The
Law School Admission Test (LSAT) by Dr. Rick Swanson, Pre-Law Advisor,
Political Science Department
What is the LSAT?
According to the Law School
Admission Council, as stated in the LSAT registration booklet:
“The LSAT is a
half-day standardized test. . . . All LSAC-member schools require applicants to
take the LSAT.
The LSAT is designed to measure skills that are
considered essential for success in law school: the reading and comprehension
of complex texts with accuracy and insight; the organization and management of
information and the ability to draw reasonable inferences from it; the ability
to think critically; and the analysis and evaluation of the reasoning and argument
of others.”
The test consists of five 35-minute sections of
multiple-choice questions. Four of the
five sections contribute to the test taker’s score. These sections include one reading
comprehension section, one analytical reasoning section, and two logical
reasoning sections. The unscored section typically . . . is used to pretest new test questions . . .. The LSAT is scored
on a scale of 120 to 180 . . . A 35-minute writing sample is administered at
the end of the test. LSAC does not score
the writing sample, but copies are sent to all law schools to which a candidate
applies. “ (2007-2008
LSAT &LSDAS Information Book).
The LSAT is used because it
is currently the best available predictor (correlation of about .4) of first-year
law school grades. The LSAT does NOT
test knowledge, it instead tests SKILLS (reading and
critical thinking). Thus the LSAT does
not assume that any test taker has knowledge of a particular academic
discipline. The only thing the LSAAT assumes
is that you read and write English at a college level. However, academic courses that require
writing and critical thinking will help develop LSAT skills.
How do I register for
the LSAT?
The Law School Admission
Council’s (LSAC) website at www.lsac.org contains LSAT information and
registration, as well as the Law School Data Assembly Service (LSDAS), the
ABA-LSAC Official Guide to Law Schools, and other helpful information. Also, printed LSAT and LSDAS information
packets can be obtained from the Department of Political Science office.
How do I prepare for the
LSAT?
Preparation for the LSAT
consists of learning about the test and becoming comfortable with it. There are three ways to do this:
1.
Practice. 2. Practice. 3. Practice.
Practice is essential because
the skills tested in the various sections can be developed and improved upon
through practice. Moreover, each of the
different LSAT sections use certain repeating patterns of questions—the
questions themselves do not repeat, but the style or format of the questions
are limited to a fixed number of different patterns. Once you become trained at spotting the
pattern in a question, that familiarity should help you in answering the
question. A common recommendation is to
study at least 50 hours for the LSAT (and ideally much more) using some or all of the following various means of
studying for and practicing the LSAT:
1. The LSAT & LSDAS Information Book is
free, and contains instructions, suggested approaches for the different LSAT
sections, and numerous sample LSAT questions.
LSAC also offers numerous past actual exams for sale. These can be ordered when you register for
the LSAT or LSDAS on-line at www.lsac.org
2. There are numerous
low-cost commercial preparations available that cost little more than $30. These are located in the standardized testing
section (ACT, SAT, GRE, GMAT, MCAT, LSAT, etc.) of most
larger bookstores. Some of these
preparations are The Princeton Review, Barron’s, Kaplan, Arco, and Cliff’s,
among many others. Each of these offers
LSAT hints and strategies for the different sections and types of questions
within each section, and also LSAT practice tests, and often actual past exams.
3.
There are several commercial LSAT tutoring programs, costing several hundred to
over a thousand dollars. Some of these
are the Princeton Review, Kaplan, Intensive Review, Testmasters,
Get Prepped, Powerscore, and Test Review Institute. These
programs give hints, strategies, and practice tests throughout the course. For more information about these programs,
search on-line to locate their company websites. Students that enroll in these programs tend
to enroll because (a) they lack the discipline to maintain a regular study
schedule in preparing for the test on their own; (b) they desire the extra
confidence they think a commercial tutoring service will give them, and (c)
they can afford it. True, an LSAT course
is likely to improve your score.
However, improvement might be only a point or two, so it is basically a
gamble that you will get your money’s worth of improvement by taking such a
course. Roughly only one-third of LSAT
takers take a commercial prep course, and statistics show only a slight (a
couple points) improvement on average.
When
is the best time to take the LSAT?
The
LSAT is offered four times a year: once in the summer, twice in the Fall, and once in early Spring. June
is generally considered best, because you can focus on preparing for the test
without having other academic demands on your study time, and this also gives
you time to re-take the test should you choose to do so. If you take (or re-take) the test in the
Fall by the latest, this still allows you to apply to law schools early and
thus increase your chance of admission at schools that use early or rolling
admissions. Most importantly, however,
take the LSAT whenever you are able to best and fully prepare for it.
What
general strategies I can use during the test itself?
1. Scores are based only on
the number of correct answers. No points are subtracted for wrong answers. In other words, there is no penalty for
guessing, so never leave a question unanswered.
In fact, the LSAT is intentionally designed so that people have trouble
finishing within the time limits. Many
people do not finish; guessing is often necessary, and this should be expected.
2. Although questions might and do vary in
difficulty, each correct answer is worth an equal number of points. So, answer the easier questions first and
then spend your remaining time on the more difficult questions. Questions are NOT arranged in order of
difficulty, so do NOT assume that easier questions occur at the beginning of a
section; they will appear throughout the section.
3. You won’t have time to
reread and double-check your answers, so answer the question carefully the
first time and move on because you won’t have any time to come back and review
your answer. Work steadily and at a
moderate pace but do NOT rush questions.
Answer methodically but carefully.
However, do not spend a lot of time on one question. Again, each answer is worth the same, so
move on to easier questions. Come back
if you have time; if not, then remember to fill in a
guess. Once you make a guess, move on
and forget about that question.
4. If you skip a question or
questions to come back to, rather than guess, make sure you put the right
answers in the right spaces on the answer sheet. And always remember to come back and answer
any questions left blank, even if that means guessing.
What specific strategies can I use on the different test sections?
1. Reading Comprehension
The
reading comprehension section is usually 26-28 questions. There are four long
written passages, each followed by questions that test your broad comprehension
of that passage. For example, a typical question asks about the thesis of the
passage, or the author’s viewpoint. Some
people read the questions first to know what to look for while reading the
passage, and then underline parts of the passage as they read. If the passage
is technically difficult, don’t worry about vocabulary, just look for the main
theme and arguments. Academic courses in English or other subjects with
intensive reading components should help prepare you for this section.
2.
Logical Reasoning (Comprises 2 sections)
The
logical reasoning sections are usually 26-28 questions each. There is quite a
range of types questions in this section, from logical argumentation patterns
to what seem like mini-reading comprehension questions. Typical questions ask
“Which of the following statements, if true, is most likely to undermine the
argument?” Or, “What is the flaw in the above argument?” The best way to
prepare for this section is to understand the question patterns as well as how
logical arguments are formed and what follows logically from a series of
statements. (For example, If A then B;
therefore, if not B, then not A, but the occurrence of B does not necessarily
mean A has occurred.) An LSAT
preparation book or course should explain logical inferences and logical
fallacies. Logic courses or any academic
course that requires intensive critical thinking and logical reasoning, such as
philosophy, should help with this section.
3.
Analytic Reasoning
This
section is often called logic games. Many people find this section of the test
the most difficult. This section of the test asks you to arrange a group of
items based on certain (sometimes complex) conditions. For example, “The person with the blue hat is
sitting next to the person with the red hat.
The person with the black hat is not sitting next to the person with an
orange hat. Where is the person with the
green hat sitting?” Familiarity with the
patterns of the puzzles is the key here: the only way to really learn this is
by doing practice tests. When you recognize a puzzle pattern, you can more
easily understand, diagram, and solve it.
One way to practice analytic thinking is to play classic electronic puzzle
games like Mastermind or Minesweeper. Everett Kaser
Software makes electronic logic puzzle games (http://www.kaser.com). Formal logic courses would also help prepare
you.
4.
The Writing Sample
The
writing sample does not count toward your LSAT exam score but is sent to law
schools along with your LSAT score. The
writing sample question poses a situation where there are two more-or-less
equal alternatives, and your task is to make an argument about why one
alternative should be chosen over the other. A good answer would discuss the pros and cons
of both alternatives but then make a case why one alternative is better. (For
example: While A provides such and such, B provides such and such as well but
also has the added bonus of so and so; therefore B is the better option). There
is no right answer to this question: the question simply tests your ability to
make a clear, well-organized, well-supported, persuasive argument. English, Communication, or other courses that
involve persuasive argumentation and writing (such as term papers in history,
political science, philosophy, etc.) would help you prepare.
Should
I re-take the LSAT?.
According
to one study, candidates who took the test a second time earn scored on average
2.7 points higher than their first scores.
But remember this number is an average.
Many test takers achieve higher scores but also many test takers
actually earn lower scores. For example, among those repeat test takers who
earned a 150 on their first LSAT in a recent test year, 628 earned a higher
second score, 51 earned a second 150, and 211 earned lower scores. Also realize that although some law schools
will look only at the higher score, others will average the two scores or even
look at the lower score. In other words,
taking the LSAT a second time is a gamble.
No comments:
Post a Comment