Logical reasoning Preparation Forum

[LJackson]

I am going through all of the chapters/question types in the LRB. I am reading a chapter on a certain question type (ie: "Must be True") and then going through the 10 Actual LSAT books and doing all those types of questions (Preptest 7 "Must be True" questions: 3, 8, 9, ect..). Is this a good way to individually master every question type? Should I focus more on the "10 More" and "Next 10" LSAT due to changes in the test or is the first "Actual 10" book still relevant enough for practice sake? Should I save the "Next 10" until I am working solely on entire sections? Any advice is appreciated.

[TheLuckyOne]

I am going through all of the chapters/question types in the LRB. I am reading a chapter on a certain question type (ie: "Must be True") and then going through the 10 Actual LSAT books and doing all those types of questions (Preptest 7 "Must be True" questions: 3, 8, 9, ect..). Is this a good way to individually master every question type? Should I focus more on the "10 More" and "Next 10" LSAT due to changes in the test or is the first "Actual 10" book still relevant enough for practice sake? Should I save the "Next 10" until I am working solely on entire sections? Any advice is appreciated.

When are you taking the test? How many tests are you planning on taking?

[skip james]

I am going through all of the chapters/question types in the LRB. I am reading a chapter on a certain question type (ie: "Must be True") and then going through the 10 Actual LSAT books and doing all those types of questions (Preptest 7 "Must be True" questions: 3, 8, 9, ect..). Is this a good way to individually master every question type? Should I focus more on the "10 More" and "Next 10" LSAT due to changes in the test or is the first "Actual 10" book still relevant enough for practice sake? Should I save the "Next 10" until I am working solely on entire sections? Any advice is appreciated.

It may be worth it to take a few full tests first, maybe untimed, to get a feel for the test, the particular areas that you probably need to hit the hardest, and also to get a context for understanding the LR Bible.

Also, you spelled 'preparation' wrong.

[LJackson]

I am going through all of the chapters/question types in the LRB. I am reading a chapter on a certain question type (ie: "Must be True") and then going through the 10 Actual LSAT books and doing all those types of questions (Preptest 7 "Must be True" questions: 3, 8, 9, ect..). Is this a good way to individually master every question type? Should I focus more on the "10 More" and "Next 10" LSAT due to changes in the test or is the first "Actual 10" book still relevant enough for practice sake? Should I save the "Next 10" until I am working solely on entire sections? Any advice is appreciated.

When are you taking the test? How many tests are you planning on taking?

I am taking the test in June. I have been looking through the LRB on and off since Jan but now I want to really get a system down. I have gone through the LGB pithypike style so I have a pretty good foundation for the games, yet this has come at the expense LR and RC study. I am hoping to get in 10-15 PTs between end of April/early June.

I am going through all of the chapters/question types in the LRB. I am reading a chapter on a certain question type (ie: "Must be True") and then going through the 10 Actual LSAT books and doing all those types of questions (Preptest 7 "Must be True" questions: 3, 8, 9, ect..). Is this a good way to individually master every question type? Should I focus more on the "10 More" and "Next 10" LSAT due to changes in the test or is the first "Actual 10" book still relevant enough for practice sake? Should I save the "Next 10" until I am working solely on entire sections? Any advice is appreciated.

It may be worth it to take a few full tests first, maybe untimed, to get a feel for the test, the particular areas that you probably need to hit the hardest, and also to get a context for understanding the LR Bible.
.

Also, you spelled 'preparation' wrong.[/quote]
I have not taken a diagnostic on the grounds that there seems to be a belief that there is only so much fo improvement and i did not want this to mess with my head, even if it is true. I was hoping to get some grasp of all the sections and take a PT in mid April. Is this not a wise decision? "Preperation" = embarrassing. Luckily all i have to know is a,b,c,d,e for June. right?

[skip james]

I have not taken a diagnostic on the grounds that there seems to be a belief that there is only so much fo improvement and i did not want this to mess with my head, even if it is true. I was hoping to get some grasp of all the sections and take a PT in mid April. Is this not a wise decision? "Preperation" = embarrassing. Luckily all i have to know is a,b,c,d,e for June. right?

I hear you on the diag thing. But you could always not put too much stock into it (and I personally went from the low 50s to high 70s, with a lot of my motivation for studying coming from my figuring that I'd have to put in a LOT of work to get the score I wanted). You could also just take a few prep tests untimed, since it'll give you valuable info on what sorts of things you're having conceptual difficulty with.

I do think but having some sort of familiarity with the test will give you a context for personally relating the stuff you've learned to problems that you've already attempted, and i think that can be really valuable in the learning process, so long as you're looking over the things you got wrong when you learn new things and realizing the sorts of mistakes that you've made.

[Dave]

I have not taken a diagnostic on the grounds that there seems to be a belief that there is only so much fo improvement and i did not want this to mess with my head, even if it is true. I was hoping to get some grasp of all the sections and take a PT in mid April. Is this not a wise decision? "Preperation" = embarrassing. Luckily all i have to know is a,b,c,d,e for June. right?

I hear you on the diag thing. But you could always not put too much stock into it (and I personally went from the low 50s to high 70s, with a lot of my motivation for studying coming from my figuring that I'd have to put in a LOT of work to get the score I wanted). You could also just take a few prep tests untimed, since it'll give you valuable info on what sorts of things you're having conceptual difficulty with.

I do think but having some sort of familiarity with the test will give you a context for personally relating the stuff you've learned to problems that you've already attempted, and i think that can be really valuable in the learning process, so long as you're looking over the things you got wrong when you learn new things and realizing the sorts of mistakes that you've made.

Just wondering how long it took you to go from lower 150s to upper 170s.

[skip james]

Just wondering how long it took you to go from lower 150s to upper 170s.

I actually took it twice. The first time I studied three months about 40-50 hours a week and got a 172. The second I took eight months later, much lighter studying and even then only started about a month and a half before the test, and received a 77.

[LJackson]

I have not taken a diagnostic on the grounds that there seems to be a belief that there is only so much fo improvement and i did not want this to mess with my head, even if it is true. I was hoping to get some grasp of all the sections and take a PT in mid April. Is this not a wise decision? "Preperation" = embarrassing. Luckily all i have to know is a,b,c,d,e for June. right?

I hear you on the diag thing. But you could always not put too much stock into it (and I personally went from the low 50s to high 70s, with a lot of my motivation for studying coming from my figuring that I'd have to put in a LOT of work to get the score I wanted). You could also just take a few prep tests untimed, since it'll give you valuable info on what sorts of things you're having conceptual difficulty with.

I do think but having some sort of familiarity with the test will give you a context for personally relating the stuff you've learned to problems that you've already attempted, and i think that can be really valuable in the learning process, so long as you're looking over the things you got wrong when you learn new things and realizing the sorts of mistakes that you've made.

Hearing you jumped form the 150's to 170's gives me hope. I think I would have scored somewhere near a 150 if I would of taken a diagnostic and after REALLY studying about a month, I am just starting to believe I may be able to break 170 if I really grind it out for another two months. I have the superprep so I will probablly take your advice and take Test A untimed next week. I am just afraid of what I might get! Thanks for the advice.

[TheLuckyOne]

I am going through all of the chapters/question types in the LRB. I am reading a chapter on a certain question type (ie: "Must be True") and then going through the 10 Actual LSAT books and doing all those types of questions (Preptest 7 "Must be True" questions: 3, 8, 9, ect..). Is this a good way to individually master every question type? Should I focus more on the "10 More" and "Next 10" LSAT due to changes in the test or is the first "Actual 10" book still relevant enough for practice sake? Should I save the "Next 10" until I am working solely on entire sections? Any advice is appreciated.

When are you taking the test? How many tests are you planning on taking?

I am taking the test in June. I have been looking through the LRB on and off since Jan but now I want to really get a system down. I have gone through the LGB pithypike style so I have a pretty good foundation for the games, yet this has come at the expense LR and RC study. I am hoping to get in 10-15 PTs between end of April/early June.

Of course I don't know where you stand now and what score you aim for, but I wouldn't touch anything below #40. And to tell the truth, if you aim to dramatically improve, you should postpone till October at least.

[LJackson]

I am going through all of the chapters/question types in the LRB. I am reading a chapter on a certain question type (ie: "Must be True") and then going through the 10 Actual LSAT books and doing all those types of questions (Preptest 7 "Must be True" questions: 3, 8, 9, ect..). Is this a good way to individually master every question type? Should I focus more on the "10 More" and "Next 10" LSAT due to changes in the test or is the first "Actual 10" book still relevant enough for practice sake? Should I save the "Next 10" until I am working solely on entire sections? Any advice is appreciated.

When are you taking the test? How many tests are you planning on taking?

I am taking the test in June. I have been looking through the LRB on and off since Jan but now I want to really get a system down. I have gone through the LGB pithypike style so I have a pretty good foundation for the games, yet this has come at the expense LR and RC study. I am hoping to get in 10-15 PTs between end of April/early June.

Of course I don't know where you stand now and what score you aim for, but I wouldn't touch anything below #40. And to tell the truth, if you aim to dramatically improve, you should postpone till October at least.

Nothing below #40? Do you mean that just for whole PTs? Are 7 -38 good enough for getting acquainted with each type and drilling? I would really like to just take it in June but I won’t take it if I am not ready. My only concern is postponing till October and having to retake which would mean taking the December test. Would this put me at a disadvantage for the 2011 cycle?

[Dave]

Just wondering how long it took you to go from lower 150s to upper 170s.

I actually took it twice. The first time I studied three months about 40-50 hours a week and got a 172. The second I took eight months later, much lighter studying and even then only started about a month and a half before the test, and received a 77.

Jesus, 40-50 hours a week? So when you prepared for it the 2nd time, you pretty much had everything down and had to just do some fine tuning, I assume.

[skip james]

Just wondering how long it took you to go from lower 150s to upper 170s.

I actually took it twice. The first time I studied three months about 40-50 hours a week and got a 172. The second I took eight months later, much lighter studying and even then only started about a month and a half before the test, and received a 77.

Jesus, 40-50 hours a week? So when you prepared for it the 2nd time, you pretty much had everything down and had to just do some fine tuning, I assume.

Yeah pretty much. The first go was very very intense though. And when I say 40-50, I'm excluding breaks.

[TheLuckyOne]

When are you taking the test? How many tests are you planning on taking?

I am taking the test in June. I have been looking through the LRB on and off since Jan but now I want to really get a system down. I have gone through the LGB pithypike style so I have a pretty good foundation for the games, yet this has come at the expense LR and RC study. I am hoping to get in 10-15 PTs between end of April/early June.

Of course I don't know where you stand now and what score you aim for, but I wouldn't touch anything below #40. And to tell the truth, if you aim to dramatically improve, you should postpone till October at least.

Nothing below #40? Do you mean that just for whole PTs? Are 7 -38 good enough for getting acquainted with each type and drilling? I would really like to just take it in June but I won’t take it if I am not ready. My only concern is postponing till October and having to retake which would mean taking the December test. Would this put me at a disadvantage for the 2011 cycle?

Nothing below 40 means you have 20 tests to go. Do you really think you can do more in 2 months? If yes, then you're very optimistic. Go through bibles, take recent tests and hope to improve. Old tests are virtually useless if you have no time for the new ones.

[skip james]

Old tests are virtually useless if you have no time for the new ones.

I disagree, logic hasn't changed much in 2000 years. I think there's more value in recent tests, but that's not the same as saying old tests are not valuable at all.

[op-ti]

Nothing below #40? Do you mean that just for whole PTs? Are 7 -38 good enough for getting acquainted with each type and drilling? I would really like to just take it in June but I won’t take it if I am not ready. My only concern is postponing till October and having to retake which would mean taking the December test. Would this put me at a disadvantage for the 2011 cycle?

This is exactly what I plan on doing. I'm going through the LG and LR Bibles and after each chapter, I use this to find the questions on the PT's and us them as drills (LG: http://lsatblog.blogspot.com/2009/07/lo ... types.html LR: 've yet to find a link).

Will do this till I get comfortable to dive into the PT's. Savind PT 40+ for timed testing during the last three months before the test.

[Dave]

Heh not sure if I'm violating tos by typing this, but I was able to download tests 1-45, and explanations for each test. It's definitely beneficial and saved me a LOT of money(printer paper isn't expensive).