Voyagers LSAT Prep Plan

I have a couple of assumptions that we need to discuss before kicking this off.
First, I am assuming you have 3 months to study. You can adjust the below for less time, but 3 months really is
the ideal time period. Second, you are not using a prep course. If you are, you need to adjust the below to
match the course. hird, you have the discipline, resources, and drive to carry out my plan and to study in an
effective way !i.e. "# while watching $rey%s &natomy'. Fourth, as a result of my previous statement, you are
ready to put in () hours per week of studying !or a little over *( a week if you are in a prep class'. +ess than
that will not get you into the high *,)s.
I am breaking this plan into - sections by time period !pre.plan, and months *, ( and 3' which are, in turn
subsectioned with the goals for that month.
Pre-study Prep/ in which you ac0uire all the materials you need to carry out what follows. his will probably
take you a few days. 1ere is what you need/
&. 2&3+&" 4&S56Y 36&7I75 8##2. I didn%t reali9e you can get it through ama9on. hat book breaks
up all three sections into their individual problem types &": ranks the difficulty of the 0uestions. &wesome
resource. 8;Y I.
8. +ogic $ames 8ible !by powerscore... I think'.
7. +ogical 6easoning 8ible.
:. & 2aplan prep guide which covers their reading comprehension strategy in detail.
5. +ots of practice tests. 8y this I mean & +5&S *) 65&+ !as in, actually given' +S&S. You are best off
with *<.(). You also need to e=planations for them. his is absolutely critical. I was prepping with 2aplan and
they provided me with every test every given along with the e=planations.
F. +#S of number ( pencils. hese are the ones you will use on the real thing. 6emember, we want to mimic
the real test when we practice as much as possible.
$. & large eraser. You are best off with those soft white ones. he regular pink ones are garbage.
1. &n analog watch. +S&7 no longer allows digital timers. You need an analog watch to time yourself.
I. !optional' & comprehensive prep guide !if you don%t like the rest of 2aplan%s.
otal cost/ I am guessing around >*<).
Month 1/ in which our hero gains e=posure to the 3 main sections of the test !"# including the writing
sample... yet'/ +ogical 6easoning !hereafter referred to as +6', +ogical $ames !+$' and 6eading
7omprehension. ?hat follows are the problem types you need to learn in the first month. hey are the most
common types and will the base upon which we build in month (. 6emember that, in order to learn a new skill,
you 4;S focus your efforts on that skill alone for a bit. & @shotgun@ approach to studying is doom.
AI43#6&" "#5A/ spend no more than 3.<.- hours studying in one sitting. hat is your limit. You 7&"
study B.C hours on the weekend IF you give yourself a 3.- hour break in between.
&. +ogical 6easoning. his part of the test covers over half the 0uestions and is difficult to master. So don%t try
to learn it all at onceD In month one just worry about learning the ollowing types! These types ma"e up
almost 1#$ o the L% se&tions'
*. ypes to +earn/
a' &ssumption
b' StrengthenE?eaken
c' Flaw
(. 6easson for focusing on them/ &ll of them tend to revolve around the following concept/
evidenceFassumptionGconclusion. Further, the skills for these three are very useful for the other sections.
3. Study ips/
a' review the relevant chapters in the logical reasoning bible as well as the comprehensive book.
b' ?hen you first begin :# "# time yourself and :# "# do entire tests or even sections. #"+Y do
individual problems.
c' ?hen you miss problems, be sure to go back and read the e=planation, then 65:# the problem with the
e=planation in mind. I will tell you to do this over and over again in this guide. It is a critical part of the plan.
Yes, you will sometimes remember the answer. 8ut you are not just trying to get it right on the second go
around, you are trying to correctly articulate to yourself ?1Y that choice is correct. his e=ercise is 1#? you
learn to solve "5? problems correctly.
d' ?hen you sit down to study, spend your time on * problem type at a time. &n hour completely devoted to
&ssumption 0uestions, for instance is going to see much better results than an hour spread among all 3. &gain,
this is a critical study concept that applies to &++ I present here.
8. +ogic $ames. 6ight. ?e want to start with the most common ones first.
*. ypes to +earn/
a' Strict Se0uencing !B race horses finish *.B with no ties'
b' +oose Se0uencing !bill is taller than meg and jan, etc...'
c' 4atching !each of these cars can have the following options'. 4atching is normally difficult for studentsD
(. 6eason for focusing on them now/ se0uencing is easy and is a great way to ease into games and achieve
success early. 4atching and se0uence are also very common as components of hybrid games.
3. Study ips/ Same as previous. +earn each type individually.
7. 6eading 7omp. his month your goal is to begin learning how to diagram an 67 passage, identify critical
pieces of info and get used to the 67 strategy I have outlined elsewhere. I am not going to get into detail as I
have done so elsewhere... just be sure to "# time yourself yet. You need time to learn how to do this
appropriately. Your goal, by the end of the month is to have your own shorthand notation worked out and to be
able to approach 67 with a strategy. You also need to know how to find the opic, 3urpose, 4ain point and
Scope as well as how to research detail 0uestions.
:. 4#"1 * Study Schedule/ You can write this up on your own. Hust be sure you are doing loads of problems
focusing on the above. 8y ?eek 3.< or so you should begin timing yourself... just to see how 0uickly you are
getting through stuff. his is about the right time to start doing entire sections of the test in practice. (ou need
to ta"e a pra&ti&e test at the end o the month to see how you are doing' hat should give you enough work
to occupy () or so hours per week. Your focus on the practice test is ensuring that the areas you have worked on
have improved... don%t worry about strange problems you haven%t prepped yet !principle 0uestions, for e=ample'.
M)*T+ $/ in which we continue practice of our month * skills and add the following/
&. +ogical 6easoning/ "ow we add some new problem types.
*. ypes to +earn/
!a' Inference. his is 15 key one to master in month (. 8etween you month * +6 stuff and inference, you
have covered #I56 (E3 of the +6 section.
!b' 3rinciple. his problem type is becoming much more common on the recent tests !:ec), and Sep),'.
!c' 3arallel 6easoning. hese are often rough for most people. 8etter get started on them now.
(. Study tips/ same as before. 1#?5I56, we now are going to add a couple of things/
!a' Include all points made in month *.
!b' "ow you 4;S add section practice daily. hat is/ every day you must do * section of +6, +6 #6 67.
imed. If you run out of time, make note of it and finish the section. 6eview section as I have outlined above. I
woulod prefer if you did ( sections per day... but you have to mi= this with specific problem practice... you need
to fidure out the right ratio for your current skill level.
!c' $o back and review assmpt, strEwkn and flaw 0uestions periodically. 2eep those skills sharpD Section
practice will help this a bit.
!d' 7onstantly be aware of your +6 weaknesses. &djust study plan to shore them up.
8. +ogic $ames/ 4ore new problemsD
*. ypes to +earn/
!a' :istribution !putting people into boats...'
!b' Selection !rules are a series of formal logic statemets'
(. 6easons/ you now have learned the < basic +$ problems. ?e will save the ,th, the hybrid games, for later.
3. Study tips/
!a' include month * tips when learning new stuff.
!b' ry to do a timed +$ section regularly !see point (.!b' above'.
!c' continue to review the +$s we learned in month *.
!d' be aware of your weaknesses. shore them up.
7. 6eading 7omp/ 7ontinued improvement of your approach.
*. You need to add inference 0uestions to the types that you can handle on 67.
(. You need to start timing yourself. Your passage prep time should be less than - minutes !target is 3.< minutes'
which will leave you -.< minutes to answer 0uestions... which is plenty.
3. 7onduct section practice as discussed previously.
:. 3ractice ests/ during month ( you will begin doing regular practice tests. You need to do * per week. ?hat
follows are instructions on how to make the best use of your practice tests.
*. &+?&YS take the test in the e=act way you will take the test in real life... or as close as you can get it. "#
fvcking I, significant others, cats etc should be around. ;se all the real stuff you have on the test. 7hoose a
0uiet area.
(. &fter you are done, grade the test. 7heck you score. Your score will bounce up and down as you study... but it
should always generally progress upwards !I went like this/ *,3, *,C, *,,, *,J, *B3, *B*, *B,, *B-, *B,, *BJD....
*B- on the real thing' so don%t be discouraged if this test is slightly lower than the previous one. It is the overall
trend we care about.
3. $ive yourself an hour break. "ow come back to the test and read &++ the e=planations of the problems you
missed. ;":56S&": how to solve them correctly. For +$ I actually 65:# the problem with from scratch
with the e=planation in mind... that is F6#4 454#6Y. 6ecopying from the book is not helpful.
-. he ne=t day go back and reread the problems you missed. 7an you now e=plain to yourself why the answers
are the way the areK If so, you have learned some new stuffD Yay.
Month ,/ #h sh*t, son... we%re in the chuteD You now have a couple of great things going for your relative to
your peers. &t one month out you !a' know what your score will probably be & 1IS 3#I"t, !b' you know
your weaknesses and !c' you have been e=posed and have studied for the vast majority of the test. ?hile you do
have a couple of final things to learn you have, like +uke Skywalker in the 6eturn of the Hedi, been given all the
tools you need to do well. You just need to kill a Sith +ord. Hust kidding. &ctually, you need to spend the ne=t
month constantly honing your skills. 1owK $lad you asked...
&. +ogical 6easoning/ &dd all the infre0uent problem types. 4aster the section.
*. here are a bunch of problem types that occur in small numbers. 3arado=, 3oint &t Issue, 4ethod of
&rguement, 4ain 3oint !I think those are the only ones left... !a' I am writing this off the top of my head and !b'
I am hungry for lunch... I will probably come back and edit this if I missed something'. Same process as before.
Hust be sure to complete it ?I1I" 15 FI6S ( weeks of this month.
(. Same section practice as above.
3. Implement I#Y&$56%S 657;6SII5 S;:Y 3+&" !tm and see below'.
8. +ogic $ames/ #nly * left. +earn that one. 7ontinue to master previous.
*. "ew ypes/ 1ybrid games. 6eally just a combination of the previous. hey are not so tricky after you
practice them a bit. I should add that there are ( other +$ types that have appeared on previous tests/ process
games and mapping games. hey appear very infre0uently on the tests, but it is nice to know how to do them. I
assume the +$ bible presents them. If not, 34 me.
(. Section practice as discussed previously.
3. 6ecursive studying.
7. 6eading 7omp/ 2eep working this. 8y now, you should be truly rocking 67 sections.
:. I#Y&$56%S 657;6SII5 S;:Y 3+&". his is a great way to refine your skills !also, it means that I am
almost done writing this post... are you as e=cited about that as I amK I doubt it...'. 1ere are the step by step
instructions. his plan needs to be implemented at the beginning of month 3.
*. ake a 3ractice est.
(. 6eview test as outlined above.
3. "ow, take your test and analy9e it to I: the sections and problem types you are doing the worst in. Steps *.3
will take you a full weekend day.
-. Spend (.3 days attacking those problem areas with the same ferocity that 6osie #%:onnel e=hibits when
confronted with a mayonaise sandwhich.
<. ake a new practice test.
,. 6epeat -.
#ver the course of month 3 you will be able to perform this cycle , times and should see some dramatic
improvement. If you try to do this too early !in month * for e=ample' there will be too much for you to review
and you will be overwhelmed.
Summary/ So that is the plan. I am not saying it is the only way to go or even the best way to go. ?hat I can
say is that it is a damn $##: way to go that will not steer you wrong. I can get into specifics of any section,
month or part of the plan if you like.