How to Use LSAT Practice Questions and Exams

Applicants should take the LSAT exam only after they’ve covered most of their LSAT preparation material. The key is to take plenty of practice test questions and exams. No matter what preparation stage you’re in – taking practice test questions is an essential part of your LSAT prep.

Students serious about achieving a perfect LSAT score understand the significance of practice test questions. For each section, you have to test your limits as to what you can do within a 35-minute window.

Why LSAT Practice Questions and Exams are Important

Without practice test questions you can’t assess your abilities, and taking a lot of them allows you to reinforce everything you’re learning. Over time, students also get a better feel for each section and can adjust their study schedule accordingly.

Reviewing LSAT practice test questions won’t improve your skills automatically though. If you fly just through them, you won’t have a clear idea about why you got certain questions you right or wrong. Your progress will also be slower than usual without taking your time and reviewing each LSAT practice test question with proper focus and attention.

Short LSAT practice tests are another great way to get objective feedback. Applicants can use practice test results to get a comprehensive view of their strengths and weaknesses and narrow their focus to the topics that need the most improvement.

Keeping that in mind, let’s have a look at the various LSAT sections, tips to ace practice test questions, and some examples of practice test questions to help you crack the perfect LSAT score.

LSAT Section Details

Section	Description
Logical Reasoning  or Arguments	Two sections, 35 minutes each 24 to 26 MCQs per section Determines the ability of applicants about arguments and applying abstract and logical concepts to analyze arguments.
Analytical Reasoning  or Logic Games	One 35-minute section   4 logic games 4 to 7 MCQs Tests the skills of applicants to make uniform decisions, understand potential outcomes, form relationships between various concepts, and analyze different situations.
Reading Comprehension	One 35-minute section   4 passages around 27 MCQs Checks the ability of students to draw inferences from the text, main ideas and concepts of passages, and understand a complex literature text.
Variable Section	One 35-minute section Un-scored, experimental variable section can feature reading comprehension, games, or arguments.
Writing Sample	One 35-minute section Un-scored Checks the ability of applicants to form a clear and factual argument and support their arguments to express a specific idea.

Reviewing LSAT Practice Test and Exam Questions: Best Tips and Practices

Review Your Untimed LSAT Practice Questions First

Answering untimed LSAT test questions is critical during the early phases of your LSAT prep when you’re still learning a ton of information at once. The biggest benefit here is you can jump back and forth and see the correct answers as you go. Untimed test questions can take more time as they require applicants to review each question’s logic, reasoning, and condition to make the right selection. A great deal of learning happens when you review the answers and take the time to figure out why you answered a question correctly or incorrectly. Of course, untimed practice test questions cut out the time pressure and allow applicants to simply focus on learning.

Mark Answers and Cross-Reference 

One of the best ways to approach LSAT practice test questions is to create a check and balance system. For instance, mark any questions that you’re not 100% sure of, then review those test questions until you figure out the reasoning behind the correct answer. This approach requires humility and critical thinking to understand your limitations, but you’ll learn and grow immensely by doing this.

Take More than One Shot

Before you review the answers to your practice test questions, take a step back and think about the topics that need more practice.

The goal is to make sure you fully understand the material and don’t create a false confidence around topics that you may have guessed correctly on.  Brush up on any shaky topics and see how you fair the 2nd or 3rd time through the questions to get a better sense of your actual performance.

Focus on Blocks of Problems

When reviewing untimed practice questions, try to approach them in blocks of 5-10 problems each. Answer these questions back-to-back, check your results and then move on the next block of problems.

This approach helps simulate the LSAT while letting you check your performance when the questions are still fresh in your head.

Keep Detailed LSAT Notes

Keeping a log detailing the questions you got right and wrong or were uncertain of is another important LSAT study tactic. The goal is identify and track your strengths and weaknesses throughout your LSAT prep and chip away at the areas that are giving you the most trouble.

The more detailed log you keep, the better.

Check Correct Starred or Circled LSAT Practice Questions 

Wondering how you got the circled and starred practice test questions right in the first place? Try to understand the nature of the questions that you got right. Then, figure out whether the approach you used to reach the right conclusion was sound.

Practice Completion of Each Section in 35 Minutes

When it’s time to practice test questions, try to simulate the LSAT environment by completing each section within 35 minutes or less. Follow the standard practice and eliminate possible wrong choices and circle the option that you believe is most correct. Use a stopwatch to time yourself and see how fast you can complete each section.

Review Your Correct and Incorrect Answers to Difficult Problems

When reviewing timed practice test questions, pay close attention to how correctly and incorrectly you answer the most difficult questions. This may uncover topics that you understand fairly well on their own but may struggle to recall when under pressure. Improving your performance on the toughest LSAT practice problems will give you a major confidence boost heading into exam day.

Examples of Different LSAT Practice Questions

Logical Reasoning

How you answer the logical reasoning sections will depend on the brief passages and statements provided. For some questions, you may spot more than one correct choice. In any case, choose the answer that best matches the questions’ requirements.

In logical reasoning, you cannot make preconceived assumptions to choose an answer. Instead, focus on the information provided and draw the relevant conclusions. Otherwise, your answer will come across as incompatible and implausible.

Here’s an example of a logical reasoning question:

The most recent newspaper articles represent unclear and faux representation of the truth. In fact, many publications are now exposed to how they exaggerate information and are more interested in tactics to sell more copies rather than print the truth the public needs and deserves. Today, the grim state of the printing press has mutilated the face of the truth. The truth is that even independent publications have investigative journalists and editorial staff to confirm the information and spot fraud. 

The aforementioned statement argues and assumes that:

1. Small and independent press publications are better at fact-checking and investigative journalism than major publications.
2. A high volume of newspaper articles shows inauthentic information.
3. The burden of responsibility falls on the editors of major publications to print the truth.
4. Most newspapers don’t even admit to printing unverified stories.
5. Every piece of information a newspaper prints should be factually correct.

Logic Games 

In this LSAT section, you’ll see a combination of practice questions that boil down to specific conditions. Ideally, applicants should draw a diagram on a separate piece of paper before answering these questions. Your response should be the one that you feel accurately matches the question’s requirements.

Here’s an example of a logic game:

An advertising head has to schedule and roll out ads for a famous television show. Currently, there are seven unique time slots available to place ads in-between commercial breaks. However, the order of placed ads can vary during each commercial break. Nonetheless, it is imperative for the advertising head to make sure all seven ads (i.e., A, B, C, D, E, F, and G) are aired. 

But the issue is that only a single ad slot is available during the best commercial break. The placement of ads in different slots faces specific restrictions like: 

• Advertisements A and B need to be put on back-to-back time slots.
• Advertisement B should air in one of the early slots than the others.
• Advertisement D can air at a later slot than F and G.
• F and G ads cannot be placed back-to-back in the available time slots.
• If ad F cannot be placed in the fourth slot, E can take its spot.

Which combination of ad placement would be more suitable to air for the head of advertising?

1. ACBDFEG
2. GEFDACB
3. FGABDCE
4. CDEABGF
5. DGBACEF

Which of the below combination makes more sense?

1. Ad “B” should be placed in the first slot
2. Ad “C” should be placed in the fifth slot
3. Ad “F” should be placed in the seventh slot
4. Ad “G” should be placed in the sixth slot
5. Ad “A” should be placed in the third slot

If “E” gets the seventh slot, which ad will likely be placed in the fifth slot?

1. B
2. G
3. F
4. C
5. D

If the advertising head assigns ad B in the third slot, which of the below options is true:

1. Ad “C” is placed in the sixth slot
2. Ad “G” is placed in the first slot
3. Ad “F” is placed in the fourth slot
4. Ad “A” is placed in the fifth slot
5. Ad “E” is placed in the seventh slot

How a Top LSAT Review Course Can Help

Effective LSAT prep all comes down to how effectively you study and use your time to improve your performance. It also comes down to crushing out lots of LSAT practice questions. Using an LSAT study guide or course will drastically simplify your study process and help you make the most of your LSAT review time.

When looking for a review course, it’s only natural to focus on increasing your potential LSAT score. However, not all courses are the same. Each one offers a different set of learning materials and comes at a different price.

With top-rated review courses, you’ll drastically improve your chances of getting a high LSAT score and making a great impression with your target law schools.

Find LSAT Practice Exams

A great place to start is by using the free LSAT practice test material shared by the LSAC. This will get you familiar with the types of questions you’ll see on the exam and an early look at your strengths and weaknesses.

From there, look for an LSAT course that offers plenty of  LSAT practice test questions. There are variety of great LSAT study materials out there, but nothing gets the job done quite like knocking out a high volume of practice test questions. Applicants should also look for LSAT courses that offer full-length LSAT prep tests to test their knowledge and their time-management skills.

From Kaplan to Princeton, most LSAT prep guides and courses feature paid and free LSAT practice test questions. Everyone has a different approach to prep for the LSAT, but the quality of your practice test questions and exams can have a positive impact on your LSAT score.

Try out timed and simulated practice test questions until you find the most favorable testing experience.

Bottom Line

After you’ve gone through enough LSAT study material and taken a variety of practice test questions, you’ll eventually be ready for the test. Remember, your LSAT practice test scores won’t necessarily equate to your actual score on the day of the exam, so learn to grade your confidence with the material and the types of questions you’ll see. When it comes to prepping for the LSAT exam, how you study is just as important as the practice exam scores you’ll see.

Academics and LSAT experts agree that applicants should first get the hang of test fundamentals before moving on to practice test questions. After that, schedule to take practice test questions each week to make gradual improvements in each section. Within a month, you should notice a significant improvement in your understanding of the LSAT study material.

On top of taking and reviewing LSAT practice test questions, continue to learn and try new strategies that can help you recognize new patterns and improve your overall preparation. If you have a flexible budget, consider using a private tutor to help improve your understanding of challenging concepts. You can even combine classes with online resources to get the most value out of study materials, including practice test questions.

Best of luck on the LSAT!