2.2 - When You Make Mistakes

"Oof, got that one wrong. Guess I'll do another one." – You, at some point during your LSAT studies.

Whoa! Slow down there, Speed Racer. Don't barrel ahead to your next question. Review your mistakes!

This is among the most critical advice you're going to get. Errors are where you learn. And, spoiler alert, they happen to LSAT teachers like me, too (all the time!).

Instead of succumbing to that sense of embarrassment you probably feel, dig deep and hold yourself accountable. If you can't correct the mistake now, you will repeat it later.

Hold Yourself Accountable...

Let’s not sugarcoat it. Every time I hear, "I just misread something," a part of me wants to say, "No kidding. If you'd read it right, you'd have answered it correctly."

Harsh, maybe, but here’s the truth: owning your mistakes is tough because it's not something I can teach you.

Sure, I can hold you accountable one-on-one or in the classroom, but I won't be looking over your shoulder come test day. You have to hold yourself to a higher standard and admit when you don't understand something.

...But Give Yourself Some Grace

Now, before you think I'm all tough love, take a breath.

Yes, you must hold yourself accountable for your mistakes. But you also need to take it easy.

You're juggling this test on top of life's other stressors. You're allowed to make mistakes. You're just not allowed to let yourself off the hook when you do.

Students still giggle in class when I tell them to give their wrongness a bear hug. You've got to embrace that wrongness because it's where the real learning happens.

Give yourself the space to be wrong while also refusing to tolerate repeat mistakes.

Review Like It's Your Job

Now, let's talk about reviewing your mistakes.

Skimping on review is like skipping leg day at the gym—sure, you're working out, but you're only reinforcing strengths and neglecting weaknesses.

Reviewing your mistakes means figuring out why the right answer is right and why the four wrong answers are wrong.

Found a question that tripped you up? Wrestle with it until it's clear where you went wrong.

And don’t settle for any old explanation. Find one that clicks, that makes you go, “Ah-ha!” It's a safe bet that you'll see this same kind of question again, especially on test day.

For starters, here are some clarifying questions that will help you review, regardless of section:

• What's the question asking me to do?
• Is the answer predictable? Or do I need something from the answer choices?
• Why did I pick this particular wrong answer choice?
• Why didn't I pick the right answer?
• How can I prevent this mistake in the future?

Reviewing Logical Reasoning

In my opinion, LR is the simplest section to review because its questions are the most bite-sized: one passage, one question.

Use these clarifying questions to structure your LR review:

• Was the passage an argument?
  • If so...
    • What was the conclusion?
    • What evidence supports the conclusion?
    • Did the author prove their point? Why or why not?
  • If not...
    • What do you know for sure?
    • What's still possible, but isn't certain?
    • What might resolve any unresolved tension in the passage?

Reviewing Reading Comprehension

Reviewing Reading Comp largely boils down to finding evidence in the passage for the correct answers on questions you got wrong.

More generally, you need to consider what parts of the passage threw you off.

Occasionally, this is as simple as misinterpreting an unfamiliar term. Other times, you can misinterpret an entire passage.

Use these clarifying questions to structure your LR review:

• What was the main point? (Keep this as concise as possible)
• What was the author's point of view? And where's the evidence?
• What would the author agree with and disagree with?

Far too often, I see students neglect RC review because it's time-consuming. This is a poor time-management excuse. Structure your study time to account for review, even Reading Comp.

Reviewing Logic Games

Like RC, games can be tougher to review. The biggest challenge reviewing games comes down to the fact that there's no substitute for the first experience you have with a given game.

For example, the first time anyone does the notorious Toy Dinosaurs game, they don't realize that there's a single inference that blows it wide open. But, once you've done this game even a single time (even if you did it poorly), you'll never get a fresh look at it again. That is, you'll always have some degree of familiarity with it, so any amount of revisiting it will have a diminishing return on what you can learn from it.

Another note to piggyback off this last point: I categorically reject the advice that you should repeat games ad nauseam. No, you should not play the same game 10 times to memorize it. That's nonsense. You'll never see that exact game on test day. Even if you see a game that closely parallels another, one's solution will be inherently different from the other. It's simply a waste of your time.

Here are some clarifying questions to help you review your Logic Games:

• What would a solution to this game actually look like? (E.g., Groups X, Y, and Z with at least two members in each group; a six-person sequence)
• Did you depend too heavily on a certain diagramming convention? In other words, did you try to fit a square peg in a round hole?
• Was there a better starting point for making or splitting worlds?
• Were there constraints in the passage that weren't itemized out alongside the rules?
• Did you mistranslate something when you wrote it down?

---

Remember, being wrong in practice as actually a good thing. It's where you'll learn. It's where you'll grow. Learn to embrace your wrongness and review like a champ. You'll be in the 170s in no time.

Next, we're discussing the benefits of talking to the test.

---

Did I miss anything? Leave me a comment so I can improve this course for you and other test takers.