Test-Taking Mandatory “Tip”: Do Not Count on Time Warnings

The Dangers of Time Warnings

Many test preparation companies—whether for the LSAT, bar exam, or other standardized test—provide proctors who call out or write on the board how much time is left in a given section of the test.  These proctors are a pretty standard part of the landscape for diagnostic tests and timed practice exams. Unfortunately, students tend to learn to rely on these warnings, and that’s dangerous, because there might be no such warning on test day.

Thus, while professionalism may argue in favor of test prep companies providing this service, students must heed the following advice.

On the actual day of the test—LSAT, bar exam, MPRE, SAT, or whatever—, you cannot, cannot, cannot, cannot rely upon the test proctors to keep track of time for you.

If these employees of the given test-maker make a mistake and forget to warn you that there are “five minutes remaining” or “thirty seconds remaining,” you will get no sympathy from the test-makers themselves.  In other words, you will not be able to get additional points on the test for this oversight.

The Bottom Line

If you lose points that you could have gotten if you’d been apprised of the time remaining, those points are lost for good.  Don’t take that risk.  ALWAYS keep track of the time yourself, and be sure to get in the habit of doing so by practicing accordingly.

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(Original publication date:  August 3, 2011 (LEX))

LSAT Intensity

While the SAT, GRE, MPRE, bar exam and numerous other standardized tests are difficult in their own ways, the LSAT offers some challenges that set it apart from most standardized tests.

One such distinction is that the LSAT does not test your memory, at least not in an overt way.  For instance, the bar exam requires that you memorize many rules of law and then competently reproduce these rules of law when writing your bar exam essays.  The LSAT requires no such recall.

It should be noted, however, that the LSAT does require a great deal of memory in the form of a highly developed command of the English language and vocabulary.  But this reality is true of any exam that has a reading comprehension component.

Instead of testing memory, the LSAT tests one’s ability to reason through problems on the spot in real time.  In other words, the test selects for people who are good at what we might call colloquially “thinking on their feet.”

Given this emphasis on real-time thinking, the LSAT calls for test-takers to prepare in the way that a performing artist or an athlete prepares.  Cultivating the ability to maintain a high level of concentration or intensity of thought for the duration of the test is, in short, a key aspect of effective LSAT prep.

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(Original publication date:  August 1, 2011 (LEX))

LSAT and Bar Prep | Constructing and Destroying Arguments

One key skill tested in the logical reasoning section category of the LSAT is that of building—and tearing down—arguments.  This skill can appear on the test in many ways, including:
__________

1. Making a statement of facts into an argument, either by drawing an inference or by providing support to an unsupported assertion
2. Finding an additional premise
3. Presenting a “counter-premise”, i.e., a statement that would serve as a premise in a counter-argument

__________

This skill also plays a significant role in bar exam essay, performance test, and MBE sections.

Check this blog periodically for discussion of the argument-construction/destruction skill, how to develop it, how to spot questions that test it, and how to separate good from bad answer choices.

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(Original publication date:  July 20, 2011 (LEX))

MBE | Multistate Bar Exam Tips

1.  Reading comprehension: the seventh subject. The MBE is often characterized as testing six subjects: constitutional law, contracts, criminal law/pro, evidence, property and torts.  But, in fact, probably the most important “subject” is none of the above.  It’s reading comprehension.  Many times, the key to the right answer choice is but a few words in the stimulus.  If you miss those words or do not understand them in context, it does not matter how well you know the law.  You will still have no way to recognize the right answer.

Thus, reading comprehension is something that you should practice consciously.  Develop a reading style that adheres to the correct pace and focuses on relevant information rather than irrelevancies that distract you from the trail.

2.  Take advantage of the format. The MBE is a multiple-choice test.  There are a number of classic multiple-choice test strategies that should be second nature to you by exam day.  For instance, even when you cannot see what’s right about the right answer, you can oftentimes see what is wrong with the wrong answers (good old “process of elimination”).  Every time you eliminate even a single wrong answer choice, you make a big step toward the right answer choice.

3.  You take the test; it does not take you. Do not let the test be in control.  Set your own pace, and attack the questions in the order that you have worked out with your tutor.  Stick to your game plan, and do not let yourself get into a time deficit.

4.  Be a mercenary. Your task on test day is not to please your professors, show your knowledge of the law, or understand the nuances of the cases that confront you.  Your only job is to get points and thereby pass the California Bar Exam.  Everything you do that is not directed toward getting the most points that you can is but wasted time.  Therefore, stay detached enough to avoid getting fixated on interesting or difficult problems.

5.  Go the distance. The MBE can be pretty tiring, but you cannot afford to run out of gas.  You should start the test at your best and maintain that concentration level throughout the day.  (Hence, our Test at Your Best™ motto.) Know your vulnerabilities and plan to offset them.

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(Original publication date:  June 9, 2010 (LEX))