Critique the LSAT/Law School books you have

When I say Law School books I mean books that are suppose to help you with writing/grammar/critical reading/speed reading/etc.


Heres what I have so far:

Kaplan Workbook 2003 (Ehhh . . . I wouldnt recommend it, they give you all these lessons on how to work the sections but who really remembers it? Not so big on the methods described in the book. The Logical Reasoning lessons seems very UNCLEAR. And dont even waste your time with the CD-Rom . . . if it actually works it still not a stimulation of a real LSAT exam/environment . . are you going to be on a computer when taking the LSAT? NOPE !!

Kaplan's 2 Real LSAT (I actually like the methods here, Im still working on it but they go step by step, as for the 2 Real LSAT . . . they are outdated . . . 1992  . . . but still the lessons seems pretty good.)

10 More Real LSAT's (Havent started using it yet, but a lot of people say this is the best way to go)

Law School for Dummies (Seems pretty cool, I skimmed through it, I havent really gone into it yet)

Law School Confidential (Great book, I recommend this)

I have read LS Confidential, and I agree with you in its full reccomendation. 

You guys left out Planet Law School (PLS) I & II.  A must-have for Pre-Law folks!
 

I did a couple of tests out of one of the 10 REAL LSATS book (or 10 More, I don't know), but the one that was REALLY helpful to me was Kaplan's LSAT 180.  It is drilling on the toughest versions of all the types of LSAT questions - these things are really hard!  You'd maybe expect 1 or 2 this hard per section, maybe only 7 or 8 on the whole test - and this book has dozens of them.  I highly recommend it!

I did a couple of tests out of one of the 10 REAL LSATS book (or 10 More, I don't know), but the one that was REALLY helpful to me was Kaplan's LSAT 180.  It is drilling on the toughest versions of all the types of LSAT questions - these things are really hard!  You'd maybe expect 1 or 2 this hard per section, maybe only 7 or 8 on the whole test - and this book has dozens of them.  I highly recommend it!

I actually have the book too. I would dissuade people from purchasing it though, I heard from a lot of people that this book only ruined their score. They dont use real test questions and their methods contradict each other.

I think students should just stay away from Kaplan period.

They dont use real test questions and their methods contradict each other.

I think students should just stay away from Kaplan period.

I agree with you Victor.  I joined the pre-law co-ed fraternity (basically a honors club, not something you have to pledge to or do freeky greeky stuff) and we, as a group, studied for the LSAT (usually once a month as a whole group) and at the end of the month we took a practice LSAT. 

We shared the costs of the books and one of the books we purchased was Kaplan's LSAT 180.  I have an average score of 170+ (started out at only 165 but have improved over time) but after trying to study and understand Kaplan's method my score dropped to a 162/161 on the next two tests I took.  Everyone in the group had his/her LSAT score either drop or stay the same after using Kaplan's 180 LSAT methods.  On one page Kaplan had the exact same type of problem (logical reasoning), except one story was about tanks and the other was about people, and Kaplan had two completely different answers!!!  Also, Kaplan had two different reasons for theses answers, and neither reason was logical! 

I think that Kaplan's LSAT 180 is lacking judgment and would be a better bet if Kaplan would stop being cheap and actually buy REAL LSAT questions from LSAC!

Quote from: Victor on February 11, 2004, 07:03:56 AM

They dont use real test questions and their methods contradict each other.

I think students should just stay away from Kaplan period.

I agree with you Victor.  I joined the pre-law co-ed fraternity (basically a honors club, not something you have to pledge to or do freeky greeky stuff) and we, as a group, studied for the LSAT (usually once a month as a whole group) and at the end of the month we took a practice LSAT. 

We shared the costs of the books and one of the books we purchased was Kaplan's LSAT 180.  I have an average score of 170+ (started out at only 165 but have improved over time) but after trying to study and understand Kaplan's method my score dropped to a 162/161 on the next two tests I took.  Everyone in the group had his/her LSAT score either drop or stay the same after using Kaplan's 180 LSAT methods.  On one page Kaplan had the exact same type of problem (logical reasoning), except one story was about tanks and the other was about people, and Kaplan had two completely different answers!!!  Also, Kaplan had two different reasons for theses answers, and neither reason was logical! 

I think that Kaplan's LSAT 180 is lacking judgment and would be a better bet if Kaplan would stop being cheap and actually buy REAL LSAT questions from LSAC!

Exactly. When do you take the LSAT's? I think its great that you are able to study with a group of students. Which undergrad school do you attend?

I'm a Pre Law student also, but my school is totally different, everyone is doing their own thing.

Any work books from LSAT180 are great, and the Real Books are a given.  There are several LSAT180 books that explain the answers in the Real Books.

Victor, to answer your question, I will probably take the LSAT in Oct, since I don't think I will be in the country in June.

Just curious, how many practice LSATS did most of you guys take prior to taking the LSAT for real?

I've taken at least 7: four from "10 Real LSATs," one at a free Kaplan session, one that you can print from the LSAC website, and the June 03 LSAT. 

A book is being released, approx. June this year, that will have the first ten tests administered after the last book was published.  I will buy some newer tests, for $8.00/test, instead of the new book since I don't think I need to study as much as I had in the past.

I took six. The four most recent, ordered from the www.lsac.org, and the two in the Princeton Review Cracking the LSAT. I took the first one untimed, got a 161. Went over the tips and strategies in the book, took the second one, got a 166. Went over the logical reasoning strategies again.

Took a timed practice exam, got a 159 (ran out of time). Second timed exam, 164. Third and Fourth, 169 and 171.

actually, I took 7 tests, I had one timed one (last one) that was 174.

Here's my question, people who took the December or October tests...how did you do relative to your practice exams? and how did you think you did leaving the test? I felt like I did better on the real exam than I did on the timed practice ones (no dog yipping at my heels, I actually finished the real exam and never finished a practice one in time). anyway, I interpret that to mean I did horribly on the real exam. did anyone come out of the real exam, feeling they did better than the practice exams, only to be surprised by a score 10 points lower than any practice exam?

I'm just so anxious.