It’s June, and there’s just one final boss before summertime fun-time–the June LSAT. This is the moment you’ve been preparing for, and it’s time to put all that hard work into action. From spotting argument flaws like a pro to nailing reading comprehension, your efforts are about to pay off. Here’s what you can expect on test day, and how to stay focused to perform your best.
What Will Be on the June LSAT?
Logical Reasoning
Now that we are nearly a year into the no-Logic Games LSAT, the dust has settled. For the most part, the Logical Reasoning sections have remained relatively unchanged—with the addition of two scored Logical Reasoning sections now. This means that you’ll still generally start with relatively straightforward questions before diving into some trickier questions around the halfway point of each section.
While most questions in the LSAT Logical Reasoning section will test your ability to analyze arguments and identify flawed logic in those arguments, you’ll get a handful of questions that won’t have complete arguments. These LSAT question types include Resolve, Explain, Must Be True, and Soft Must Be True. For these questions, you’ll need to identify concepts or ideas that overlap between the different facts given. You either need to bridge apparent gaps in those facts (Resolve/Explain) or draw conclusions based on combining that information (Must Be True, Must Not Be True,, Must Be False). Be careful with answers that focus just on one part of the stimulus.
Difficulty tends to ramp up throughout a Logical Reasoning section. However, you can also expect one or two curveball questions that are easier than you’d expect based on where they show up on the test. A few questions at the end can also be a bit easier than others in the second half. With that in mind, I’d be open to taking educated guesses or even skipping tougher questions entirely. This way, you don’t let one or two brutal questions impact your timing and approach to those that might not be as tough.
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Reading Comprehension
You’ll encounter one scored Reading Comprehension section on June LSAT test day. You can bank on the easiest passage showing up as Passage 1 or 2 and the hardest passage showing up in the back half of the section. However, difficulty is a bit more subjective in Reading Comprehension.
If you encounter a particularly dense or convoluted passage, focus on the structure of the passage, subject/purpose to identify the relevance of each paragraph to the overall structure. You don’t really need to know what each detail in a passage means, so long as you know why that detail is there. Power through and try to answer that question of purpose if you’re stuck.
While the specific subjects may vary, you can generally expect a science passage, a law passage, a history passage, and an arts/social science passage on test day. If you know there’s a particular type of passage that is tougher for you, maybe start with other topics that you’re more comfortable with.
The LSAT also likes to throw particularly tough questions at the end of passages, even if the passage as a whole was relatively straightforward. So, be careful not to spend too much time on these brutal questions at the end of passages, as this could lead to not having enough time to answer some easier questions in tougher passages.
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General Strategies for the June LSAT
While the LSAT is a tough test, it also tends to be fair and predictable. Keep an eye out for patterns of arguments or passages you’ve seen in the past that can give you a head start in analyzing the key points. This includes:
- Disagreement pattern
- Arguments by analogy
- Traditional vs new view
- Important historical developments
The test makers want every right answer to be objectively supported and verifiable. So, if you find yourself making assumptions to make an answer work, you’re probably doing the work for the answer. In contrast, if an answer is vaguely worded, but can be made to fit your anticipation, it’s probably correct. How an answer is worded is much less important than whether an answer is a plausible fit for what you’re looking for. Similarly, if most of an answer is worded “better” than another, that doesn’t mean it’s correct. The answer that is technically correct and gets nothing wrong is better than a perfect answer that gets one or two things wrong. So keep an eye out for those poison pills that make otherwise great answers incorrect, particularly on tougher questions.
If you anticipate going into answers and analyze answer choices through that lens, there will only be one correct answer.
Final Thoughts
One thing that can prevent you from achieving your potential on test day is perfectionism. Many lawyers and prospective law students tend to aim for perfection because they want to push themselves and be the best they can be. Honestly, it is a laudable goal and pursuit. However, this could actually hurt you on test day.
I know this from personal experience taking the test. If you stubbornly try to finish every question and end up getting stuck on a tough question, you could drain a ton of time on one question or passage when each question is still only worth one point. If you spend six minutes on one tough question, you may get that point, but at the expense of giving yourself a decent shot at five to six low-difficulty questions or two to three other tough questions. This is even worse on Reading Comprehension, where using that much time on one question could cost you the ability to tackle a game or passage altogether.
Being ok with an imperfect understanding of arguments or passages, educated guesses, and playing the odds on those really tough questions is a key part of succeeding on test day. Just remind yourself that each question is only one point. Any time investment could give you more than one point on other questions!
Be confident and assertive on test day to seek out those correct answers while double-checking for potential deal breakers. Remember, what you see on test day will be more of what you’ve seen countless times already. You got this! Stay positive and seek out that next point!
P.S. Decided to reschedule your June LSAT? Or simply getting familiar with the LSAT before your test date later this year? We can help maximize your prep time!
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