to read up on those strategies so you can employ them on test day. You’re going to want all of these tips and strategies at your fingertips when you sit down to take the LSAT.

LSAT Analytical Reasoning Tips

Remember, you’ve been studying for Analytical Reasoning, aka Logic Games, for weeks, if not months. You know everything you need to know for the LSAT. What you need to need to do is review the key strategies so you’re feeling confident and can easily use all of the strategies you’ve learned. Here’s a quick review of your LSAT Logic Game strategy for test day:

1. Tackle the easiest games first. Find the easiest game and tackle that one first. Working the easiest game first will give you some needed confidence and extra time to answer the questions you have the best chance at answering correctly. And you’ll pick up some points right away!
2. Read every word. Read very carefully to ensure you don’t miss anything critical. You need to set up each game correctly to get as many points as possible.
3. Don’t make illogical assumptions that aren’t in the text. If a rule tells you that Julie is to the left of Jim and to the right of Carlos, don’t assume she is sitting next to either of them. There may be other people in between.
4. Make inferences. You have to link two rules together to produce more powerful and useful rules.

If you’d like a little more review on Logic Games, do a quick review of the complete guide to LSAT Logic Games. Remember this week is about keeping these strategies fresh—don’t try to cram a lot of new information.

LSAT Logical Reasoning Tips

Keep in mind that the key to LSAT logical reasoning is to read carefully and critically, breaking apart the argument, all while giving yourself the time to select the best answer choice. Remember your LSAT logical reasoning approach is as follows:

1. Read the question first. Before you jump into the stimulus, start with the question and make sure you understand what you are being asked to find among the answer choices.
2. Attack the stimulus by breaking it apart and questioning each sentence and the role it plays in the argument.
3. Find the best (not the right) answer. One answer will be supported by more evidence than the other—choose that one.

No matter what the LSAC throws at you on the actual LSAT, follow these steps every time and you’ll be just fine. In fact, you’ll be great.

LSAT Reading Comprehension Tips

You’re in the home stretch. We’ve got one more section to quickly review the strategy for, and that’s Reading Comprehension. Remember, with Reading Comprehension, like Logical Reasoning, you need to read critically and break apart the text to understand the role every sentence plays. To ensure you conquer each Reading Comprehension passage, do the following every time:

1. Pick your passage order. Just like in the Logic Games section, you want to start with the easiest passage to build momentum and get some points right away.
2. Summarize as you go. Every time you finish a paragraph, jot a note to the side indicating the main point or purpose to help you when you start answering the questions.
3. Pick your order for each set of questions. Just as you did at the beginning when you picked your order for the passages, make sure to start with the easiest questions. You don’t want to get bogged down on a hard question and run out of time to pick up some quick points.
4. Understand the question. Identifying the question type is essential to answering the question. Start there to make sure you approach the question correctly and find the best answer choice.

Now that we’ve reviewed the final tips for each LSAT section, let’s take a look at tips for the day before the LSAT.

The day before the LSAT

The most important last minute LSAT tip: be prepared for the day of the test. You don’t want all of your studying to go to waste because you forgot your admissions ticket or a good snack. So, let’s take a minute to walk through what you need for the actual day of the test.

The key tasks for the day before the LSAT are to do the following:

• Print your admissions ticket
• Plan your route to your test site
• Pack your bag (leaving out all prohibited items)
• RELAX.

Make sure you have steps one through three completed early in the day so you can use the day to recharge. Do not—I repeat, do not—wait to print your admissions ticket or plan your route to the test site for the night before the LSAT. You don’t want to find out on the day of the test that your printer is out of ink or your bus route has been rescheduled due to construction. In fact, you may want to print your ticket and try out your route a couple of days before the exam.

Once you’ve got everything in order for tomorrow, take some to time to relax and recharge. You are going to need every ounce of energy and brainpower for the LSAT. Be sure to check out One Day Til the LSAT: What to Do for more tips on getting the most out of your final day of prep.

Takeaway

Spend your final days of LSAT preparation focusing on these last minute LSAT tips to make the most of your remaining time. This final week of LSAT preparation is key to your success on the LSAT. Most importantly, this week is about building your confidence and resting so you can do your absolute best on the day of the test.

And from all of us here at Magoosh, good luck on the LSAT!