Showing posts with label book recommendations. Show all posts
Showing posts with label book recommendations. Show all posts

How To Boost Your College GPA For Law School Admissions

LSAT Blog Boost College GPA Law School AdmissionsWhile the LSAT's numero uno in law school admissions, GPA's also important.

Many of you are still in college and have time to do something to boost your GPA.

(To those of you with low GPAs are already fixed in stone, I'm sorry. You'll just have to make up for low GPAs with a rockin' LSAT score.)

My friend Cal Newport over at Study Hacks has made excerpts of his best-selling college advice books available for free on his website.

If you're still in college, his books are worth checking out. Not the common-sense advice you're used to seeing on the shelves. Check out the dozens of positive reviews on Amazon and see for yourself.

Excerpt from How to Become a Straight-A Student: The Unconventional Strategies Real College Students Use to Score High While Studying Less

Excerpt from How to Win at College: Surprising Secrets for Success from the Country's Top Students

I'm kind of shocked that these are only around $10 each - they're worth far more. I wish I'd had them when I was in undergrad.

Photo by ryanicus


The Official LSAT Handbook by LSAC | Review

LSAT Blog Official LSAT HandbookLSAC recently came out with a new LSAT prep book called The Official LSAT Handbook.

Despite the come-on subtitle ("Get to know the LSAT"...in bed), this book is worth getting if you have trouble with Comparative Reading passages.

Previously, the best source of info about how LSAC views the exam was the introduction to LSAC's SuperPrep and the explanations for the 3 PrepTests contained within it.

The Official LSAT Handbook is a minor expansion to SuperPrep's detailed LSAT introduction. It might not be the most exciting piece of writing you've ever read, but there's a great deal of value in a breakdown of the LSAT from the test-makers themselves.

So, if most of the Handbook is similar to SuperPrep's introduction, what's new?

Logic Games:
It has about 1 page of material about "replacing a condition with a substitute condition." This is an update to cover a question-type used in PrepTests 57, 58, and 59 that had never previously appeared. Perhaps we'll be seeing this type of question again in the future.

Logical Reasoning:
About 1.5 pages of material about "a test for necessary assumptions." You may already know this as the "Negation Test" or "Denial Test."

Reading Comprehension:
About 11.5 pages worth of material constituting a detailed discussion of Comparative Reading passages.

***

The Appendices:

The book also contains 3 appendices. Only Appendix A contains new material not found in other books from LSAC:

Appendix A: Using Diagrams in Answering Analytical Reasoning Questions
Contains 10 pages of material about simple Logic Games diagramming tips you probably already know. May be useful for beginners, though.


Appendix B: Logical Reasoning Questions
The same 23 LR questions from older LSAT exams used earlier in the book as examples. Sure, they provide some practice, but you've already seen them when looking at the book's introduction.


Appendix C: Reading Comprehension Passages and Questions
Contains 13 RC passages from older LSAT exams, as well as 8 Comparative Reading dual passages from recent LSAT exams. The same passages referenced earlier in the book's introduction.

What baffles me here is that none of these passages is accompanied by the complete set of associated questions, so while they might provide for bathroom reading, they don't properly allow you to practice what you learned earlier in the book.

***

I highly recommend that you read the relevant part of the Handbook/SuperPrep before drilling particular types of questions in your books of PrepTests.

The Handbook contains a detailed approach to diagramming Logic Games, and it also contains discussion of sample Logical Reasoning and Reading Comprehension questions - most importantly, discussion of the (relatively-new) Comparative Reading passages.

While this stuff won't be earth-shattering for all you good folks reading my blog and using the recommended books and study schedules, it'll serve as a good very basic introduction.

Still, the Handbook definitely isn't enough - you'll also need to work through several dozen LSAT PrepTests, both timed and untimed, and get more detailed strategies for the various sections of the exam.

So, should you get this book?

If money's really tight, probably not. There are already free downloads from LSAC containing much of the same information (linked in my book recs), and SuperPrep is a better deal (more material per dollar because it contains full-length practice exams with explanations).

If you've already done a bit of prep, probably not. You'll already know much of what the book explains.

The main reason to get this book would be for its super-detailed tips on Comparative Reading passages, which you won't be able to find anywhere else.

(Final note: Amazon says the book is 200 pages, but it's only 111 pages.)

***

Here's a description of the book, direct from LSAC:
The LSAT is a test of analytical reasoning, logical reasoning, and reading comprehension, including comparative reading.

What's the best way to learn how to approach these types of questions before you encounter them on the day of the test?

There's no better way than The Official LSAT Handbook, published by the Law School Admission Council. Use this inexpensive guide to become familiar with every type of LSAT question so that you can make the most of the rest of your test preparation and do your best on the test.

(Note: this handbook contains information that is also included in The Official LSAT SuperPrep. The information in The Official LSAT Handbook has been expanded and updated.)


LSAT PrepTest List

LSAT PrepTest List
This LSAT Blog post is an easy reference to help you determine the number of every PrepTest from the date and year it was administered, and vice-versa, as well as how to get just about every single LSAT PrepTest ever.

I recommend getting all your other LSAT PrepTests from Amazon if you want them in books.

Alternatively, you can get most exams online in the digital format as part of Official LSAT Prep Plus (inside your LSAC account).

LSAT PrepTest List:

LSAT PrepTest 93+ (in LawHub)
LSAT PrepTest 92+ (in LawHub)
LSAT PrepTest 91+ (in LawHub)
LSAT PrepTest 90+ (in LawHub)
LSAT PrepTest 89
LSAT PrepTest 88
LSAT PrepTest 87
LSAT PrepTest 86
LSAT PrepTest 85
LSAT PrepTest 84
LSAT PrepTest 83
LSAT PrepTest 82
LSAT PrepTests 72-81
LSAT PrepTests 62-71
LSAT PrepTests 52-61
LSAT PrepTests 42-51
LSAT PrepTests 29-38
LSAT PrepTests 19-28
LSAT PrepTests 7-18
LSAT SuperPrep (A, B, C)
LSAT SuperPrep 2 (62, 63, and LSAT PrepTest C2)
Official LSAT PrepTest (Feb 1997)
June 2007 LSAT

LSAC doesn't provide explanations for any of the numbered LSAT PrepTests. The PrepTests linked above are just the questions.

So, if you want to know why a particular answer choice is wrong, you need to get the explanations separately.

If you already have LSAT PrepTests and would like explanations, see:


-Logic Games explanations for the newest PrepTests
-Logic Games explanations for PrepTests 72-81
-Logic Games explanations for PrepTests 62-71
-Logic Games explanations for PrepTests 52-61
-Logic Games explanations for PrepTests 29-38
-Logic Games explanations for PrepTests 19-28

-Logical Reasoning explanations for the newest PrepTests
-Logical Reasoning explanations for PrepTests 72-81
-Logical Reasoning explanations for PrepTests 62-71
-Logical Reasoning explanations for PrepTests 52-61
-Logical Reasoning explanations for PrepTests 44-51
-Logical Reasoning explanations for PrepTests 29-38
-Logical Reasoning explanations for PrepTests 19-28

-Reading Comprehension explanations for the newest PrepTests
-Reading Comprehension explanations for PrepTests 72-81
-Reading Comprehension explanations for PrepTests 62-71
-Reading Comprehension explanations for PrepTests 52-61
-Reading Comprehension explanations for PrepTests 44-51
-Reading Comprehension explanations for PrepTests 29-38
-Reading Comprehension explanations for PrepTests 19-28


LSAT PrepTests and explanations alone aren't enough to ensure success on the LSAT. Make sure you also get the best LSAT prep books.

***

More info below this huge list.


LSAT PrepTest # - Month / Year - Book

LSAT PrepTest A - February 1996 LSAT - Official LSAT SuperPrep
LSAT PrepTest B - February 1999 LSAT - Official LSAT SuperPrep
LSAT PrepTest C - February 2000 LSAT - Official LSAT SuperPrep
Official LSAT PT - February 1997 LSAT - Official LSAT PrepTest w/ Explanations

LSAT PrepTest 1 - June 1991 LSAT -
LSAT PrepTest 2 - October 1991 LSAT - TriplePrep, Vol. 1, 1, 2
LSAT PrepTest 3 - December 1991
LSAT - TriplePrep, V. 2, 1, 2, 3
LSAT PrepTest 4 - February 1992 LSAT - TriplePrep, Vol. 1
LSAT PrepTest 5 - June 1992
LSAT - TriplePrep, Vol. 1
LSAT PrepTest 6 - October 1992
LSAT - TriplePrep, Vol. 2, 1, 2, 3
LSAT PrepTest 7 - February 1993 LSAT - 10 Actual / LSAT TriplePrep, Vol. 2, alts 1, 2, + 3
LSAT PrepTest 8 - June 1993 LSAT - TriplePrep, Vol. 3 
LSAT PrepTest 9 - October 1993
LSAT - 10 Actual / LSAT TriplePrep, Vol. 3
LSAT PrepTest 10 - February 1994 LSAT - 10 Actual / LSAT TriplePrep, Vol. 3
LSAT PrepTest 11 - June 1994 LSAT - 10 Actual / LSAT TriplePrep Plus with Explanations
LSAT PrepTest 12 - October 1994 LSAT - 10 Actual / LSAT TriplePrep Plus with Explanations
LSAT PrepTest 13 - December 1994 LSAT - 10 Actual, Official LSAT PrepTests
LSAT PrepTest 14 - February 1995 LSAT - 10 Actual, Official LSAT PrepTests
LSAT PrepTest 15 - June 1995 LSAT - 10 Actual Official LSAT PrepTests
LSAT PrepTest 16 - September 1995 LSAT- 10 Actual Official LSAT PrepTests
LSAT PrepTest 17 - December 1995 LSAT -
LSAT PrepTest 18 - December 1992 LSAT- 10 Actual Official LSAT PrepTests
LSAT PrepTest 19 - June 1996 LSAT - 10 More Actual, Official LSAT PrepTests
LSAT PrepTest 20 - October 1996 LSAT - 10 More Actual, Official LSAT PrepTests
LSAT PrepTest 21 - December 1996 LSAT - 10 More Actual, Official LSAT PrepTests
LSAT PrepTest 22 - June 1997 LSAT - 10 More Actual, Official LSAT PrepTests
LSAT PrepTest 23 - October 1997 LSAT - 10 More Actual, Official LSAT PrepTests
LSAT PrepTest 24 - December 1997 LSAT - 10 More Actual, Official LSAT PrepTests
LSAT PrepTest 25 - June 1998 LSAT - 10 More Actual, Official LSAT PrepTests
LSAT PrepTest 26 - September 1998 LSAT - 10 More Actual, Official LSAT PrepTests
LSAT PrepTest 27 - December 1998 LSAT - 10 More Actual, Official LSAT PrepTests
LSAT PrepTest 28 - June 1999 LSAT - 10 More Actual, Official LSAT PrepTests
LSAT PrepTest 29 - October 1999 LSAT - Next 10 Actual, Official LSAT PrepTests
LSAT PrepTest 30 - December 1999 LSAT - Next 10 Actual, Official LSAT PrepTests
LSAT PrepTest 31 - June 2000 LSAT - Next 10 Actual, Official LSAT PrepTests
LSAT PrepTest 32 - October 2000 LSAT - Next 10 Actual, Official LSAT PrepTests
LSAT PrepTest 33 - December 2000 LSAT - Next 10 Actual, Official LSAT PrepTests
LSAT PrepTest 34 - June 2001 LSAT - Next 10 Actual, Official LSAT PrepTests
LSAT PrepTest 35 - October 2001 LSAT - Next 10 Actual, Official LSAT PrepTests
LSAT PrepTest 36 - December 2001 LSAT - Next 10 Actual, Official LSAT PrepTests
LSAT PrepTest 37 - June 2002 LSAT - Next 10 Actual, Official LSAT PrepTests
LSAT PrepTest 38 - October 2002 LSAT - Next 10 Actual, Official LSAT PrepTests
LSAT PrepTest 39 - December 2002 LSAT - Individual
LSAT PrepTest 40 - June 2003 LSAT - Individual
LSAT PrepTest 41 - October 2003 LSAT - Individual
LSAT PrepTest 42 - December 2003 LSAT - Individual
LSAT PrepTest 43 - June 2004 LSAT - Individual
LSAT PrepTest 44 - October 2004 LSAT - Individual
LSAT PrepTest 45 - December 2004 LSAT - Individual
LSAT PrepTest 46 - June 2005 LSAT - Individual
LSAT PrepTest 47 - October 2005 LSAT - Individual
LSAT PrepTest 48 - December 2005 LSAT - Individual
LSAT PrepTest 49 - June 2006 LSAT - Individual
LSAT PrepTest 50 - September 2006 LSAT - Individual
LSAT PrepTest 51 - December 2006 LSAT - Individual 
"LSAT PrepTest 51.5" - June 2007 LSAT - Free LSAT on LawHub

LSAT PrepTest 52 - September 2007 LSAT - Individual
LSAT PrepTest 53 - December 2007 LSAT - Individual
LSAT PrepTest 54 - June 2008 LSAT - Individual
LSAT PrepTest 55 - October 2008 LSAT - Individual
LSAT PrepTest 56 - December 2008 LSAT - Individual
LSAT PrepTest 57 - June 2009 LSAT - Individual
LSAT PrepTest 58 - September 2009 LSAT - Individual
LSAT PrepTest 59 - December 2009 LSAT - Individual
LSAT PrepTest 60 - June 2010 LSAT - Individual
LSAT PrepTest 61 - October 2010 LSAT - Individual
LSAT PrepTest 62 - December 2010 LSAT - Individual
LSAT PrepTest 63 - June 2011 LSAT - Individual

LSAT PrepTest 64 - October 2011 LSAT - Individual
LSAT PrepTest 65 - December 2011 LSAT - Individual
LSAT PrepTest 66 - June 2012 LSAT - Individual
LSAT PrepTest 67 - October 2012 LSAT - Individual
LSAT PrepTest 68 - December 2012 LSAT - Individual
LSAT PrepTest 69 - June 2013 LSAT - Individual
LSAT PrepTest 70 - October 2013 LSAT - Individual
LSAT PrepTest 71 - December 2013 LSAT - Individual
LSAT PrepTest 72 - June 2014 LSAT - Individual
LSAT PrepTest 73 - September 2014 LSAT - Individual
LSAT PrepTest 74 - December 2014 LSAT - Individual
LSAT PrepTest 75 - June 2015 LSAT - Individual
LSAT PrepTest 76 - October 2015 LSAT - Individual
LSAT PrepTest 77 - December 2015 LSAT - Individual
LSAT PrepTest C2 - January 2016 LSAT - SuperPrep 2
LSAT PrepTest 78 - June 2016 LSAT - Individual
LSAT PrepTest 79 - September 2016 LSAT - Individual
LSAT PrepTest 80 - December 2016 LSAT - Individual
LSAT PrepTest 81 - June 2017 LSAT - Individual
LSAT PrepTest 82 - September 2017 LSAT - Individual
LSAT PrepTest 83 - December 2017 LSAT - Individual
LSAT PrepTest 84 - June 2018 LSAT - Individual
LSAT PrepTest 85 - September 2018 LSAT - Individual
LSAT PrepTest 86 - November 2018 LSAT - Individual
LSAT PrepTest 87 - June 2019 LSAT - Individual
LSAT PrepTest 88 - September 2019 LSAT - Individual
LSAT PrepTest 89 - November 2019 LSAT - Individual
LSAT PrepTest 90+ - May 2020 LSAT - LawHub
LSAT PrepTest 91+ - May 2020 LSAT - LawHub
LSAT PrepTest 92+ - June 2020 LSAT - LawHub
LSAT PrepTest 93+ - June 2020 LSAT - LawHub


(There are multiple test forms for each online LSAT administration, which is why both PT90+ and 91+ are from May 2020 and both PT92+ and PT93+ are from June 2020.)






Among other things, the below contains some details on the various books containing older LSAT PrepTests.

Here's a summarized list of all available LSAT PrepTests:

Numbered PrepTests 1-present

Some of the older PrepTests can be difficult to find, but you can get them in the books below.

Official LSAT TriplePrep, Volume 1 (out-of-print, available used) contains PrepTests 2 (October 1991), 4 (February 1992), and 5 (June 1992). Also try this and this to get it on Amazon.

Official LSAT TriplePrep, Volume 2 (out-of-print, available used) contains PrepTests 3 (December 1991), 6 (October 1992), and 7 (February 1993). Also try thisthis, and this to get it on Amazon.

Official LSAT TriplePrep, Vol.3 (out-of-print, available used) contains PrepTests 8, 9, and 10.

Grouped by Game Type
 contains every Logic Game in PrepTests 1-20.

Grouped by Question Type
 contains every Logical Reasoning question in PrepTests 1-20.

Grouped by Passage Type contains every Reading Comprehension Passage in PrepTests 1-20


Lettered PrepTests

The Official LSAT SuperPrep (PrepTests A, B, and C) = 3
This book contains the previously-undisclosed February 1996, February 1999, and February 2000 exams. It explains all answer choices.

The Official LSAT SuperPrep 2 (PrepTests 62, 63, and C2) = 1
This book contains PrepTest 62, PrepTest 63, and PrepTest C2. It explains all answer choices.


Unnumbered and Unlettered PrepTests

Free Sample June 2007 PrepTest = 1

Official LSAT PrepTest With Explanations (out of print - available used) = 1
Fun LSAT trivia: This is the stolen February 1997 LSAT exam with complete explanations written by LSAC.

May 2020 LSAT-Flex Sample PrepTest  = 1


Free LSAT PrepTests

Free Sample June 2007 PrepTest = 1

Digital LSAT PrepTest 71 (in LawHub, aka LSAC's Official LSAT Prep) = 1

Digital LSAT PrepTest 73 (in LawHub, aka LSAC's Official LSAT Prep) = 1


Photo by alish863psu

Barron's LSAT Prep Book Review

Barron's LSAT Prep Book ReviewI recently read the Barron's LSAT prep book after Barron's asked me to update it for the next edition.

Unfortunately, the book needs to be completely rewritten from cover to cover.

Most of the following book review is adapted from an email I sent to Barron's after reviewing the book.

In case anyone's wondering, I won't be updating the Barron's book, and I don't recommend that you use it.

(By the way, Barron's folks, I'm not ungrateful. I do appreciate the offer. It's just that you guys just aren't willing to go far enough in breaking out of the mold you've been using for the past several years.)

It appears that Barron's is trying to live off its reputation from many years ago. A few decades ago, Barron's was a big name in test prep.

Of course, this was back in the days when there were few test prep courses and competing books.

Test-takers often used the Barron's books exclusively when preparing for the New York State Regents exams and the SATs.

However, the rise of Kaplan and others the test prep market upped the standard of readiness for standardized tests.

This led to an accompanying increase in the sophistication of available test preparation materials.

I found that far too much space in the Barron's book is devoted to mock LSAT questions and their explanations.

Far too little space is devoted to appropriate strategies and techniques.

The questions, explanations, strategies, and techniques seemed virtually identical to those from previous editions of the book. Much of the book seemed geared to the pre-June 1991 LSAT. (LSAC gave the LSAT its modern format in June 1991.)

Barron's is stuck in the Stone Age.

LSAC has released over 60 actual LSAT exams.

There's no need to include hundreds upon hundreds of fake (non-LSAC-written) LSAT questions - unless, you want to puff up the book's page count (689).

The non-LSAC written questions in that book do not adequately represent real LSAT questions in the slightest. If you gave me a list of Barron's LSAT questions mixed with LSAC-written LSAT questions, I could easily tell you which were which (and that's not only because I've seen every LSAC-written LSAT question before).

When I told this to Barron's, they said they'd be happy to "let" me rewrite the questions.

I learned how long it takes to write LSAT questions from scratch when I wrote my own Logic Games. I don't feel like writing hundreds of LSAT questions from scratch when a publisher could just license the questions from LSAC.

***
Fake questions not realistic / modern, strategies lacking / not useful

Some question-types covered in the book don't appear on the modern LSAT at all.

-Take the sample questions from "Author Information or Author's Purpose" and "Word Reference." These just don't feel like real LSAT Logical Reasoning questions.

Additionally, some types of questions (and distinctions between types of questions) are left out altogether.

-Particularly, there is no distinction made between necessary assumption and sufficient assumption questions. These two question-types require significantly different analyses. The author lumps them together under "Assumptions..." and devotes only pages 101-105 to this question-type. Even worse, most of those few pages is devoted to sample questions and explanations rather than discussion of the question-type in general.

This common question-type deserves more attention in a 689-page book.

***

Exams included aren't new, despite the claims on the cover

The two real LSAT exams included in the Barron's book are very old - PrepTest 12 (October 1994) and PrepTest 14 (February 1995). These are not "two recently given LSATs" as the back cover states (unless you consider 15+ years ago to be recent). Nor are these exams the "most up-to-date review and practice tests currently available" (as the front cover states).

Every section of the LSAT has significantly evolved since that time - there are now 70+ released exams.

Most students reading the current edition of Barron's LSAT will eventually discover that the real (and modern) LSAT is much different from both the non-LSAC questions written by the author and from the older LSAT PrepTests included in the book.

Only someone who's brand-new to the LSAT would be happy with this book. It seems like Barron's is only looking to appeal to people who just buy it off the bookshelf without doing their homework.

***

To summarize, the book needs:

-A complete rewrite with regard to strategies. Like I said, there isn't much. It's also far too easy to see that this book was written decades ago for the older LSAT, which was also back when law school admissions wasn't nearly as competitive. This book might have been fine for the era before the test prep industry existed, but it's way behind the times in terms of detail.

-Significantly less space for sample questions and explanations.

-Significantly more space for drills and strategies.

-More real LSAT questions used throughout the book as examples.

-A few full-length real (and recent) exams at the end.

-No CD. The LSAT is a pencil-and-paper exam. There's no need to include a CD.

LSAT Grouped by Reading Passage Type Book

LSAT Blog Grouped by Passage TypeFor those of you who intend to complete every LSAT Reading Comp Passage ever published, there's a book for you. It's called:

GROUPED by Passage Type: LSAT Reading Comprehension: The Complete Collection of Actual, Official Reading Comprehension Passages from PrepTests 1-20


This book is incredibly useful for two major reasons (which the title makes obvious):

Reason #1: It compiles all the passages from PrepTests 1-20 for you in one book, saving you the trouble of getting all the separate books you'd need if you wanted every Reading Comp passage from these exams. 10 Actual, Official, LSAT PrepTests only contains 7, 9-16, and 18. It lacks PrepTests 1-6, 8, and 17. You can still get those, but it's a bit of a pain. (19 and 20 are in 10 More Actual Official LSAT PrepTests.)

Reason #2: It organizes Reading Comp passages by passage topic, rather than putting them in order by PrepTest (as the traditional books of PrepTests from LSAC do). It divides them into different "chapters" based upon the type of passage. This makes sense because these exams are so old (June 1991 - October 1996) that you'll want to complete them in pieces, rather than as full timed exams.

Reading Comp Passage Categorization
Most prep companies simply divide passages into 4 major categories:

Natural Science, Social Science, Humanities, and Law

I find that breakdown a bit too simple, so I've done my own categorization of every Reading Comp passage from every LSAT PrepTest.

The categorization of passages in the GROUPED by Passage Type book is somewhat similar to mine, only the categories are slightly broader since it's limited to PrepTests 1-20. (Because there are 4 passages per exam, you get 80 passages altogether.)

I'm listing the book's chapters so you can see the types of categories it uses:

Humanities
-Art
-Literature
-Music & Poetry

Social Sciences
-Economics
-History
-Linguistics
-Racial Minorities
-Women

Biological & Physical Sciences
-Biology
-Earth & Space
-Scientific Theories
-Species

Issues Related To The Law
-Legal System
-Legal Theory
-Legislation


***

Who should use this book:

Most test-takers won't find this book absolutely necessary. However, anyone who intends to complete every LSAT Reading Comp passage ever published will find this book worthwhile and convenient.

***

Also see GROUPED by Question Type and GROUPED by Game Type.

Kaplan LSAT Prep Book Review

LSAT Blog Kaplan Prep Book ReviewI recently looked at a copy of a Kaplan LSAT prep book titled Kaplan LSAT 2010 Edition: Strategies, Practice, and Review.

It consists of generic advice and 3 Kaplan-written, not LSAC-written, practice tests and explanations (despite the fact that the book's table of contents claims that these are "Real LSAT Practice Tests and Explanations").

I spent a few hours flipping through it, and I found a couple of problems with the book that seem particularly egregious.

This blog post will cover them. You'll be able to follow along with the review even if you don't have a copy of the book.


Logical Reasoning

On page 33:

Point at Issue questions are referred to as "a relatively new question type."

Considering the fact that these questions were included as far back as PrepTest 1 (the June 1991 LSAT), I assume at least one of the following possibilities:

-Kaplan has repeatedly updated some version of this book for the past several decades without changing that sentence

-Kaplan forgot about the older PrepTests

-Kaplan doesn't know what it's talking about and includes random statements in its prep books for kicks

-Kaplan's really old and considers the June 1991 LSAT to be "relatively new"

You have plenty of opportunities to practice Point At Issue questions. They've appeared on the LSAT since PrepTest 1.


On page 34:
Kaplan introduces a question that's never appeared on the LSAT by claiming that it will now demonstrate a "genuine Logical Reasoning" question.

Brief sidenote:
One's likely to assume from the use of the word "genuine" that what follows is an LSAC-written LSAT question. Otherwise, what's the point of including the word "genuine"?

To say that the question actually is in front of you? That its presence is not an illusion?

Same goes for the claim in the Table of Contents that the book contains "Real LSAT Practice Tests and Explanations."

Seems to me that those statements are intended to be misleading, or that the person writing them just enjoys being redundant.

Anyway, the question on page 34 is about overweight men and a product called SlimDown. You can see it on page 6 of this PDF.

I searched Google Books with a phrase from answer choice C of this question and found 19 search results from a variety of Kaplan LSAT, GMAT and GRE prep books. It was even in a Civil Service Exam prep book.

Seems like Kaplan also considers it to be a "genuine GMAT question," a "genuine GRE question," and a "genuine Civil Service Exam question," despite the fact that it almost certainly never appeared on any of these actual exams.

Now, you might think this is fine if that question type (a Necessary Assumption question) shows up on all of these exams. However, I hope that, at the very least, Kaplan would provide unique analysis of the question for each exam considering that each exam has its own idiosyncrasies.

No such luck.

I searched a phrase from Kaplan's analysis of this question (the phrase also happens to describe the book itself) as a few other phrases from the Kaplan analysis. It seems to me that Kaplan included an identical analysis of this question in its books for the GMAT, GRE, and the Civil Service Exams.

Sure, all of these exams require you to analyze arguments. However, you'd think that a book with a $30 cover price would consist only of content that's uniquely tailored to the exam for which you're studying.

No such luck.


Logic Games

Two Logic Games from the early portion of the book are also included, word for word, in the practice tests at the end of the book.

Page 92 (learning portion of book) and page 198 (1st practice test of book) contain the same Logic Game about a cheese salesperson.

Page 95 (learning portion of book) and page 379 (3rd practice test of book) contain the same Logic Game about community college instructors.


There might be a good chunk of time between someone's completion of the learning portion of the book and the practice test portion of the book.

It's possible (dare I say, likely) that the test-taker might not realize he or she has seen these Logic Games before when completing them for the second time.

Doing Logic Games untimed and learning their ins and outs before doing them in a timed practice test setting could give you a misleading boost in your practice test score.

A false sense of security is a dangerous thing. It can lead you to study less and ultimately score lower on Test Day than expected.

For more on why it's bad to be exposed to questions before taking them as part of timed practice exams, please see Princeton Review LSAT Logic Games Workout - Exposed.


Another bad thing about the presentation of the Logic Games in this book:

Not all the questions from each Logic Game are included on the same page. In some cases, you have to actually flip the page to see the final question of a game. This even happens on the practice tests at the end of the book that are meant to be taken as full timed exams.

On Test Day, each Logic Game is limited to one page, and you don't get any scrap paper. Kaplan's formatting prevents you from getting the amount of space you'd typically get for a Logic Game.

Maybe it's good to practice by working with less space than you might expect to get on Test Day, just in case you get less space than you'd expect. However, not everyone's looking for that degree of intensity in a mass-market test prep book - certainly not when the book is meant for the average test-taker. The formatting simply doesn't represent what it'll be like on Test Day.

Was Kaplan trying to make the book one page shorter to cut printing costs?

Was it just bad formatting?

I don't know, but whatever the reasons, it's certainly not a good thing.



Reading Comprehension

Given how generic Kaplan's Reading Comprehension advice is, it should come as no surprise to you that it gives identical advice for other standardized exams. I searched a few phrases from the Kaplan LSAT 2010 book and found that identical sentences about Reading Comp appear in a variety of GRE and GMAT books as well. (Similar to the practice question in the Logical Reasoning section I mentioned above.)

On page 113:

A phrase describing the essential parts of what is implied to be the typical LSAT passage appears in over a dozen LSAT and GRE prep books.

A phrase describing a hypothetical LSAT Reading Comp passage appears in over 10 different Kaplan prep books for the LSAT, GMAT, and GRE.


Now, I don't want to overstate my case here. Most Reading Comprehension advice is bound to be somewhat generic.

However, these exams each have different organizations creating them. As such, their passages are bound to have significant differences. Advice tailored to these differences wouldn't be so generic that one could simply copy-paste entire sections of one book into a prep book for a totally different exam. Instead, Kaplan should create Reading Comp advice tailored more specifically to each exam.

***

If you clicked on the links in the Logical Reasoning and Reading Comprehension section of my review, you were able to see all the books containing each phrase. Now, you probably noticed certain trends. Aside from the fact that many GRE and GMAT books contained these phrases, there's the issue that many older LSAT books contained these phrases.

Two of these books appeared quite often:

Kaplan LSAT 2006, Premier Program
Kaplan LSAT 2004 with CD-ROM‎

Perhaps Kaplan makes few substantive changes to this book, if any, from year-to-year.

If they do, it's not much of a surprise. This is a common tactic of textbook publishers: release a new edition each year to decrease sales of used copies, despite the fact that hardly anything substantive has changed in the new edition.

If you're considering the purchase of this Kaplan LSAT prep book (and I don't know why you would), you might as well save some money and purchase one of those two older editions instead. (Copies of each are selling for a penny plus shipping.)

However, I give this book and its previous editions a big thumbs down. They're just not worth your time.

***

List of Kaplan non-LSAT prep books that, according to Google Books, contained at least one phrase also appearing in Kaplan LSAT 2010 Edition: Strategies, Practice, and Review:

Kaplan Civil Service Exams

Kaplan LNAT: National Admissions Test for Law‎ (LNAT is the UK's version of the LSAT)

Kaplan GRE Exam 2010: Strategies, Practice, and Review
Kaplan GRE Exam 2010 Premier Live Online
Kaplan Portable GRE Exam
Kaplan GRE 2005
Kaplan GRE Exam 2003
Kaplan GRE Exam 2003 with CD-ROM
Kaplan GRE Exam 2000-2001
Kaplan GRE 1999-2000 with CD-ROM
Kaplan GRE 1999-2000‎

Kaplan GMAT 2010: Strategies, Practice, and Review
Kaplan GMAT 2010 Premier Live Online‎
Kaplan GMAT Direct: Streamlined Review and Strategic Practice
Kaplan GMAT 2006, Premier Program
Kaplan GMAT 2004 with CD-ROM‎
Kaplan GMAT 2004‎
Kaplan GMAT 2000-2001‎
Kaplan GMAT CAT 1999-2000‎
Kaplan GMAT all-in-one test prep plus business school admissions‎
Kaplan GMAT 1997-1998‎
Kaplan Portable GMAT
Kaplan Graduate management admission tests‎


List of Kaplan LSAT prep books that, according to Google Books, contained at least one phrase also appearing in Kaplan LSAT 2010 Edition: Strategies, Practice, and Review:

Kaplan LSAT 2006, Premier Program
Kaplan LSAT 2004 with CD-ROM‎
Kaplan LSAT 2000-2001 with CD-ROM‎
Kaplan LSAT 1999-2000‎
Kaplan LSAT 1998-99


Neither of these lists should be considered exhaustive. Perhaps other Kaplan test prep books contain the phrases I chose from the Kaplan LSAT 2010 book, but those books simply haven't been scanned by Google.

Photo by httpoldmaisonblogspotcom

Best LSAT Prep Books Recommendations

I already have a big list of LSAT prep book recommendations. That list contains what I consider to be the absolute best LSAT prep books.

I also recommend that you get as many real LSAT PrepTests as possible.

However, test-takers often ask me which prep books are absolutely necessary in order to do well. It's an understandable question, since LSAT prep books can get expensive and time is often very limited.

The truth is, you'll need a lot of books, and they're not always cheap.

Keeping in mind you may be under time / money constraints, I've made a concise list of the books I consider absolutely essential for the average test-taker's LSAT prep:

I've reviewed all of the following in my other Best LSAT Prep Books Recommendations post. The below are just a few of my recommendations.



LSAT Study Schedules / Plans / Guides

I've created a variety of week-by-week and day-by-day LSAT study schedules to help guide you during your LSAT prep. If you're looking for specific guidance on structuring your LSAT prep and using the LSAT prep books available, get one of the day-by-day plans.



LSAT PrepTest Explanations

Because LSAT PrepTests don't typically come with any kind of explanations, I've assembled LSAT PrepTest explanations for the vast majority of LSAT PrepTests. Get the ones covering areas where you have particular difficulty (Logic Games, Logical Reasoning, or Reading Comprehension).



20 LSAT PrepTests

If money's your major issue, these exams should be the 10 most recent LSAT PrepTests and The Next 10 Actual, Official LSAT PrepTests.

If time's your major issue, these exams should be just the 20 most recent LSAT PrepTests.

Whichever 20 PrepTests you purchase, you should make the older 10 the ones you use for learning purposes, and make the newer 10 the ones you use for full-length practice tests.


Free PDFs

Aside from including the book recommendations in my Best LSAT Prep Books blog post, here are two free LSAT PDFs on LSAC's website. They are:

Sample LSAT Questions and Explanations (PDF)

June 2007 LSAT - Sample LSAT PrepTest (PDF)



***

I want to emphasize that I'm not suggesting that you use only these books instead of the ones in my other best LSAT prep books recommendations post (or in my LSAT study schedules). Those contain what I consider the ideal LSAT prep book shopping lists.

This blog post is for people who are skipping meals and turning tricks to pay for their prep books (or for people working insane hours with incredibly-limited study time).

If you're not one of those people, but you think LSAT prep books are too expensive, consider how much a top LSAT score is worth. Then consider the worth of a night out on the town you'll barely remember the next day.

You'll have plenty of money for bottle service at the club and fancy dinners when you're a big-shot attorney (or after you find a rich sugar daddy/momma while you're saving the world).


LSAT Grouped by Logic Game Type Book

LSAT Grouped by Game TypeFor those of you who intend to complete every LSAT Logic Game ever published, there's a book for you. It's called:

Grouped by Game Type: LSAT Analytical Reasoning: The Complete Collection of Actual, Official Logic Games from PrepTests 1-20

This book is incredibly useful for two major reasons (which the title makes obvious):

Reason #1: Grouped by Game Type compiles all the games from PrepTests 1-20 for you in one book, saving you the trouble of getting all the separate books you'd need if you wanted every Logic Game from these exams. 10 Actual, Official, LSAT PrepTests only contains 7, 9-16, and 18. It lacks PrepTests 1-6, 8, and 17. You can still get those, though. (19 and 20 are in 10 More Actual Official LSAT PrepTests.)

Reason #2: Grouped by Game Type organizes Logic Games by the type of Logic Game, rather than putting them in order by PrepTest (as the traditional books of PrepTests from LSAC do). It divides them into different "chapters" based upon the type of Logic Game. This makes sense because these exams are so old (June 1991 - October 1996) that you'll want to take them in pieces, rather than as full timed exams.

***

While this book is a great concept, there are two minor (and related) reasons that may mean this book isn't for you:

Reason #1: Some types of Logic Games in these older exams are on the less-relevant side. I'm particularly talking about the games included in Chapter 5 (Diagram Games) and 6 (Pattern Games). If your time is limited, you may be better off focusing on newer Logic Games because the types of Logic Games included on the LSAT have evolved a bit over time.

Reason #2: The book categorizes some Logic Games that have no ordering or ranking component under the category of Linear: Assignment. In my opinion, these particular games should be under the category of Grouping: Matching. Additionally, it includes some Linear games with a vertical setup under Linear: Stacked, where it also includes Advanced Linear games. To be fair, however, some of the older Logic Games are on the wacky side, so it's a bit difficult to categorize them. Overall, the book does a good job, so this isn't that big a deal.


***

I'm listing the chapters of the book below so you can see what types of categories the book uses. While it doesn't perfectly follow the way I categorize Logic Games, and it sometimes uses different terms, it's fairly close. Don't worry too much about the differences in terminology, though, because the book's brief introduction explains how the Logic Games are categorized.

Chapters:
1. Introduction

2. Linear Games
-Ordering
-Circle
-Assignment
-Stacked

3. Grouping Games
-Selection
-Division
-Matching

4. Linear/Grouping Hybrid Games

5. Diagram Games
-Given
-Spatial

6. Pattern Games

7. Index and Answer Keys


***

Who should use this book:

Most test-takers won't find this book absolutely necessary. However, anyone who intends to complete every LSAT Logic Game ever published will find this book worthwhile and convenient.

***

Also see the Grouped by Question Type Book and Grouped by Reading Passage Type Book.

LSAT Grouped by Question Type Book

LSAT Grouped by Logical Reasoning Question TypeFor those of you who intend to complete every LSAT Logical Reasoning question ever published, there's a book for you. It's called:

Grouped by Question Type: LSAT Logical Reasoning: The Complete Collection of Actual, Official Logical Reasoning Questions from PrepTests 1-20

This book is useful for two major reasons (which the title makes obvious):

Reason #1: Grouped by Question Type compiles all the Logical Reasoning questions from PrepTests 1-20 for you in one book, saving you the trouble of getting all the separate books you'd need if you wanted every Logical Reasoning Question from these exams. 10 Actual, Official, LSAT PrepTests only contains 7, 9-16, and 18. It lacks PrepTests 1-6, 8, and 17. You can still get those, but it's a bit of a pain. (19 and 20 are in 10 More Actual Official LSAT PrepTests.)

Reason #2: Grouped by Question Type organizes Logical Reasoning questions by the type of question, rather than putting them in order by PrepTest (as the traditional books of PrepTests from LSAC do). It divides them into different "chapters" based upon the type of Logical Reasoning question. This makes sense because these exams are so old (June 1991 - October 1996) that you'll want to take them in pieces, rather than as full timed exams. In my study schedules (for example, the 3-month study schedule), I recommend working through Logical Reasoning questions by type using the LSAT Logical Reasoning spreadsheet. This book saves you the trouble of constantly flipping between exams.

***

While this book is a great concept, there's one reason it might not be for you - the Logical Reasoning questions are from the oldest PrepTests. If you only have a few months remaining before your exam, you might want to stick with Logical Reasoning questions from more recent PrepTests.

***

I'm listing the chapters of the book below so you can see how the questions are categorized. You may be used to categorizing things slightly differently, but I personally like how this book breaks them down. Don't worry too much about the differences in categorization, though, because the book's brief introduction explains how the Logical Reasoning questions are categorized.

Chapters:
1. Introduction

2. Arguments
-Method of Reasoning
-Main Conclusion
-Matching Patterns of Reasoning

3. Flaws in Arguments
Argument Flaw
Matching Argument Flaw

4. What Can Be Concluded From The Information Provided
-Must Be True
-Must Be False
-Most Strongly Supported
-Point At Issue

5. Understanding The Impact of Additional Information
-Weaken
-Strengthen
-Evaluate the Argument

6. Assumptions
-Sufficient Assumption
-Necessary Assumption

7. Principle

8. Resolve

9. Index and Answer Key

***
Who should use this book:

Most test-takers won't find this book absolutely necessary. However, people who intend to complete every LSAT Logical Reasoning question ever published will find this book worthwhile and convenient.

***
Also see the Grouped by Game Type Book and Grouped by Reading Passage Type Book.