A free guide from The Burton Method
You’ve been studying for weeks. You’re putting in the hours. But your score won’t budge.
Sound familiar?
Here’s the truth: getting past 165 isn’t about studying more. It’s about studying smarter — and avoiding the traps that keep most students plateaued.
We’ve coached hundreds of LSAT students, and we see the same mistakes over and over. This guide breaks down the 7 most common traps — and exactly how to escape them.
The Mistake: Jumping straight into practice tests without knowing your actual weaknesses.
Why It Hurts: You waste hours drilling question types you’re already decent at — while your real problem areas stay hidden.
The Fix: ✅ Take a full, timed diagnostic FIRST ✅ Break down your results by question type ✅ Build your study plan around your weakest 2-3 areas
Burton Tip: If you’re scoring -6 on Weaken questions but -2 on Flaw questions, guess where your time should go?
The Mistake: Racing through questions to “build speed” before mastering the fundamentals.
Why It Hurts: You’re training yourself to guess faster — not think better. Speed comes from pattern recognition, and pattern recognition comes from deep understanding.
The Fix: ✅ Slow down during the learning phase ✅ Spend 5+ minutes on hard questions — understand WHY each answer is right or wrong ✅ Speed up naturally once concepts click
Burton Tip: “Just because you can finish in 35 minutes… doesn’t mean you should.” – Classic LSAT logic.
The Mistake: Checking if you got it right, then moving on.
Why It Hurts: The WRONG answers teach you more than the right ones. Every wrong answer is designed to trap you — understanding the trap is how you avoid it next time.
The Fix: ✅ For every question you miss, write down WHY each wrong answer is wrong ✅ Identify the trap type (too extreme? reverses the logic? out of scope?) ✅ Look for patterns in what tricks you
Burton Tip: We call this “Trap Journaling” — it’s boring but it works.
The Mistake: Freaking out when your score stops improving for a few weeks.
Why It Hurts: Plateaus are normal. They’re a sign your brain is consolidating. Panicking leads to strategy-hopping, which destroys momentum.
The Fix: ✅ Expect 2-4 week plateaus — they’re part of the process ✅ During plateaus, focus on one specific weakness ✅ Trust the reps
Burton Tip: Every 170+ scorer we know hit at least one major plateau. They pushed through. You will too.
The Mistake: Reading the passage once and jumping to answers.
Why It Hurts: The stimulus IS the game. If you don’t know the conclusion, the premises, and the assumption — you’re just guessing with confidence.
The Fix: ✅ Before looking at answers, identify: - What’s the conclusion? - What’s the support? - What’s the gap? ✅ The answer should match your prediction
Burton Tip: Use the “Just because… doesn’t mean…” test. Every time.
The Mistake: Taking 3-4 full practice tests a week without proper review.
Why It Hurts: Practice tests are for ASSESSMENT, not learning. If you’re not spending 2-3x longer reviewing than taking, you’re wasting tests.
The Fix: ✅ Max 1-2 full timed tests per week ✅ Spend the rest of your time on targeted drills ✅ Review every single question — right and wrong
Burton Tip: You only have ~90 official LSATs. Don’t burn through them.
The Mistake: Refusing to get help because “I should be able to figure this out myself.”
Why It Hurts: The LSAT is a learnable test — but that doesn’t mean it’s easy to learn alone. Expert guidance compresses months of trial-and-error into weeks.
The Fix: ✅ Find a study group, tutor, or structured course ✅ Learn from people who’ve already cracked it ✅ Invest in yourself — law school ROI is massive
Burton Tip: We’ve seen students jump 10+ points just by having someone explain ONE concept differently. Don’t be stubborn.
These 7 traps keep most students stuck in the 155-163 range forever.
Now you know what to avoid.
Next step: Start studying smarter with The Burton Method.
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