Self-Made Study Notes for the LSAT
Resources Used: The LSAT Trainer by Mike Kim
Check out his website for additional resources
http://www.thelsattrainer.com/
I do not own any material.
,Chapter 1: Introduction to the LSAT
Test Format
● 5 sections
o 4 marked
● 35 mins each
● Schedule
o 3 tests, back to back
o 15 min break
o 2 more tests
Logical Reasoning
● 2 sections (1/2 test)
● Average 25 questions
o 1:20 mins per question
● Tests ability of reading and reasoning
Logical Games
● 4 games
● 5-7 questions for each game
● A little less than 25% of the total mark
● Tests ability to diagram or visually organize section
Reading Comprehension
● 4 passages: Law, Science, History and Social Science
● 5-8 questions for each passage
● Tests ability test ability to read for reasoning structure
What is the LSAT designed to test?
● Your Ability to Read for Reasoning Structure
o Most consistently tested
o Refers to the organization of a passage relative to its purpose
● To understand reasoning structure is to understand why
the author has included the parts they did
o Used in majority of logical reasoning, and primary skill tested in
reading comprehension
● Your Understanding of Certain Words
o Tests the exact understanding of commonly used words
● Words like: "or", "only", "therefore", "must" and
"unless"
● These words create connections
o Tested in logic games and logical reasoning
● Your Ability to Bring Two or Three Ideas Together
o In given situations when 2 or 3 statements can yield additional
inferences
, o Most important in logic games, also used in logical reasoning
● Your Ability to See Why Reasons Don’t Justify a Conclusion
o Seeing 2 or 3 ideas that don’t come to together to form a particular
conclusion
o Key reasoning issue tested that is tested
o Central to success in logical reasoning and logic games
The Five Mantras of LSAT Preparation
1. Equate Smart with Simple
o Success on the LSAT depends on the quality over quantity of your
understandings and abilities
o Tests our common sense, our basic understanding
o Harder questions test the exactly the same things easy questions do,
but in a harder manner
o Master fundamentals over details
o As you learn things, you want to work toward attaining a simple and
clean understanding and make it a habit
o Becomes easier to organize what you know and to utilize your own
natural intelligence
2. Focus on What to Think About (Not What to Think)
o Elephant and rider, if you teach your elephant it will make your life
easier as a rider
● Unconscious and conscious mind
o If you train your unconscious mind, it will not drift and will do
amazing things for you
o Need to give your unconscious everything it needs to prepare:
● Simple and intuitive understanding of the issues that will
appear
● Logical and usable strategies
● Plenty of experience of the understanding and strategies
3. Utilize the Power of Compound Learning
o When we learn in pieces, it is far more faster and effective because
we connect and build upon the skills we know
o When we learn one thing at a time, we try to simply add everything
into a whole
o HOW PEOPLE WHO STUDY 1 THING AT A TIME STUDY
1. Give themselves a certain amount of time to study a
type of question at a time
● Few weeks before exam, they review everything all
together
, This results in lack of review, and the
▪
minimal organization and lack of
multiplication
▪ Although you probably do what you learned
in the first week, it is not the most effective
way
2. Studies primarily doing full sections and entire practice
tests
▪ Limits ability to grow mind set
▪ Every test brings new issues, and even if
you understand why the answer is what it is
suppose to be, it doesn’t help you
o HOW TO STUDY - MULTIPLICATION METHOD
● Understands foundation is important
▪ Thinks about what is important for success
in each section
▪ Develops schedule which allows him to
grow his skills from his foundation
▪ Works on mastering fundamental skills
which can be applied to whole section,
versus mastering one type of question at a
time
● For Logical Reasoning
▪ Investing a great amount of time on the
most important skill, the ability to critically
evaluate arguments
● more specifically how to
identify faults - study every
flaw there is, break down, and
practice
● Process necessary for you to
look and clearly understand
▪ Once foundation is built, we move on to
question-specific strategies
▪ Bring everything together
● For Logic Games
▪ Start with working on the important ability
to diagram the game and rules
▪ What makes them so hard is keeping track
of the rules and being able to see how they
come together
Resources Used: The LSAT Trainer by Mike Kim
Check out his website for additional resources
http://www.thelsattrainer.com/
I do not own any material.
,Chapter 1: Introduction to the LSAT
Test Format
● 5 sections
o 4 marked
● 35 mins each
● Schedule
o 3 tests, back to back
o 15 min break
o 2 more tests
Logical Reasoning
● 2 sections (1/2 test)
● Average 25 questions
o 1:20 mins per question
● Tests ability of reading and reasoning
Logical Games
● 4 games
● 5-7 questions for each game
● A little less than 25% of the total mark
● Tests ability to diagram or visually organize section
Reading Comprehension
● 4 passages: Law, Science, History and Social Science
● 5-8 questions for each passage
● Tests ability test ability to read for reasoning structure
What is the LSAT designed to test?
● Your Ability to Read for Reasoning Structure
o Most consistently tested
o Refers to the organization of a passage relative to its purpose
● To understand reasoning structure is to understand why
the author has included the parts they did
o Used in majority of logical reasoning, and primary skill tested in
reading comprehension
● Your Understanding of Certain Words
o Tests the exact understanding of commonly used words
● Words like: "or", "only", "therefore", "must" and
"unless"
● These words create connections
o Tested in logic games and logical reasoning
● Your Ability to Bring Two or Three Ideas Together
o In given situations when 2 or 3 statements can yield additional
inferences
, o Most important in logic games, also used in logical reasoning
● Your Ability to See Why Reasons Don’t Justify a Conclusion
o Seeing 2 or 3 ideas that don’t come to together to form a particular
conclusion
o Key reasoning issue tested that is tested
o Central to success in logical reasoning and logic games
The Five Mantras of LSAT Preparation
1. Equate Smart with Simple
o Success on the LSAT depends on the quality over quantity of your
understandings and abilities
o Tests our common sense, our basic understanding
o Harder questions test the exactly the same things easy questions do,
but in a harder manner
o Master fundamentals over details
o As you learn things, you want to work toward attaining a simple and
clean understanding and make it a habit
o Becomes easier to organize what you know and to utilize your own
natural intelligence
2. Focus on What to Think About (Not What to Think)
o Elephant and rider, if you teach your elephant it will make your life
easier as a rider
● Unconscious and conscious mind
o If you train your unconscious mind, it will not drift and will do
amazing things for you
o Need to give your unconscious everything it needs to prepare:
● Simple and intuitive understanding of the issues that will
appear
● Logical and usable strategies
● Plenty of experience of the understanding and strategies
3. Utilize the Power of Compound Learning
o When we learn in pieces, it is far more faster and effective because
we connect and build upon the skills we know
o When we learn one thing at a time, we try to simply add everything
into a whole
o HOW PEOPLE WHO STUDY 1 THING AT A TIME STUDY
1. Give themselves a certain amount of time to study a
type of question at a time
● Few weeks before exam, they review everything all
together
, This results in lack of review, and the
▪
minimal organization and lack of
multiplication
▪ Although you probably do what you learned
in the first week, it is not the most effective
way
2. Studies primarily doing full sections and entire practice
tests
▪ Limits ability to grow mind set
▪ Every test brings new issues, and even if
you understand why the answer is what it is
suppose to be, it doesn’t help you
o HOW TO STUDY - MULTIPLICATION METHOD
● Understands foundation is important
▪ Thinks about what is important for success
in each section
▪ Develops schedule which allows him to
grow his skills from his foundation
▪ Works on mastering fundamental skills
which can be applied to whole section,
versus mastering one type of question at a
time
● For Logical Reasoning
▪ Investing a great amount of time on the
most important skill, the ability to critically
evaluate arguments
● more specifically how to
identify faults - study every
flaw there is, break down, and
practice
● Process necessary for you to
look and clearly understand
▪ Once foundation is built, we move on to
question-specific strategies
▪ Bring everything together
● For Logic Games
▪ Start with working on the important ability
to diagram the game and rules
▪ What makes them so hard is keeping track
of the rules and being able to see how they
come together
