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This is awesome, I guess I'll
This is awesome, I guess I'll get us started off!
What is the most common mistake you see people making on the LSAT and how can people go about preventing that mistake?
In addition, what should be
In addition, what should be the specific material one should focus on to best prepare for the LSAT's?
Thanks for the question! I
Thanks for the question! I want to start off by apologizing in our delayed response. We will on top of these questions in the future. The interesting thing I see about students and the LSAT is that everyone has their own specific strengths and weaknesses. But I would say the most common problem I hear about is not taking the time necessary to prepare properly before they take it the first time. As you all know, the LSAT is a skills-based test, and skills take time and work to develop. As far as mistakes on individual questions, we were discussing one of the more interesting ones in class today. We find that even high scoring students get thrown by "Except" questions. If the question asks: "Each of the following strengthens the argument EXCEPT," students often have no trouble eliminating the four wrong answers, but run into a mental block on selecting the right answer that has no effect on the argument!
Becky Copeland
Kaplan LSAT Instructor
Anonymous Monkey, the primary
Anonymous Monkey, the primary skills that are tested on the LSAT are the student's ability to read strategically, to analyze the structure of arguments, to utilize formal logic, and to make deductions. Different students are better in different areas. However, the ability to analyze an argument accounts for over 25% of the LSAT score. If there were only one skill that a prospective LSAT-taker was going to master (there shouldn't be, of course, but if there were), then this should be it. It is primarily tested in the Logical Reasoning Sections (which make up 50% of the LSAT points) in questions that ask for the assumption, the flaw, or to strenghten or weaken the argument. After that, students should spend a great deal of time practicing reading for the structure and gist of an argument, in order to answer those Reading Comprehension questions. Final, students should learn the predictable nature and ways to handle the games in Analytical Reasoning. While this last section is generally the most feared section of the exam for LSAT newbies, it can actually be fun once you understand how the games break down. Have you ever taken the exam before, or are you looking into it in the near future?
Becky Copeland
Kaplan LSAT Instructor
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