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I began using different Kaplan LG, LR, and RC Mastery and Timing practice books when I noticed that the questions were drawn from old PrepTests. My concern is that when I begin to take full tests, which I assume will be Preptests, my scores will not be truly representative of my abilities because I had already saw some of the questions. Are PrepTests old LSAT tests? Should I discontinue this form of studying?

nortedesotu wrote:I began using different Kaplan LG, LR, and RC Mastery and Timing practice books when I noticed that the questions were drawn from old PrepTests. My concern is that when I begin to take full tests, which I assume will be Preptests, my scores will not be truly representative of my abilities because I had already saw some of the questions. Are PrepTests old LSAT tests? Should I discontinue this form of studying?

PrepTests are old LSAT tests. However, I wouldn't worry about familiarity with the questions because after taking a few PTs, you will notice that so many LSAT questions are similar to each other that it all starts to blend together.

shifty_eyed wrote:

nortedesotu wrote:I began using different Kaplan LG, LR, and RC Mastery and Timing practice books when I noticed that the questions were drawn from old PrepTests. My concern is that when I begin to take full tests, which I assume will be Preptests, my scores will not be truly representative of my abilities because I had already saw some of the questions. Are PrepTests old LSAT tests? Should I discontinue this form of studying?

PrepTests are old LSAT tests. However, I wouldn't worry about familiarity with the questions because after taking a few PTs, you will notice that so many LSAT questions are similar to each other that it all starts to blend together.

+1

Every test uses the same subjects and some use similar stims with different questions. Compare PT58 and PT59 RC for a good example of this.

What I am trying to say is that you will probably see some of the same questions but as the above poster said, they will ALL seem the same after a given amount of time.

PS: High blood pressure, bird species, parallel computing.

shifty_eyed wrote:

nortedesotu wrote:I began using different Kaplan LG, LR, and RC Mastery and Timing practice books when I noticed that the questions were drawn from old PrepTests. My concern is that when I begin to take full tests, which I assume will be Preptests, my scores will not be truly representative of my abilities because I had already saw some of the questions. Are PrepTests old LSAT tests? Should I discontinue this form of studying?

PrepTests are old LSAT tests. However, I wouldn't worry about familiarity with the questions because after taking a few PTs, you will notice that so many LSAT questions are similar to each other that it all starts to blend together.

shifty, I enjoy your GIFs, but I beg to differ with you on this non-GIF matter.

I believe that completing questions under untimed conditions (+ reviewing them in detail), then doing them later as part of timed PTs may inflate the scores of the timed PTs. While LR questions may blend together after a while, LG and RC will likely stand out.

However, from what I remember about Kaplan Mastery, the Qs don't go beyond the 40s. Don't know which PTs the Timing book includes.

nortedesotu wrote:I began using different Kaplan LG, LR, and RC Mastery and Timing practice books when I noticed that the questions were drawn from old PrepTests. My concern is that when I begin to take full tests, which I assume will be Preptests, my scores will not be truly representative of my abilities because I had already saw some of the questions. Are PrepTests old LSAT tests? Should I discontinue this form of studying?

Honestly, and this will be like my 3rd time saying this in as many days, it doesn't matter at all. The main purpose of a PT is NOT to give you an accurate reflection of what you will score on test day. Are PT's the best way to do that? Yes. Can they do that? Yes. But their main point is the same as every other type of studying, to improve your chances of getting a higher score.

PT's do this by getting you used to the format of the tests, the stamina needed to complete it effectively, and the mental agility needed to switch between different LR question types, ranging from easy to difficult, and between different sections with often require different parts of your logical capacity. If you get a few questions correct, or even an entire game or passage, because you saw it in advance....so? You can get a million 180's in a row but looking at all the questions and answers in advance and it will have no bearing on what your true score will be come test day.

Do the drills and studying like normal, do the PT's like normal, and recognize that there will be occasional overlap and that it's perfectly ok.

MillerTheThriller wrote:PS: High blood pressure, bird species, parallel computing.

And antilock brakes! Seriously, what is up with their weird obsession

I worried about this too - it's a problem at the beginning, but like the others are saying, after 10 or so, you won't be able to totally answer based on recall, and if you do, just make sure you also understand why it's the right answer. There are like millions of questions.

Thanks for the help everyone