Circa 2011: Thoughts On LSAT Preparation – Renaming The LSAT

Part 1 – It’s called the LSAT, but it’s really the “READ” Test

The “LSAT” is:

- a four letter word;

- a barrier between you and the law school of your choice (or perhaps any law
school)
- a standardized test (every test taker gets the same questions);
- a multiple choice test (rewarding answer identification first and understanding
second);
- a long test;
- a test administered under strict time constraints;
- an important test

But, most importantly:

The LSAT is a test of reading and reasoning in different contexts.

The LSAT requires you to:

First, read and understand the information; and

Second, reason with and make deductions from that information.

The “Law School Admission Test”, the LSAT should be referred to as the
“READ” Test. “READ” is an acronym for:

“Reading Effectively And Deducing”

“READ” is descriptive of what the LSAT actually tests.

If the LSAT were thought of as a dance, there are four steps to the dance..

1. What is the information telling you? (conclusion, premise, main point,

conditional statement, etc.); and
2. Why? (premise)
3. What aspect of the “what” and the “why” does the question ask about?
4. Which answer choice is best?

The three general contexts for the “READ” test (Reading Effectively and
Deducing) are: Logical Reasoning, Analytical Reasoning (Logic Games) and
Reading Comprehension.
Context 1 – Logical Reasoning

LSAT logical reasoning questions require you to determine “how the argument
goes”. That is how the premises bear on the conclusion. Often this will require
you to identify different types of arguments including causal arguments and
arguments by analogy.

Context 2 – Analytical Reasoning or Logic Games

LSAT logic games questions require you to understand the content of

information, how pieces of that information relate, and to then use this
information to recognize:

- what is always true

- what is sometimes true
- what is never true

Note the emphasis on definite truths.

Context 3 – Reading Comprehension

LSAT reading comprehension questions require you to determine how different

ideas relate to each other. How are these ideas similar? How are they
dissimilar? Reading is the most complex skill tested by the LSAT.

Part 2 - “READ Effectively ” – “Simplicity is virtue”.

I received the following email from a student in a recent course:

“Hi John:

LSAT school was a blast. It helped me improve one of the areas I had been
struggling w/ at the start my LSAT preparation – logic games. But the most
important lesson I learned from you course was that when it comes to answering
the questions, simplicity is virtue.”
When it comes to the virtues of “simplification”, Kyle Pasewark points out on his
LSAT Blog:

[...] Your preparation should be focused on simplicity, which will increase your
accuracy and your efficiency. See our blog post, “Three Keys to Success on the
LSAT: Simplify, Simplify and Simplify.” [...]

http://advisein.wordpress.com/2009/11/30/success-on-the-lsat/

Simplicity and the importance of “Small Steps”

Anybody can complicate. It’s takes an organized mind to keep things simple. One
way of keeping things simple is to reason in “take small steps”. In fact when it
comes to the LSAT:

“The smaller the step, the bigger the result!”

Simplicity and Focusing On What You Do Know

There is good news and bad news.

The bad news is that there will be things that you don’t’ know.

The good news is that there will be things that you do know.

Focus on the things that you do know.

Part 3 - The categorization of LSAT questions and the “READ” objective

The categorization of LSAT questions is the “rage” in LSAT preparation books

and LSAT courses. The prep industry behaves as though the goal is to
complicate the LSAT. The “National Anthem of LSAT Prep” is:
“The more categories of questions you can identify the higher your LSAT
test score.”

According to conventional wisdom (much of it reinforced by the official LSAT

publications) there are:

- four categories of LSAT Logic Games.

- a large number of specific types of LSAT Logical Reasoning questions
including: assumptions (both necessary and sufficient condition types),
inferences, parallel reasoning (conditional statement based and others),
flawed arguments, verbal exchanges, necessary and sufficient conditions,
etc.
- approximately six categories of Reading Comprehension questions

Does the categorization of questions help students perform better? After many
years of classroom LSAT teaching experience I would say:

“Not necessarily, It depends on the student.”

You DON’T get credit for being able to categorize the question.

You DO get credit for identifying the best answer in a multiple choice context.

Therefore, the real questions are:

Does the categorization of LSAT questions improve ones chances of answering

the question more accurately, more quickly or both?

Does the categorization of LSAT questions further the “READ” objective?

Does the categorization of LSAT questions assist you with:

“Reading Effectively And Deducing”?

I advise you to experiment. Some people are helped by categorizing and some
are most definitely hurt. It is clear that the categorization of LSAT questions is
(to use the language of some question categories) neither a “necessary” nor
“sufficient” condition for answering the questions. Remember:

“It’s the READ test!”

If you are thinking about what category of question it is, you may not be thinking
about what you are being told!
Part 4 - Styles of LSAT Preparation - Different Strokes For Different Folks

When it comes to LSAT Prep, are you better off:

“Working hard” or “Hardly working”?

When it comes to LSAT preparation, some people “work hard” and some people
“hardly work”. The horrible reality is that often the people who “hardly work” do
better than the people who “work hard”. This seems unjust. There are a number
of possible reasons for this. It is important that you not only work hard but that
you work effectively.

Effective Work is aimed at improving your accuracy with respect to the

“READ” objective.

This is the “READ” test. You would be better off focusing on the four part “LSAT
step” described above. If you “work hard”, you must “work hard” in relation to
what the LSAT actually tests – i.e. your ability to understand what you are being
told and why.

What Is The Objective of LSAT Preparation?

Well, obviously to get more right answers. That said: the question is what is
required in order to get more right answers? The LSAT is a multiple choice test
where you receive credit for choosing the correct answer. Choosing an answer
requires that you decide which of the five answer choices is best. Therefore:

LSAT Preparation is:

First, about learning how to make better decisions in the context of multiple
choice;

Second, making those decisions accurately (selecting the correct answer) and
effectively (selecting the answer quickly).

Remember: When it comes to answering LSAT questions:

“Some people know what to do, but can’t do what they know!”

Think of LSAT preparation as a process that is designed to improve the accuracy

and effectiveness of your decision making ability – i.e. to make better decisions.
Technique and Approach Applied to LSAT Preparation

Many people (encouraged by LSAT books and courses) approach LSAT

preparation with the objective of learning lots of techniques and approach. Often
the techniques are a function of the category of question. On this point I will
adopt the following comment:

“The key to LSAT success is efficiency under pressure. It’s not non-game
understanding of a playbook or fooling around with Ken-Ken on Sunday morning,
but being able to execute when it counts, i.e., answering 5 sections (4 graded) of
about 25 questions apiece in 35 minutes per section. LSAT prep books’ nearly
incomprehensible techniques won’t help you do that. They’re selling materials,
not paying attention to the point—taking the exam under tight time conditions.

What’s the answer? Simplify. The LSAT is a predictable exam, and if every
technique that you need to answer every type of LSAT question doesn’t fit on two
or three pieces of paper (or 4 or 5 index cards) by exam day, you don’t
sufficiently understand the structure of the LSAT, will have too much muddle in
your head and won’t be able to get your highest LSAT score. Not only won’t you
be able to remember several hundred pages of techniques (or even ten), but you
haven’t really grasped how to simplify the LSAT into a manageable range of
possible questions. But if you have command of a few, clear techniques, you’ll
know what the next step is to get to the right answer: quickly, confidently and
without panic.”

http://advisein.wordpress.com/2009/11/30/success-on-the-lsat/”

Certainty and the LSAT Decision– The Confidence Continuim

When you choose an LSAT answer choice, how certain are you that it is right?
Your confidence can range from 0% certainty to 100% certainty. You can have
no certainty (blind guess – 0% right up to absolute certainty – 100%). When it
comes to the LSAT, 0% certainty is more likely than 100%. In fact, it is almost
impossible to be 100% certain of the answer to an LSAT question. Why?
Because, the emotional fallout of taking the LSAT is too extreme. For the vast
majority of people, they experience the LSAT as:

being under tremendous time pressure to choose an answer choice; and

being very uncertain of what answer choice to choose.
What factors determine how you choose LSAT answer choices?

The process of choosing an LSAT answer choice will engage all aspects of your
mind and personality.

These aspects include:

- Intelligence - Cognitive – your intelligence – you must have the mental

capacity to read and reason with the information.

- Emotions - Affective – your emotions – you need enough stress to be

motivated, but not so much stress that you are incapacitated. Achieving your
optimal LSAT score requires that you control the “emotional fallout”
associated with the LSAT.

“As go your emotions, so goes your LSAT score!”

- Conative – how you use your intelligence and emotions to make decisions

According to the Free Dictionary “conation” is:

“The aspect of mental processes or behavior directed toward action or change

and including impulse, desire, volition, and striving.”

People with similar intelligence and emotional makeup may have different styles
of deciding on an answer choice. The “style of decision” is a function of how one
uses intelligence to solve problems. This explains why some people with high
intelligence perform poorly (the paralysis of analysis) on the LSAT and vice
versa (any decision is better than no decision).

According to Kathy Kolbe, different personality types will use different aspects of
their personality to dominate the decision process. Examples of different
decision styles include:

Fact Finder - the instinctive way we gather and share information.

Follow Thru - the instinctive way we arrange and design.

Quick Start - the instinctive way we deal with risk and uncertainty.

Implementor - the instinctive way we handle space and tangibles.

http://www.kolbe.com/theKolbeConcept/four-action-modes.cfm
When it comes to choosing an LSAT answer choice, the instinctive way that you
deal with uncertainty (“Quick Start”) will be key. For example, when it comes to
LSAT logic games, people have trouble getting started. There is no right or
wrong way to choose answer choices. There is no right or wrong way to
prepare. This point is recognized by prospective LSAT test takers. For example
see the following discussion thread from one of the boards:
http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=396

This discussion thread contains information about student experiences with

various LSAT prep courses. The responses were interesting. However, the real
question is NOT what course or book worked for someone else. The question
should be:

“Given the particular way that I make decisions in the context of uncertainty,
what would be the best way for me to prepare? What is the best way for me to
make difficult choices – less difficult for me?”

A Case Study – Two Test Takers

Mr. Analysis vs. Mr. Blink

http://www.gladwell.com/blink/index.html

At the risk of oversimplification let’s introduce you to two LSAT test takers.

Introducing Mr. Analysis – We all know somebody like him. He is a slow,

contemplative, methodical decision maker. He seeks all relevant information. He
craves detail. He then attempts to incorporate all of the relevant information into
his decision. He is probably a brilliant student of history. His research is superb.
His analysis is exhaustive. At the end of the day he almost always makes a
strong decision. However, he sometimes becomes paralyzed by his analysis. He
has difficulty making a distinction between “major factors” and “minor factors”.

Introducing Mr. Blink – He doesn’t seek lots of information. In fact, he seems

bothered by any information. He doesn’t like too much detail. He is a big picture
thinker. He seems to operate almost by instinct. In truth, he is basing his decision
on the most important factors. He does distinguish between “major factors” and
“minor factors”. He also makes strong decisions. He is the kind of decision maker
described by Malcolm Gladwell in his book Blink.
http://www.gladwell.com/blink/index.html
Mr. Blink makes decisions by considering the major factors.

Note that both Mr. Analysis and Mr. Blink make good decisions. It’s just they
make decisions differently.

(As I write this I am reminded that during the 1970s the LSAT included a section
called “Practical Judgment”. This question type required test takers to distinguish
between “Major Factors” and “Minor Factors” that were relevant to a decision”.
The “Major Factors” were more general and less detail oriented. See:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/14101329/The-Story-Of-The-LSAT)

It is important to recognize that you cannot change the kind of decision maker
that you are. The kind of LSAT preparation that you do must be suitable for the
style that you use to make decisions.

For example:

Mr. Analysis needs to make sure that he doesn’t become “Mr. Paralysis Of
Analysis”. He needs to proceed more quickly based on broad criteria. Mr.
Analysis must learn that he can make accurate decisions without incorporating
every detail into the process.

Mr. Blink needs to learn to not blink too quickly. He must learn to read more
carefully so that he considers how specific details influence the broader picture.

In other words, every decision maker needs to prepare in a way that maximizes
the benefits of his thinking style and minimizes the risks associated with it.

Decision Making Styles And LSAT Logic Games

Logic Games (Analytical Reasoning) is a high anxiety area of the LSAT. It is the
section of the LSAT that best illuminates different styles of decision making.

Mr. Analysis would be more likely to approach the section by reading the
conditions, trying to make lots of inferences, and generally taking a long time
before answering the questions. Mr. Analysis would likely find it difficult to begin
the process of answering the questions. Mr. Analysis would not feel confident
that he had made all the relevant inferences. (Most LSAT books suggest the
approach of Mr. Analysis. I.e. make all relevant inferences and then begin the
questions.)
Mr. Blink would be more likely to begin the questions and discover the inferences
as he went along. (An LSAT book that advocates the “just get started” and “figure
it out as you go along” approach is “Big Fat Genius Guide To Logic Games”. This
is an interesting book – must reading for the Mr. Analysis school of LSAT Prep –
and no, that is not an ad for the book.)

Remember that Mr. Analysis and Mr. Blink represent two different styles of
decision making. Neither is right or wrong. Each must use the kind of LSAT
(“READ Preparation”) preparation that is appropriate for him.

For the record, there are few, if any LSAT Logic Games where it is necessary to
make many inferences prior to addressing the questions!

Copyright © 2011 John Richardson. All Rights Reserved.

http://www.masteringthelsat.com

_______________________________________________________

Some additional thoughts from New York LSAT Tutor Kyle Pasewark

“If you’ve started thinking about preparing for the LSAT, you’ve probably gone to
your local bookstore or online and come home with an armload of LSAT study
guides (or their online equivalent). Or maybe you signed up for an LSAT prep
class, an LSAT review course or for private LSAT tutoring and received in return
for your not insubstantial investment a hefty volume of LSAT study techniques.
Before you opened them, you thought, “Wow, this is great, with all this insight, I’ll
be ready!”

Then you opened your bounty and after a few pages in each one, your eyes
started to glaze over as you tried to follow the discussions of techniques.
Confidence and hope gave way to a slack-jawed “Whu?” and fear that you could
never master the LSAT strategies that these materials were trying to explain.

You were right. You can’t. But that’s the fault of the techniques, not you. The
plethora of LSAT prep books, online advice and other LSAT materials, including
Kaplan, Princeton Review, Barrons and a score of others, simply aren’t any use
for your purpose—which is to get your highest LSAT score on a pressure-packed
exam day. Private tutors and online LSAT study tips generally follow commercial
guides’ lead of producing a blizzard of paper. Some very expensive LSAT tutors
give pupils 7 or 8 techniques for a single type of question. You want and need
one method per type—if you have more, there’s something wrong with the
method and you’ll make mistakes you shouldn’t on exam day.
We get why prep books complicate the LSAT—most people wouldn’t pay $20-
$40 for a book that wasn’t 300-500 pages long. The LSAT test prep industry
wants to sell you a book. And LSAT tutors want to show you they understand the
LSAT, so they follow the same strategy. But it’s different to “understand” the
LSAT in the abstract and to understand it in the context of actually taking the
LSAT. We can all read football playbooks and understand them—but we can’t all
play the game. Understanding while sitting comfortably at home with a muffin is
abstract understanding; being able to execute during the game is actual
understanding.

You can’t bring any of your LSAT prep materials into the exam with you, and you
wouldn’t have time to consult them if you could. You must be in complete
memory control of any technique you need when you walk into your LSAT. You’ll
need to know automatically what the next step on any question is and how to
execute that step efficiently and in time. You can’t do that if you’re trying to recall
methods and then having to decide which of the myriad of possibilities you need
to employ. Your LSAT strategies and methods have to be clear, few and easily
repeatable.

The key to LSAT success is efficiency under pressure. It’s not non-game
understanding of a playbook or fooling around with Ken-Ken on Sunday morning,
but being able to execute when it counts, i.e., answering 5 sections (4 graded) of
about 25 questions apiece in 35 minutes per section. LSAT prep books’ nearly
incomprehensible techniques won’t help you do that. They’re selling materials,
not paying attention to the point—taking the exam under tight time conditions.

What’s the answer? Simplify. The LSAT is a predictable exam, and if every
technique that you need to answer every type of LSAT question doesn’t fit on two
or three pieces of paper (or 4 or 5 index cards) by exam day, you don’t
sufficiently understand the structure of the LSAT, will have too much muddle in
your head and won’t be able to get your highest LSAT score. Not only won’t you
be able to remember several hundred pages of techniques (or even ten), but you
haven’t really grasped how to simplify the LSAT into a manageable range of
possible questions. But if you have command of a few, clear techniques, you’ll
know what the next step is to get to the right answer: quickly, confidently and
without panic.”

http://advisein.wordpress.com/2009/11/30/success-on-the-lsat/