Happy 2023…and with the new year comes a new LSAT!

Logical Reasoning

My advice for the LSAT this time around is all about focus. If you stay focused on your goals and approach each question they throw at you with purpose and without rushing, you will give yourself the best chance at success on this section. If you don’t yet have a strategy for how to tackle the timing element (e.g., how many questions you want to even try, when to check on timing, how much time for questions 1-10, 11-17, 18-end), I would recommend thinking about which strategy makes the most sense for you based on past practice test performance and your speed on the section. Just make sure to try out whatever strategy you want to implement on a timed section or practice test, and don’t try anything brand new on the official test.   My general advice is to have 2-4 checkpoints on the test where you can check in on timing, so you don’t have to worry about timing (and take your focus away from questions) throughout the test.

On recent tests, the LSAT has fallen in love with weaken, strengthen, and flaw questions so, if there is one skill I would recommend brushing up on in this last week, it is identifying and operating on flaws. Be on the lookout for those leaps in logic where a premise doesn’t fully guarantee the part of the conclusion it is trying to support. If you get stuck on test day, bring yourself back to that main conclusion—that’s the burden of proof of the argument so each part needs to be fully guaranteed for the argument to be valid.

Reading Comprehension

For this LSAT, I am expecting the LSAT to throw some tricky looking language at you for the harder passages. If you find yourself lost in the language, take a step back and work through the “why” and the “how” of the passage instead of the “what.”  Why did the author include whatever they are talking about in the context of the passage? How did they go about trying to accomplish their big picture goals. It’s less important to remember or completely understand every single detail (and let’s face it, if there are lots of little details you’ll have to go back to the passage anyway, so why waste time on the details at the outset if you’ll duplicate the work later).

Statistically, each reading comprehension section tends to go from easiest to hardest in difficulty. While there is a bit of fluctuation on a given test to this rule, you can generally bank on an easy passage for that first passage in the section. For the other three, you may want to think about whether there are particular elements of a passage that you are especially strong or weak on, and then skip harder passages until later. Are you an expert on science but iffy on art history? Come back to the art history passage at the end and bank those science points first.

Logic Games

If there’s one thing that has been relatively consistent on recent tests, it is that the LSAT has gravitated toward giving one ordering, one grouping, and one combo game. I also would go into the test expecting at least one test that has tiers or extra layers to it that you need to keep track of in addition to just players and slots. This generally takes the form of tiered ordering games, but the test makers have also been adding tiers to grouping games lately. If you encounter a grouping game with those additional characteristics, you can treat those as an extra tier that functions similarly to those tiered ordering games.

If you find yourself stuck while working through the setup of a logic game, ask yourself a couple basic questions.  (1) Is there a place on your setup to keep track of all the information the game is telling you is important?  (2) How much does it seem like you can deduce based on the strength of the rules in front of you? Not every game will have very strong deductions, but most will have at least a few, so try to see if you can combine rules or look to space as bases for deductions. If you have a ton of rules but can’t quite make a deduction, you may want to consider breaking the game into scenarios as well.

Final Thoughts

During this last week, I would go through each and every question type and make sure you have your strategies in order for test day. You want to know how to approach various games and passages, so spend some time reviewing those elements. What you don’t need to do is a bunch of difficult questions or completely reinvent your strategies for test day, as you’ve put in the work and now just have to reap the benefits. Start 2023 off strong and trust your instincts on test day! And if you need any final review, make a free account to access our flashcards, practice test and Logic Games ebook.