Blueprint LG + Manhattan LR + 5 Months = Good Plan? Forum

[darkjak7]

I am planning to spend five months to study for the June 2014 LSAT (I'll start in the middle of January, after I've graduated from school and traveled abroad for a month). I have spent some time researching self-study schedules posted on the forums and elsewhere, and I really like the five-month day to day schedule on LSAT Blog. Joshua Craven and Evan Jone's schedule seems useful as well, although it is for three months. I'll just tweak these two schedules a bit b/c they are using the PS Bibles, which I don't want to use.

I am mainly planning to use preparation books and prep tests from which I can drill and take full exams.

I know that the PowerScore Bibles are very popular and people have used their strategies to succeed on the LSAT. However, based on what I've read, I do not think I will be a fan of over-complicated diagramming and classifying. I believe I would really appreciate the pedagogical approach the Blueprint LG Book, since I would prefer its simple, concise, entertaining, and user-friendly approach. I'm completely new to LG, so I think Blueprint's methods would the best for me. Plus I really like when things are framed as a conversation.

I was wondering if the Blueprint LG book is a perfectly good substitute for the Bible and/or Manhattan LG book (I know it's relatively new, and I haven't read too many reviews on whether it helped people significantly improve their LG scores). I don't want to buy too many books, so ideally I would just like to use the Blueprint Book + Drill from older preptests and hopefully get -0 on my PTs and on the real thing.

For Logical Reasoning, I was thinking between the Logical Reasoning Bible and the Manhattan LR book. Again, I don't think I would be a fan of the LR's classifications, and I think I would prefer Manhattan's more intuitive approach (that's what it seems like from the reviews). Also on my diagnostic, I actually performed okay on LR. I've never formally learned logic, but a lot of the questions and answers seemed intuitive to me.

I'll borrow the PowerScore book from a friend to learn conditional reasoning and "formal logic," but I'll buy the Manhattan LR book and use it for everything else.

Do you all think this is a good idea?

I would use the Manhattan Book + drill from the cambridge book which has questions of each type/difficulty from the older tests.

Also is it necessary to get a book for RC? I'm a Political Science major at UC Berkeley, so I read a lot of dense material on a regular basis, and I didn't "not get" any of the RC questions on my diagnostic....it's just that I need to improve my speed.

To summarize, I'm aiming for a 170+, and I only want to use two books (Blueprint Logic Games and Manhattan RC) in addition to drilling and PTing to study for the LSAT. Do you think these two books will be sufficient? Or is it better/necessary to supplement them with the PS books? (or maybe do the PS books before?) I don't want to buy multiple books because I want to spend more time on actual preptests and I want to have consistent techniques

I'm someone who has generally been good at standardized tests and self-studying, and I got a 2240 on the SAT mostly through self-studying if that makes a difference. I seem to understand LR and RC on an intuitive level overall (but I still think learning formal strategies will be worthwhile)...but LG is really foreign to me atm...but the games seem learnable

Thanks for all your help and answers

[Louis1127]

I'm sure some folks who have taken it will chime in after me, so don't worry that this is the only response as of now. I just want to say make sure you join the TLS study group for your test to keep track of your drilling and PTs. You can see if you need to make adjustments based on your own feedback and the activity of others. See you in January.

[tuffyjohnson]

What is your diag? Mine was low (140's) so I bought as many books as I could get my hands on. If you're already in the 160's you'll probably get more from PT's.

Yes, blueprint LG is sufficient for LG and has a better section on logic than powerscore IMO.

The Manhattan LR book is amazing and also has quite a large and detailed section on logic. If you really study/absorb that section I honestly think you'll be fine. Also, I did the logic curriculum on this TLS site. Can't remember where it is but it was good (and free).

[jshaffer740]

Haven't used Blueprint so I can't comment on that. I used Manhattan (LR, LG, RC), The LSAT Trainer, and Cambridge.

I would highly recommend Manhattan for all three. I would also highly recommend adding The LSAT Trainer to your list. I would use it first, but without doing the assigned homework (use the drills, however). It is a great (great) way to lay out a very intuitive and foundation-based approach to LSAT thinking. Then move on to Manhattan for more specific (but still intuitive) strategies, and drill the related Cambridge sections as you move through Manhattan.

Finally, move on to full-length practice tests. At this point in your studies, I would recommend just starting with PT50 and moving from there. This depends on your goal score and where you are PT-ing at this point in your studies. If you're within 5 points of your goal, starting with 50 is fine.

Many people like to try to do all of the PT's. But in my opinion if you are 4-6 weeks from game day at that point, doing 19 PT's (50-69) is plenty. They also will be the most relevant to your studies as they are most representative of modern tests. There is nothing worse than killing the 40s, and then moving to 50/60 and having to readjust. I say start with 50, and use the 40s as full-section drill material when you're not taking full-length PT's. I also would recommend at that point alternating between a 50s test and a 60s test. You do not want to wait until the last week or two to see a 60s-era test, as there are subtle differences.

Be sure and use the 7sage blind review method for reviewing your PT's. Take a day or two between each PT to review both wrong answers and those you struggled with even if you got them correct. Drill weaknesses (use the 7sage PT scorer for Blind Review method and to ID weaknesses). Make a focused effort before each PT to improve on 2-3 specific items. Also, make sure you always do 5-section PT's. I like to insert a section from a 40s test and use all four sections of that particular test, so after doing a 4 PT's you have a fifth PT to score. This has the added benefit of forcing you to take the experimental seriously.

Anyway, sorry for babbling on! This went beyond the scope of your question. So anyway:

tl;dr Manhattan + 5 Months = Good, but add The LSAT trainer first, then Manhattan + Cambridge drills, then PT's from the 50s on

[bp shinners]

I know that the PowerScore Bibles are very popular and people have used their strategies to succeed on the LSAT. However, based on what I've read, I do not think I will be a fan of over-complicated diagramming and classifying. I believe I would really appreciate the pedagogical approach the Blueprint LG Book, since I would prefer its simple, concise, entertaining, and user-friendly approach. I'm completely new to LG, so I think Blueprint's methods would the best for me. Plus I really like when things are framed as a conversation.

Sounds like our book is right up your alley. If you have any questions while working through it, feel free to shoot me a PM!

[drevo]

I haven't used the self study BP LG book, though I am in a BP class right now that teaches us the same techniques and I much prefer BPs methods to the Powerscore LGB (which I bought). They are just simpler and in my opinion easier to get a hang of.

Also I would also highly recommend the Manhattan Logical Reasoning book. I have never used the Powerscore LR Bible so I can't compare them but Manhattan is absolutely awesome book for learning LR on your own and using it to get into the 170+ range.