Noor

Introduction

I was told by a pre-law advisor that it was not possible for someone to jump more than a handful of points on the LSAT. She explained to me that the LSAT is "not a learnable exam." She was wrong. Because of the tutoring and support I received at Elemental, I jumped almost 30 points from my first LSAT score in 2020, to my final LSAT score in 2022. After a few months of self studying, I earned a score in the 140's on the October 2020 LSAT. Shortly after, in November 2020, I joined Elemental, and after 10 weeks of studying and one on one tutoring sessions with Ellen, I was able to score in the high 160's on the January 2021 exam. I then came back to Elemental during the summer of 2022, and with Molly's help was able to score in the mid 170's on my October 2022 exam, placing me in the top 99th% of all test takers.

If you would have told me when I first started studying, that I had the potential to score in the top 99th% on the LSAT, I would've thought you were crazy. If I can do it, anyone can do it. I can honestly say that no other prep company would have been able to help make this almost 30 point jump from my first to my last LSAT score. Instead of giving me quick and easy strategies that were dependent on luck, the Elemental program provided me with a deeper understanding of how the LSAT works. At Elemental, I was given strategies that were guaranteed to work on every section of the LSAT, regardless of the specific content of the exam. In addition to being a better LSAT test taker, I am now a better reader. The skills I gained at Elemental are skills that I plan to carry with me throughout law school and beyond.

October 2020 -- Read The Loophole

Reading The Loophole helped me lay down a solid LSAT foundation. The Loophole introduced me to core concepts like powerful/provable, conditional reasoning, and power players.

Actively read The Loophole. Take notes, highlight, annotate, make flashcards. This isn't a book that you can skim. I would know... I tried.

November - January 2020 -- Vocab Memorization via Quizlet

Every morning for about 45 minutes I would take the time to memorize new words I had come across that I was not familiar with. The more words I knew, the better I understood LSAT stimuli. The better I understood LSAT stimuli, the more questions I began to get right. The more questions I got right, the higher my LSAT score got.

The bottom line here is this: words on the LSAT matter. In fact every individual word on the LSAT was placed there strategically and intentionally. Your ability to get questions right depends in large part on your understanding of various LSAT stimuli. You cannot understand stimuli if you don't know the meaning of a given word or set of words. Increasing your vocabulary is a sure way to improve your LSAT score. Not knowing a word is not trivial, it can make all the difference.

November - December 2020 -- LR and RC Translation Drills

LSAC purposely makes stimuli on the exam complex and convoluted. Translating just means decoding LSAT stimuli in your own words. When I got better at translation, I got better at the LSAT.

• Read a phrase (Use your finger or pencil to point to every word while reading)
• Translate that phrase (Pretend you're talking to your friend and explain what you just read. Translate bite size pieces.)
• When you are done translating every individual phrase, do a Translation recap to make sure you understand how the phrases fit together to reach an argument or idea.

Do not attempt the questions during your Translation Drills. That defeats the purpose of the Translation Drills.

December 2020 / January 2021 -- Full Sections

Try a full LR/RC/LG section using everything you learned. Make sure you hyper skip the questions you are unsure of.

When you hyperskip, erase everything and attempt the question with an entirely new approach. Do not do the same thing over again, that's not hyper skipping. Focus your energy on doing, not correcting. You should spend more time practicing and attempting questions than you should completing the wrong answer journal.

April - May 2022 -- Reread The Loophole

Rereading the Loophole allowed me to deepen my understanding of core concepts and was a nice intro back into the LSAT.

If you are anxious about retaking, rereading The Loophole is a nice way to get back into the LSAT, stress free.

June - September 2022 -- Translation

I focused on translating LR stimuli, LG rules, RC passages, and LR answer choices. At first I found translation to be very difficult, especially answer choice translation, but I know my score improved drastically.

No one likes AC translation, but it is so helpful. I seriously think that was one of the main reasons my score increased. Make sure RTQ are three separate, distinct things when translating. Make sure you CLIR every single LR stimulus.

September - October 2022 -- Full Sections

I couldn't believe that all of my hard work was paying off. I began to see -2 and -1 on my answer choice journal and I didn't think that would be possible for me.

Hold yourself to the same standard on all 100+ questions of this exam. Consistency is key.

General Advice

• You are capable. Attaining your dream score is possible, but it is a process. No one earns a 170+ score overnight.
• Read the Loophole more than once. The second time I read the Loophole, my understanding of the LSAT, and core LSAT concepts deepened.
• Translate as much as you can, as often as you can. Translate stimuli, answer choices, and rules. The more translating you do, the better you will be at test taking.
• Create an "LSAT Vocabulary" Quizlet. Every time you come across a word you don't know, add it to your vocabulary list. Not knowing a word on the LSAT is not trivial. It can be the reason why you get a question right or wrong.
• Memorize the Uncut Method Vocab List.
• Consistency is key. Come up with a realistic study schedule that accommodates your circumstances well, and stick to that study plan. It is better to study an hour a day for a fixed period of time than to study 10 consecutive hours in a single day.
• Get rid of negative self-talk. You are not bad at the LSAT, you are a work in progress. This test is psychological as much as it is academic. You need to adopt a positive attitude and a growth mindset in order to improve.
• Get specific about where you are getting stuck. Making general statements like "It takes me too long to finish one logical reasoning section" is not going to help you get better, you need to become solution oriented and focus on why.
• Hold yourself to the same standard on every single LSAT question. It doesn't matter if it is an NA question, a science RC passage, or a difficult game on LG. You RTQ CLIR every LR stimulus no matter what. You RTQ every RC passage, no matter what. You read and diagram every LG rule no matter what. Consistency is key. Don't let a certain question or topic or game throw you off. When you get afraid, lean into Elemental skills harder.