PowerScore RC Bible vs. Manhattan RC Guide for Oct test? Forum

[dasani13]

I'll be taking the test in October.

I've done the LR Bible and I'm almost finished with the LG Bible. Now I have the RC Bible because it came as part of the "Trilogy Bible" package. However, I've seen a lot of comments about the Manhattan RC Guide and the consensus seems to be that it is the best prep book for the RC section.

Do you think I should just skip the RC Bible and buy the Manhattan Guide? I really don't care about the money: what's important to me now is that I use these 4 months as efficiently as possible. (I'll start doing PTs as soon as I'm finished with whichever RC book you guys recommend and the LSAC SuperPrep book.)

Postscript: I couldn't find any other topics on this because I'm not asking which book is better, I'm asking which would be better for my particular situation.

Thanks in advance!

[gaud]

You could honestly read them both and not see a problem, however, the focus of each of the books are somewhat different (I've read both, prefer Manhattan RC to PS RC).

[TMC116]

You could honestly read them both and not see a problem.

I'm going to disagree here. I'd pick one. You don't want to mix and match methods and make the process more complicated than it needs to be. Keep it as simple as possible. Pick the best one and stick with it

[incompetentia]

The RCB is certainly considered significantly less useful than the LGB and the LRB - I don't think either would be a devastating choice, though.

[dasani13]

You could honestly read them both and not see a problem.

I'm going to disagree here. I'd pick one. You don't want to mix and match methods and make the process more complicated than it needs to be. Keep it as simple as possible. Pick the best one and stick with it

Thanks! Yeah, I'm definitely going to use just one of the two. I'm not sure which one yet, though.

[dasani13]

The RCB is certainly considered significantly less useful than the LGB and the LRB - I don't think either would be a devastating choice, though.

I guess I'll just stick to the PowerScore RC Bible. Thanks!

[dasani13]

Update:

I started the PS RC Bible 4 days ago and finished it today. I think I can confidently say that I learned almost nothing useful. The only thing from which I benefited was the practice passages/questions (and the explanations weren't even that great). Also, today I took the full practice RC section (June '08) in the end of the book, which is also the first time I take a full, timed RC section and this is how I scored:

Passage 1: -0
Passage 2: -1
Passage 3: -1
Passage 4: -5

Even though I had exactly 8 minutes left for the last passage, I freaked out 'cause I didn't have 8:45secs and completely lost focus. I ended up guessing on 5 or 6 of them, thus the score. Also, I feel like I spent way too much time on things that I should have done more quickly (reading and referring back to the passage).

So, the point of all that was to ask: Does Manhattan Guide's method differ substantially from PS's diagramming, etc? Does anyone think it'd be worth it to buy and switch to the Manhattan Guide now or just focus solely on taking as many PTs as possible??

Thanks in advance and sorry for the potential redundancy.

[KevinP]

I've recently purchased Manhattan's RC guide and Amazon is being extremely slow at shipping it so I haven't read it yet. However, from what I've heard, Manhattan's RC guide is far superior to Powerscore's. Manhattan uses the PEAR method I believe.

I'd prefer to read the book first before telling you whether I think it's worth switching or just jumping straight to PTs. So all I'll say is at least check it out.

Here's a link to the first chapter:
http://www.manhattanlsat.com/download/R ... xcerpt.pdf

[Ocean64]

I think I can confidently say that I learned almost nothing useful.

i know, same here. except now i view my stamps before licking them.

[dasani13]

I think I can confidently say that I learned almost nothing useful.

i know, same here. except now i view my stamps before licking them.

hahah.. had to read it twice to catch the joke..

[dasani13]

I've recently purchased Manhattan's RC guide and Amazon is being extremely slow at shipping it so I haven't read it yet. However, from what I've heard, Manhattan's RC guide is far superior to Powerscore's. Manhattan uses the PEAR method I believe.

I'd prefer to read the book first before telling you whether I think it's worth switching or just jumping straight to PTs. So all I'll say is at least check it out.

Here's a link to the first chapter:
http://www.manhattanlsat.com/download/R ... xcerpt.pdf

I think I'm gonna just buy it as well.. Let me know what you think of it..

[ali3]

Bumping to see what you think of the Manhattan guide. I'm in the same situation as you, OP. I am taking the October test, and have an (unread) RC Bible for the same reason you do. On previous standardized tests, RC was always my best subject.

I've taken one preptest and drilled two RC sections (timed) and am consistently missing between 7 and 10 questions. I don't know what's up with me-- maybe I need more practice, but I just don't get why I'm somehow better at answering questions about LR's formal logic and parallel reasoning than reading a damn passage correctly

[ms08g]

Bumping to see what you think of the Manhattan guide. I'm in the same situation as you, OP. I am taking the October test, and have an (unread) RC Bible for the same reason you do. On previous standardized tests, RC was always my best subject.

I've taken one preptest and drilled two RC sections (timed) and am consistently missing between 7 and 10 questions. I don't know what's up with me-- maybe I need more practice, but I just don't get why I'm somehow better at answering questions about LR's formal logic and parallel reasoning than reading a damn passage correctly

There are no earthshattering tips in the MLSAT book that are going to get your score up significantly. However, the book is very good and useful in terms of giving you some perspective and structure for approaching each passage. There really isn't any substitute for doing an RC section every day and reviewing in depth, but if you think that you need some sort of guidance as far as picking out common wrong answer choices, and question types I would pick up the MLSAT guide. HTH.

[ali3]

That does help, thanks! I'm definitely willing to drill extensively, but yeah, I think I need some help. T

[JamMasterJ]

get manhattan. it's really good

[dasani13]

Bumping to see what you think of the Manhattan guide. I'm in the same situation as you, OP. I am taking the October test, and have an (unread) RC Bible for the same reason you do. On previous standardized tests, RC was always my best subject.

I've taken one preptest and drilled two RC sections (timed) and am consistently missing between 7 and 10 questions. I don't know what's up with me-- maybe I need more practice, but I just don't get why I'm somehow better at answering questions about LR's formal logic and parallel reasoning than reading a damn passage correctly

Hey, I ordered the Manhattan RC Guide last week and still haven't received it lol.. but I did read the PowerScore RC Bible (in less than 4 days) and it was completely useless. I'm hoping the Manhattan Guide will be different, as I've heard it's much better.

I've always been good at RC and I can get -0 or -1 in the section if I had 10-11mins per passage.. But since we have less than 9 minutes, I have to rush, and just knowing that I have to rush already hinders my performance. I'm hoping the Manhattan RC guide will show me a way to mark the passage that'll make it easier for me to come back to it when I need to find an answer (I spend way too much time looking for text that will allow me to choose between the last 2 answer choices after eliminating the obviously incorrect ones).

I'll let you know what I think of it when I get it.. let me know as well.

[ali3]

Sounds great! I'll probably order it next week if you think it helps.

[dasani13]

I'm on chapter 3 and I've already learned more than I learned from the RC Bible!

[dasani13]

ali3,

I'm pretty much finished with MLSAT RC Guide and it's definitely worth the $40.

I haven't slept in 2 days though so I'm having issues right now lol, but ms08g said it best:

There are no earthshattering tips in the MLSAT book that are going to get your score up significantly. However, the book is very good and useful in terms of giving you some perspective and structure for approaching each passage. There really isn't any substitute for doing an RC section every day and reviewing in depth, but if you think that you need some sort of guidance as far as picking out common wrong answer choices, and question types I would pick up the MLSAT guide. HTH.

[wishyfishy]

Ah I wish I'd seen this topic earlier. I'm having a similar dilemma on RC. My scores are really inconsistent on that section. I think I will be buying the Manhattan RC Guide as well. Thanks!

[dasani13]

Ah I wish I'd seen this topic earlier. I'm having a similar dilemma on RC. My scores are really inconsistent on that section. I think I will be buying the Manhattan RC Guide as well. Thanks!

Yes, you still have time and it's worth it. Good luck!