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“How can I increase my LSAT score in under 30 days? I have already started my LSAT prep, but I really want to ramp up my studying efforts during this final stretch. I have 25 days until I take the June LSAT. How much prep should I be doing? What should I be working on? I really want to do as well as I possibly can, and I am willing to commit as much time and energy as I need to in order to increase my score. Help!”

First, you need the following books, along with plenty of LSAT preptests

25 Day LSAT Prep Schedule

Day 1: 8 hours of basic linear games

Day 2: 8 hours of advanced linear games

Day 3: 8 hours of grouping games

Day 4: 8 hours of grouping/linear combination games

Day 5: 4 hours of Pure sequencing and rare games + advanced techniques chapter

Day 6: 8 hours spent taking 4-12 full, timed LG sections to learn how to recognize what type of game you are working on and learn how to move from one game type to the next.

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Day 7: Take a full, timed, LSAT preptest and see how your score improves now that you have mastered the logic games section.

Days 8-14: Drill LR every day (in a similar manner to the way you drilled LG) and take a full timed PT every other day or so.

Days 15-18: work on RC and work on refining your skills in the other sections… Take a full, timed preptest to start the day every other day or so.

Days 19-24: Take a preptest at the beginning of every day, then review the test to locate and improve your weak areas… refer back the appropriate powerscore bible to re-read the sections on any problem areas that you are struggling with.

Day 25: Rest. Relax. Don’t Drink Alcohol. Eat 3 healthful meals. Don’t watch too much TV. Maybe take a drive to the testing center if you aren’t familiar with it so that you know the route. Get to bed early. Tomorrow is the big day.

Week 1 – Crush Logic Games

The Logic Games section of the LSAT is generally considered the most “learnable” section of the LSAT, so if you are still struggling with LSAT Logic Games in the last month before the LSAT, dedicating yourself to a week of full-time Logic Games prep could increase your LSAT score considerably.

Start by reading chapter 1 of the Logic Games Bible on the basics of logic games and the chapter on Section Strategy and Management. Once you have the basics down… Then it is time to master each game type, one by one. Rather than haphazardly work on every type of logic game, start by focusing ONLY on basic linear games. Read the chapter on basic linear games in the LGB.

Then, go to the appendix of the LGB to find the comprehensive game classification guide. Make a list of basic linear games – start with older exams that you don’t intend to take as full, timed preptests.Then, pull out those older preptests (maybe PT1-PT30) and ONLY work on basic linear games. There is usually about 1 basic linear game per logic games section, so that would give you 30 basic linear games to drill yourself on… which should be more than enough to master that game type.

Time yourself on each game. Start by allowing yourself about 8:30 per game and try to work your way down from there. If you don’t finish a game within the 8:30, don’t stop. Finish the game. Once finished, make a note with the total amount of time that it took you to finish the game.

After each game, check your results. If you missed a question, carefully review to figure out where you went wrong. If you made a mistake on your setup, go back and set up the game again until you are able to create a proper setup that allows you to easily answer the questions.

Keep a log including the following:

The Preptest # and whether the game was 1st, 2nd, 3rd or 4th within the LG section of that PT; your score; your time; the game type (eg. Basic Linear, balanced); if you missed a question, note what type of question it was (eg. cannot be true, could be true, not necessarily true, must be true, must be false, except, minimum/maximum, list, ‘if’ problems, condition suspension problems, etc.); any other notes that might be helpful.

Simple linear games are generally the easiest, so your goal should be to drill these games until you are getting basically every question correct in under 8 minutes. Carefully work through these basic linear games until you feel very comfortable with them. Don’t move on to other game types until you feel like you have mastered basic linear games.

Once you are comfortable with basic linear logic games, then repeat this process for Advanced Linear logic games, grouping logic games, combination logic games, pure sequencing games, and the rare game types. In that order.

Don’t worry too much about pure sequencing games (although they should be simple after you have mastered liner games) and the odd games types, since you probably won’t run into those game types on test day. However, it is worth learning them so that you won’t be totally thrown off on test day if one of those less common game types happens to pop up.

Many of the diagramming skills that you will master when you work on basic liner games will carry over into the other game types, so don’t be alarmed if you feel like it is taking a while to get things down at first. As you continue to drill each game type, your general diagramming skills will improve.

Assuming that it takes you, on average, 8:30 to take a section and 7:30 to review… then it should take you about 8 hours to work through 30 games. Since you have a little under 4 weeks until the June exam, I believe that it is worth spending about a week mastering the logic games section.

Logic Games 1 week schedule

Day 1: 8 hours of basic linear games

Day 2: 8 hours of advanced linear games

Day 3: 8 hours of grouping games

Day 4: 8 hours of grouping/linear combination games

Day 5: 4 hours of Pure sequencing and rare games + advanced techniques chapter

Day 6: 8 hours spent taking 4-12 full, timed LG sections to learn how to recognize what type of game you are working on and learn how to move from one game type to the next.

Day 7: Take a full, timed, LSAT preptest and see how your score improves now that you have mastered the logic games section.

If this seems like too much, feel free to adjust the schedule to account for how much LSAT prep work you wish to do and how much time you have to do it. Also, if you feel like you master basic linear games in 2 hours… and you are flying through the games in 7 minutes without missing any questions… then you can probably move on to the next game type. Just make sure that you focus on each game type individually and master it as well as you can before moving to the next.

If you do have 8 hours a day, and you aren’t getting burnt out, then this schedule is probably a great idea. I was missing about the same number of questions on each logic games section (-4 to -8 per section) prior to working through the LGB and drilling myself. After following a schedule similar to the one I have outlined for you for about a week, Logic Games became the easiest section of the LSAT for me from that point forward. I went from missing somewhere between 4 and 8 questions per LSAT section to missing 0. The confidence that I had built on the logic games section made the overall LSAT much easier.

Once you have the LG section down, the LSAT is a MUCH less intimidating beast. If you are still struggling with logic games after going through the Logic Games Bible, The LSAT logic games bible workbook is a good supplement that includes additional drills, examples, and explanations. Good setups make all the difference. If you set Logic Games up properly, then the questions are pretty easy to answer. If you are struggling with your setups, consider investing in the LSAT Logic Games Setup Encyclopedia.

After that first week, I’d recommend working through the Logical Reasoning Bible in a similar fashion. Since any improvement that you make on LR is doubly as important (since it accounts for half of the exam), you should focus on that section next.

Also, after week 1 (logic games hell week), I’d throw in a full timed preptest every other day or so to keep your skills sharp on the sections that you have already drilled and to keep your sense of timing up.

After your first few days with the Logic Games Bible, if you are finding it to be a particularly helpful resource, then I’d recommend investing in the Logical Reasoning Bible and maybe even the Reading Comprehension Bible. The LRB is especially useful, and since LR accounts for 50% of your overall score it is a very smart investment. If you do decide to get the LRB, make sure that you order it in time for it to arrive before you need to start drilling LR so that you don’t wind up getting behind schedule.

You have 25 days until you take the exam. Assuming you take the day before the exam and a couple other days off, you realistically have somewhere between 21 and 24 prep days left. If you spend the first 7 mastering LG and the next 7 mastering LR, that will leave you with 6-10 days to work on RC, refine your LG and LR skills, and put it all together.

Final Few Weeks LSAT Prep Schedule

Days 8-14 working on LR every day and taking a full timed PT every other day or so.

Days 15-18 working on RC and refining the other sections… with a full, timed preptest to start the day every other day or so.

Days 19-24 with a preptest at the beginning of every day, then review the test to locate and improve your weak areas… referring back to the appropriate bible to re-read any problem areas that you are struggling with.

Remember: Please adjust the schedule to fit your needs and focus on your weaknesses. Check back after a few days and let me know how you are doing. I’d love to hear how things are progressing. And, as always, if you run into any trouble, just ask a question in the comments!

I chose the order: Logic games 1st, Logical Reasoning 2nd, and Reading Comprehension 3rd because I feel that the Logic Games section is the easiest to improve through practice, so I think that most people would generally be able to see the largest jump in that section. Also, if you aren’t comfortable with the Logic Games section, it can really rattle your confidence.

I recommended working on the Logical Reasoning section 2nd because I generally found that section a bit harder to improve than the LG section. However, it accounts for a full 50% of your overall LSAT score. If you are already pretty comfortable with Logic Games and weak on Logical Reasoning, feel free to switch the schedule around to focus more time on LR and spend your first week on that section.

I left Reading Comprehension for last, because that section is generally the most familiar for users and is typically the hardest section to improve on. However, once again, if you are really struggling on RC but are more comfortable with LR and LG, adjust the schedule to accommodate for more RC prep.

Yes, I know that this prep schedule might sound grueling… but you should set your sights high! The difference between a 158 and a 170 is the difference between a tier 2 school and a nice scholarship at a tier 1 school! If 8 hours a day feels like a lot, remember that you are signing up for 3 years of law school and a legal career.

How you spend the next 24 days will end up setting the trajectory of your entire law school experience, which, in turn, will set up the trajectory of your legal career. 4 weeks of hard work can literally change your entire life. At a minimum, if working 8 hours a day for the next 24 days earns you a $150,000+ scholarship… that is effectively like making over $780 an hour. Add that to the expected increase in salary you stand to earn by getting into a better law school and your hourly rate would be even hight. It might be a painful 24 days, but its totally worth it.

Now crack open the LGB and CRUSH THE LSAT!

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