You Never Have To Miss Questions

Many students try to finish every question in a timed section. Getting through all 25 questions feels like an accomplishment, even if they miss some along the way.

But the LSAT doesn't reward finishing questions. It rewards getting them right.

If you rush to finish a section, you’re likely sacrificing points you could have earned. The solution isn't to go faster. It’s to attempt fewer questions.

More Questions Doesn't Mean More Points

Every question you attempt takes time. And the more questions you try to squeeze in, the less time you have to solve each one.

That creates a tradeoff. You can attempt more questions with less time to think, or you can attempt fewer questions and give each one the attention it deserves.

Students often focus on the difficult questions they miss toward the end of a section.

But the questions they miss earlier deserve more attention. If you're getting easy or moderately difficult questions wrong, which tend to appear earlier in the section, don’t worry about the harder ones as much.

Your first priority should be getting the questions earlier in the section right.

The Case for High Accuracy

Aim for 95–100% accuracy on the questions you attempt during timed practice.

If you attempt 20 questions, that means getting at least 19 right. If you attempt 10, it means getting all 10 right.

That probably requires slowing down, which might feel uncomfortable at first. 

You may discover that you can only solve eight questions accurately in 35 minutes. That's a perfectly reasonable starting point. You can build from there.

Read each passage carefully. Make sure you understand the argument before evaluating the answers. Don't settle for an answer that merely sounds okay. Understand why it's correct and why the alternatives are wrong.

Solve each question before moving on, regardless of how much time it takes.

Guessing Is Part of the Strategy

There's no penalty for wrong answers on the LSAT. Every question has five answer choices, so a random guess has a 20% chance of being correct.

That means you can earn points on questions you never attempted.

Imagine you have 25 questions and 35 minutes.

You could rush through all 25, getting 15 right and 10 wrong. Or you could spend the entire section carefully solving 15 questions, getting all 15 right, and guessing on the remaining 10.

In the second scenario, you'd expect to pick up two additional points from your guesses, bringing your expected total to 17 correct answers.

You’d do less work and earn more points.

When you receive the five-minute warning, choose one letter and fill it in for every remaining question. Then return to the question you were working on and continue solving it carefully. 

Speed Is a Result of Understanding

Attempting fewer questions won’t be permanent. It's how you build toward solving more questions accurately.

As your understanding improves, you'll get faster.

You'll recognize common flaws in Logical Reasoning arguments. You'll become more comfortable navigating Reading Comprehension passages. You'll identify wrong answers more efficiently because you understand exactly what makes them wrong.

You won't need to force yourself to move faster. You'll simply need less time to solve questions that once seemed difficult.

Don’t Watch the Clock

Timed practice helps you learn to focus on the question in front of you.

If you're constantly checking the clock, calculating how many questions remain, or worrying about whether you'll finish, you're doing something other than solving the question in front of you.

Read carefully. Think through the argument. Evaluate the answers. Don't rush because you feel behind schedule.

When you get the five-minute warning, guess on whatever questions remain and go back to the question you were working on.

The number of questions you reach will increase as your skills improve. There's no need to force it.

Put It Into Practice

On your next timed section, make accuracy your only goal.

Work through the questions one at a time. Don't worry about reaching the end of the section. Give yourself permission to spend as much time as you need on each question.

When you receive the five-minute warning, fill in guesses for the remaining questions. Then return to the question you were solving and continue working carefully until time expires.

You don't need to finish the section. You need to get paid for the work you do.

 

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