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Two Things

1) Has anyone here gone back and done some of the very old preptests from the early to mid nineties? I've been doing some of these just to keep me on my toes (I've done every preptest from 36-59 innumerable times), and I'm actually finding the logical reasoning kind of difficult on the older tests. The stimuli are longer and a bit more confusing, they rely less on formal reasoning, and the answer choices require more logical deciphering. Has anyone else experienced this?

2) The reason I'm looking backwards is because I have taken both the February and June 2010 tests (making my life miserable for about the past year), and I've noticed that each of these exams seem to pull elements from the older tests. For instance, in February, the logical reasoning was kind of tricky and had the feel of older LRs, and in June, there was the mulch pattern game (#3), which threw me for a loop. Also, in February, the first LG question was a grouping game with only two groups. These games haven't been on recent tests, but seemed pretty common in Preptests 25-38.

Is anyone else doing the same thing I'm doing? Does anyone have any educated guesses about how the October test is going to play out? Do you think we'll get another pattern game? I went into October expecting to see In/Out and was shocked that there wasn't anything of the sort on it. What do you think the LR will be like, as well as the curve? I was also shocked that June had a -12 curve...could there be a repeat in October?

Please discuss.

Thanks.

1. General consensus is that the oldest LRs aren't as well-written, on average.

2. I call these Grouping: Splitting games because you're splitting (or dividing) the variables into 2 groups, both of which are present (as opposed to In-Out). These games were very common in the PTs in the 20s but not too much since then. However, there was a game involving Splitting as recently as PT56.

I wouldn't really call Mulch a Pattern game, and I wouldn't say Splitting is so uncommon as to indicate that we're going back to the old days. I don't like to make predictions about what a specific exam will bring, but I'd very surprised to see an actual Pattern game again.

However, the "curve" does seem to be getting a bit easier, given Dec09=-14 and June10=-12. Wouldn't be surprised to see another -12 in October, but I also wouldn't be surprised to see a -11.

LSAT Blog wrote:1. General consensus is that the oldest LRs aren't as well-written, on average.

2. I call these Grouping: Splitting games because you're splitting (or dividing) the variables into 2 groups, both of which are present (as opposed to In-Out). These games were very common in the PTs in the 20s but not too much since then. However, there was a game involving Splitting as recently as PT56.

I wouldn't really call Mulch a Pattern game, and I wouldn't say Splitting is so uncommon as to indicate that we're going back to the old days. I don't like to make predictions about what a specific exam will bring, but I'd very surprised to see an actual Pattern game again.

However, the "curve" does seem to be getting a bit easier, given Dec09=-14 and June10=-12. Wouldn't be surprised to see another -12 in October, but I also wouldn't be surprised to see a -11.

I'm going to cry if the curve is -8.

Every test I've taken where the curve was -8, I never felt it was that easy to begin with.

My goal (to start with) was -2 per section. So a -8. Hopefully even with the stingiest curve, that would be enough for a 170. And well, hopefully I meet my goal.

LSAT Blog wrote:1. General consensus is that the oldest LRs aren't as well-written, on average.

2. I call these Grouping: Splitting games because you're splitting (or dividing) the variables into 2 groups, both of which are present (as opposed to In-Out). These games were very common in the PTs in the 20s but not too much since then. However, there was a game involving Splitting as recently as PT56.

I wouldn't really call Mulch a Pattern game, and I wouldn't say Splitting is so uncommon as to indicate that we're going back to the old days. I don't like to make predictions about what a specific exam will bring, but I'd very surprised to see an actual Pattern game again.

However, the "curve" does seem to be getting a bit easier, given Dec09=-14 and June10=-12. Wouldn't be surprised to see another -12 in October, but I also wouldn't be surprised to see a -11.

1. By well-written, do you mean that the writing in the stimuli was bad, or that they aren't as well-made questions as those currently being used?

2. If Mulch isn't a pattern game, what is it? Sequencing? It reminded me a lot of snakes and lizards, which is a bitch of a game. Also, I just want to point out that the last game of the June 2010 test was more or less the same game that you posted on your blog about suns and moons. Can you make more games like this that so brilliantly anticipate actual test questions?