This week, we will focus on how to improve your time on the analytical reasoning (logic games) section of the LSAT. You have probably heard the importance of...
The LSAT is a difficult exam and most students agree that the most intimidating part of the exam is the logic games section. Good news, the logic games are also the easiest part of the test for students to improve on. The more comfortable you get with the logic games, the less scary they seem. In fact, as you improve, you may even find the games to be fun! In this article, we'll offer six helpful LSAT tips for the logic games section.
1. Gain familiarity with the main question types.
Learn how to setup each type of game. A good way to do this is to buy a Logic Games book. There are many good commercial books on the market and any one of them will help you learn the basics of setting up the main types of LSAT logic games.
Main Types of Games
- Sequencing games
- Matching
- Distribution
- Selection
- Hybrid games – a combination of the other types
2. Don’t try to solve the game.
Don’t try to solve the games. Time management is critical to doing well on the logic games. Getting caught up on trying to find every possible solution to a game eats up time and is unnecessary. The LSAT writers purposely make some of the games unwieldy, in hopes of getting students to waste type timing to write out all the solutions. Don’t fall in this trap! Just solve for what each question is asking for. That’s where the points are, and that’s all you need to figure out.
3. Practice drawing diagrams in small spaces.
You cannot take extra paper into the test. So, it’s in your best interest to learn to draw the diagrams in the amount of space provided on a regular test page. You don’t want to get to the actual LSAT and discover you cannot draw your diagrams in the space provided. Rather, learn to draw a master diagram, and any subsequent diagrams you need on the open space on test paper itself.
4. Look to previous answers to help you with questions.
Sometimes the LSAT test writers will write questions that build on previous questions on the same game. Make use of the work you have done already to help you eliminate wrong answers and get to the right answer.
5. Play to your strengths.
Just because the LSAT logic games come in an order doesn’t mean you have to do the questions in that order. The LSAT is a paper based exam. Use that to your advantage! Play the games you are most comfortable with first. Save more difficult games for later. This will give you the greatest chance to pick up the most points on the logic games section. Every question is worth one point, so it doesn’t matter if it was easy or difficult, just whether you got it right. So pick up the easy points first. Work on the harder ones with whatever time you have remaining.
6. Practice taking a timed LSAT exam.
The best way to improve your LSAT logic games section, and the LSAT in general, is to get lots of practice. Therefore, do as many timed exams as you can. The LSAT logic games section is 35 minutes long and has 4 games. That’s about 9 minutes a game. Get used to playing games in that allotted time.
About the Author
Jayeeta Kundu is one of MyGuru’s most senior LSAT tutors. She’s been an in-person LSAT tutor in Chicago for the past several years while obtaining her law degree from the University of Chicago. Her undergraduate degree is in Physics and Economics from Reed College, and she holds a M.S. in Technology from MIT as well. She’s worked at several of the larger, well known national test prep companies, tutoring for the SAT, GRE, GMAT, and of course, the LSAT. She is also currently an academic counselor at the University of Chicago law school.
