"I can usually narrow down the answers to two choices. Then, I always pick the wrong one."

If this sounds like something you say, you’re not alone. This is one of the most frequent complaints among test takers. The good news is that your performance on these questions is better than you might think. The great news is that there are ways to approach this situation to further improve your odds of getting those questions right.

Let’s start off by understanding why this perception is often flawed. To help, let’s present it as a Logical Reasoning argument:

In reviewing the questions she got wrong on a recent LSAT, a student observed that, on 90% of those questions, she had the answers narrowed down to two choices – the correct answer and the incorrect answer. She concluded that, when she was able to narrow down the answers to two choices, she usually chose the incorrect answer.

So, what’s the flaw? The LSAT would possibly word it as so: the student fails to consider the number of questions she got correct when she was able to narrow down the answers.

Since students are usually so focused on reviewing their wrong answers, they tend to overlook all of those 50-50 questions they actually answer correctly. If you review your entire exam, rather than just the questions you get wrong, you may be surprised that you’re doing better on those questions than you might expect.

What’s more important though is this: how can you get even more of those questions correct? The answer involves attacking the answers from a different angle. Most people view the two remaining answers as two good answers; one is just better than the other. This is the wrong way to view them. The correct way is that, of those two remaining answers, one is correct and the other is wrong – explicably, demonstrably wrong.

Stop trying to convince yourself that one answer is better than the other. Instead, focus on looking for common LSAT wrong answer traps. Is one of the answers a little too extreme? Then it’s wrong. Does one of the answers approach the logic of the argument backwards? Then it’s wrong. Does one of the answers use the author’s words, but not quite in the way the author used them? Then it’s wrong.

If the two answers you’re left with are remarkably similar, look for the subtle difference. Usually, the one or two words that differ will break the wrong answer. If one answer says "people need…" and the other says "people can use…," then eliminate the one that isn’t consistent with the author’s tone.

No matter what, stop looking for the best answer. Instead, change your approach and start recognizing the many different ways the LSAT has to create subtle wrong answers. By developing an eye for these patterns, you should start to miss fewer 50-50 questions.