5 Month Study Guide

Common Prep Questions

How long does LSAT prep take?

For many students, LSAT prep takes several months of serious studying. Getting your great LSAT score finalized before applications open can give you the time to submit a great application early next cycle.

Whatever your goal, I'd recommend you DON'T sign up for the LSAT until you're consistently scoring within your goal range. Law school, applications, and studying are expensive enough — many times people sign up before they're ready and end up losing the sign-up fee.

The signup deadline is always 6 weeks before the test date, so once you're at your ideal score regularly, it's the perfect time to sign up.

How much should I study each day?

For most people working or in school full time, 1-2 hours a day during the week and more on weekends is a reasonable amount. That works out to about 10-20 hours of prep a week. If you have more time, great! But don't burn yourself out — you're already juggling a lot.

A slow and steady timeline is often more effective (and quicker!) than trying to cram.

Months 1–2: Master Logical Reasoning

I break LR down into 14 question types, and I suggest mastering them each in order. If you focus on two question types per week, that's roughly 7 weeks of LR prep — though you can move faster if needed. You should thoroughly know how to identify the question and how to answer it correctly before moving on to the next type.

1. Main Conclusion
2. Role / Method of Reasoning
3. Similar Role
4. Must be True
5. Most Strongly Supported
6. Point of Disagreement
7. Flaw
8. Similar Flaw
9. Strengthen
10. Weaken
11. Sufficient Assumption
12. Necessary Assumption
13. Principle
14. Paradox

Month 3: Master Reading Comprehension

Focus on reading for structure. What is the main point of each paragraph? Don't worry about timing yourself yet — start with the easier passages (generally passages 1 and 2), and as your accuracy improves, introduce harder passages (generally passages 3 and 4).

For each answer you get wrong, go find the correct answer in the passage! If needed, you can even redo a hard passage after taking some time away — the nuance and details will make so much more sense the second time through.

Month 4: Put It All Together

Practice a section a day. You don't have to time it yet — accuracy is the priority. Review your wrong answers, and if needed, go back and brush up on any question types you're still struggling with.

Month 5: Get Ready for Test Day

How long does it take you to complete a section with a high level of accuracy? Now that test day is approaching, the goal is to shave a minute or two off your section time each week until you're at full test-day conditions. In the weeks leading up to the test, your practice tests should mirror the real thing as closely as possible:

• Same timing as test day (35 mins/section, or 53 or 70)
• A quiet, similar location
• Same time of day as your actual test
• Similar meals and sleep conditions as you'll have on test day

Good luck with your prep — let me know how it goes!