Emily Holleman is a Content Developer at Knewton, where she helps students with their LSAT prep.
In a perfect world, you’d give yourself months–heck, years–to study for the LSAT.
But, of course, it’s not a perfect world. We’re not perfect people.
If you’ve been telling yourself for too long that you’re going to start studying hard-core for the LSAT (tomorrow), you’re not alone. And if you’re wondering which part of the LSAT is most important, we’re here to help.
Surprisingly, the answer isn’t necessarily Logic Games. The Analytical Reasoning (or Logic Games) section may be the most (in)famous part of the LSAT, but score-wise, it’s not the most important. The section is much talked about largely because it is very distinctive: Few tests (standardized or otherwise) actually bother to measure this particular skill, so LG gets a lot of attention. However, when it comes down to it, the section that has the biggest influence on your score is Logical Reasoning. There’s a straightforward explanation for this: LR makes up a larger proportion of the test. There are two LR sections as opposed to one Reading Comprehension and one Logic Games section, respectively.
Of course, this isn’t to say that RC and LG aren’t important—they are. But if you have only a limited amount of time to study for the test, it’s not a bad idea to focus your efforts on conquering Logical Reasoning. Our official recommendation is that you give yourself three months to prepare for the LSAT, plenty of time to improve in all the sections. But if it’s t minus a month (or a few weeks) until the test, direct your attention to LR.
It’s important to remember that not all LR questions are created equally:Â Some types come up a lot more than others. So, if it’s T minus a week until the LSAT, focus on inference questions—you know, the ones that ask you to pick out a statement that “must be true,” “can be properly inferred,” or “is most strongly supported by” the argument in the prompt. Nearly 20% of the Logical Reasoning section consists of inference questions; these questions alone account for almost 10% of your score.
An added bonus is that inference questions pop up all the time on the Reading Comp section—and require the same set of skills. Almost 40% of Reading Comp questions directly ask about inferences, so focusing on these types of questions can help you out enormously on that section as well.
For more on LSAT Inference Questions, check out:
Posted in Logic Games Guide, Logical Reasoning Guide, LSAT, LSAT Tips | No comments
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