You have been pouring your time and energy into LSAT prep, clinging to the promise that drilling will skyrocket your score. But as the hours pile up, the excitement starts to fade as you see no improvement after each practice test and you ask yourself, "Why isn't my drilling working? Am I drilling efficiently?" In this post, we will dive into common LSAT drilling pitfalls, so that you can break free from the soul-crushing cycle of wasted time and finally see the results you are fighting for.
Drilling refers to attempting individual questions or sets of questions as opposed to full-length practice tests. The purpose behind drilling is to get practice with specific weak areas to help with overall performance. Drilling can also help you slow down and deeply think about the question in an untimed setting. Here are some common drilling mistakes to avoid.
Mistake 1: Drilling Random Questions
Practice sections and practice tests have a random batch of questions. Because the questions of a certain type are spaced out, it's harder to immediately recognize patterns. Since the purpose of drilling is to gain competence within specific concepts or skills, identify what types of questions are especially difficult for you and drill those specifically. This will help you recognize the ways the passages are frequently structured and how the LSAT will often try to trick you. Here are some examples of categories you can drill by:
Question type
Difficulty level
Concept Type (i.e. Conditional Reasoning, Cause & Effect)
Mistake 2: Drilling a set of questions before checking your answers
Do you ever review a practice test and wonder, "How in the world did I pick 'E'?" Since the test is so long, it's difficult to remember our thought process, making it harder to gain much from review. One benefit of doing drills is it allows you to review the question while you still remember your initial thought process. For this reason, it's generally recommended to review each question immediately after an attempt and try to figure out how you can adjust your thought process going forward.
Also, the point of drilling is to learn from your mistake before attempting a new question with your newfound knowledge. Drilling a set before checking your answers defeats the purpose.
Mistake 3: Giving up in the middle of a question
When people encounter a very difficult question and are stuck between two answers, they often give up and just check what the correct answer was. As a result, they miss out on one of the best opportunities to learn a valuable lesson regarding that question. Instead of giving up, power through and try to find a concrete reason as to why one answer is better than the other. This will force you to look deeper into the question and gain valuable insights.
Mistake 4: Not Reviewing Mistakes Thoroughly
Many people unfortunately get into the habit of just doing questions. They think that if they just complete enough questions, overtime their score will improve. But the opposite is true. Doing tons of questions without review will get you nowhere in your prep, because you will end up repeating the same mistakes. Reviewing properly is without a doubt the most important factor in your improvement.
Mistake 5: Being satisfied with accuracy alone
Just because you got the question correct does not necessarily mean you understand the question. My students who scored a 175+ always asked me questions even on questions they got correct. This is because they wanted to feel more confident with the question and fully understand the reasoning. These seemingly minor details can add up to huge improvements overtime. Before moving onto the next question, consider the following factors to see if you truly mastered the one you attempted:
You should not only feel fully confident in terms of why the correct answer is right, but you should also consider whether you feel like a different answer still has potential. Don't move on until you are able to understand why the other answers are clearly incorrect
If you took a long time to answer the question, there is likely still information that needs to be reviewed. Try to figure out how you could have arrived at the correct answer more quickly without having to read faster
Consider if there were underlying concepts that slowed you down. Maybe you hesitated with a conditional diagram, or you almost misidentified the conclusion. Make note of these slight micro-mistakes, even if you ended up correcting them. If you find that you are consistently almost making these errors, it may be beneficial to brush up on those concepts specifically
Mistake 6: Not being consistent
The number of questions you complete matters far less than how consistent you are. Many of my students who scored in the high 170s only drilled 5-10 questions per day, but they did so almost every single day. Any skill you learn takes consistent practice, and the LSAT is no exception. Even completing a single question is way better than doing nothing. Here is an example schedule I have implemented with some of my students:
Day 1: 10-15 questions with review
Day 2: Review questions from Day 1, and attempt another 10-15 questions if applicable
Day 3+: Repeat Days 1-2
Some questions you have already seen may stump you the next day. If that happens, review that question throughout the week until you have mastered it. So, although you should generally aim for 10-15 questions per day, they may not all be new questions.
Stay motivated!
Cho
Founder & Tutor
Impetus LSAT
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