The Theory Trap (Ep. 516)

This week, Josh and Nate tackle the misconception that the Demon isn’t built for beginners—a belief that emerges from the absence of an introduction to LSAT “theory”. They explain that a bloated curriculum, disconnected from questions, often confuses students and can even reduce scores. The Demon advocates jumping right into questions and letting the test, paired with our explanations, be your teacher. ⁠Study with our Free Plan⁠ ⁠Download our iOS app⁠ ⁠Watch Episode 513 on YouTube⁠ 0:33 – Announcements Registration deadlines are coming up. You know you’re ready to sign up when your practice tests match your goal score. Registration Deadlines Register for Ben’s Free Class 6:07 – Logical Reasoning Mindset Nate and Josh explore the mindset required for success in Logical Reasoning, emphasizing that each question has one objectively correct answer. Rather than starting with abstract theory, they advocate an intuitive, hands-on approach: dive into real questions, make mistakes, and learn from them. The Demon is built for beginners. By focusing on solving problems and reviewing mistakes, students can build a strong foundation for sustained success. 18:50 – Candidate Referral Service Josh and Nate revisit the candidate referral service and consider whether it’s worth signing up. Several Demon team members share how they used the service and received CAS fee waivers to apply early and widely. Still, be cautious—don’t let school marketing sway you. Stay skeptical of marketing gimmicks from these schools and be a savvy applicant. LSAT Demon Scholarship Converter 26:54 – Tale of Two Careers Jacob is thinking about a pivot to law from a very successful accounting career. Josh and Nate recognize there is a meaningful career opportunity, but caution him not to go to law school just because he has great reasoning skills. Instead, meet tax attorneys and decide if that is a job that you want. 36:41 – Studying with a Buddy Demon Student Alex asks how to study with a buddy. Josh and Nate encourage him to practice teaching questions to each other. Josh encourages Alex to utilize the LSAT Demon Discord to find a study buddy. LSAT Demon Discord 44:46 – Studying for One Hour Alexis doesn’t feel like she is making progress with only one hour per day during her lunch break. The guys encourage her to continue her slow and steady approach to studying, but encourage her to improve the quality of her hour. Your LSAT hour needs to be your best hour of the day: interruption-free, focused, and energized. 57:23 – Full Practice Test Fails Paige’s scores plummet when she takes full practice tests instead of timed sections. Josh suggests that the score is distracting her from giving the test 100% of her mental effort. The guys then suggest that Paige must not be applying her normal process to practice tests. Nate concludes: You should have a growth mindset when it comes to practice tests. Ask yourself how you can learn from this test, not what score you will get. 1:04:43 – Comparative RC Gavin struggles with comparative passages. Josh and Nate encourage him to start explicitly focusing on comparing and contrasting as he’s reading. 1:12:11 - Word of the Week - Specious The difference between “literary” and “genre” fiction is a specious distinction. Get caught up with our ⁠Word of the Week⁠⁠ library.