Why a Skill Based Approach is the Surest Way to Improve Your LSAT Score

The LSAT tests skills, not knowledge. This is why many people who did great in undergrad suddenly find themselves struggling to improve their LSAT score. It's not because they aren't "smart" enough. It's because most undergrad exams are fundamentally different in that they test knowledge, not skills.

Since the LSAT tests skills, we should approach it in the same way we would learn a sport or an instrument. In this post, we will discuss a few core principles that many people intuitively understand when learning other skills, but far too often don't apply to the LSAT.

Repetition is Crucial

Suppose you are learning how to dribble a basketball. It wouldn't be enough to watch a video on it or read a book about it. You would need to practice it over and over. This is because it's not just about knowing the steps. It's about being able to do them so fluidly that you can do it without even consciously thinking about it. We know that we should do this in virtually any skill. In tennis, you repeat the same serve over and over. In golf, you repeat the same swing over and over.

Yet people avoid doing this with LSAT questions. They believe they have already seen the question, so it's of no use to them anymore. Many of these people assume that the only value in doing an LSAT question is to see how they would do. As a result, they don't learn much from each question. The point of repeating a question is not to simply see if you get it correct the second time around. Naturally, you are more likely going to get it correct the second time if you remember the answer. It is to master all the ins and outs of the question. Were there moments where you hesitated? Did you fully understand the reasoning behind each answer? Did you understand every sentence and how they relate to each other? Do you understand why you are taking particular steps? If not, there is still more to learn from that question. We should repeat the question until we feel so confident with it that we can do it almost automatically, much like how we should continue dribbling a basketball until we can do it without having to consciously think about it.

Develop Core Skills One at a Time

When learning how to play a sport, you wouldn't play in a competitive tournament every day from the very beginning. But taking an LSAT practice test everyday is akin to this.

Instead, if you are learning how to play basketball, you would probably focus on one skill at a time. You might focus on learning how to dribble first, then how to pass, then how to shoot. If you just play games without practicing these skills in isolation, you will probably eventually improve, but it will take much longer because you will have to think of all three skills simultaneously when you aren't comfortable with any of them yet. Additionally, it will take you longer to learn each individual skill compared to focused practice because it's spaced out by other tasks.

The same applies to the LSAT. Although a passage seems short and simple, there are various skills being tested at once in a single passage. For example, some passages require the ability to identify premises and conclusions while also identifying and understanding conditional statements while also identifying the flaw in the argument. Struggling with a single skill can make the question difficult to understand.

Most people will experience this and continue trying out new questions, hoping something eventually clicks. This generally slows down progress because they are not aware that there is a fundamental skill they are struggling with.

Instead, we should focus on a single skill, master it, and then continue adding to our toolbelt on a consistent basis. This will in turn help us feel more confident with being able to combine these skills in an actual LSAT question.

Speed is a natural byproduct of Mastery

You wouldn't focus on running as fast as possible while dribbling from day one. You would just focus on getting comfortable with dribbling first, and then naturally you will be able to move while dribbling. You wouldn't focus on swinging a golf club as hard and fast as possible from day one. You would first focus on just making contact with the ball. Then naturally you will be able to hit it harder.

Yet many students wonder why they aren't able to complete a question within a minute when they haven't mastered the concepts yet. They think to themselves that if they could just answer the question faster, their score would improve. But this puts the cart before the horse. As a result, the student searches for shortcuts. They try to read faster or try to think about complex subject matter in their head instead of writing things out to save time. Ironically, this often slows them down even more because they reread the same answer choices multiple times because they skimmed over crucial details in the passage and did not fully understand certain concepts.

Like any skill, the speed comes naturally as a result of mastery and understanding. The goal behind LSAT questions is to be so proficient in the skill that you can answer it quickly even when you are taking your time.