One thing I noticed from my own LSAT prep experience was that once I became an LSAT instructor, my understanding of the LSAT increased exponentially. My father is a professor, and one thing he has always taught me is that you learn the best when you teach whatever you are learning to someone else. This makes sense because to be able to teach something well, you really have to dissect the material and get underneath it.
So my advice to you, as you prepare for that darned LSAT, is every few sections, grab a loved one and really try to explain each question to them. Explain why you decided to go with the answer you did and why you didn’t choose the other ones. I say grab a “loved one,” because really it’s going to take a lot of love to sit through an entire section of Logical Reasoning or Logic Games or Reading Comprehension when they really have no interest or need for it.
But, we all have someone, that’s the nice thing isn’t it? Everybody loves somebody some time. So grab your loving mother, or your begrudging brother or your impeccably patient boyfriend or girlfriend, sit ‘em down and teach them. Promise them that in a few months you will repay their kindness and tolerance with an amazing home-cooked meal, or with a deal to wash their car for a month, or clean their room for a month, or whatever.
Try to take it seriously. Look to them as your frustrated LSAT student who really just wants to get their score up so they can go to so-and-so law school to finally fulfill their dream of becoming an attorney and fighting for the little guy. I find that pretending situations are actually more epic than they are really helps me focus.
You can start from the basics with them or just get straight into the meat. You can read the Reading Comprehension section with them, and write out the Logic Games rules together. If they’re really amazing, they’ll challenge you and ask you questions. Defending a method and explaining your own thought process really helps you solidify your own test-taking techniques.
Try it out a couple times. And, I really think the best idea is to actually get a group of friends together who are also studying for the LSAT once a week to discuss problems with them. You can take turns on who has to teach, or you can just be their weekly tutor!
Give it a go. Happy explaining and happy studying!