The PowerScore LSAT Logic Games Bible by David M. Killoran
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Book Reviews of The PowerScore LSAT Logic Games Bible
Book Review: This is how you crush the logic games
Summary: 5 Stars
Go ahead and take an official LSAT logic games section. Don't worry about the time, just try finish the entire thing with brute force if you have to.
If this was your first time and you finished the section under 35 min with only a few incorrect then your best bet is to keep doing official practice games until you're consistently where you want to be. This book won't be as helpful to you because you're a freak and I hope you're not in my class.
If you were like me and were able to finish the section with only a couple incorrect, but it took you an hour, then this book is golden and if you follow the instructions, you'll be acing these sections with minutes to spare. Yes.
If you couldn't finish the section or it took you hours, then this book will also help you enormously.
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Most of the 1 star reviews claim that this book is confusing and causes test takers to waste too much time and energy on the perfect set up and not on tackling the questions and getting points. There is some truth to this, but if you read the book, it talks at length about this issue and about how to approach the exam knowing this.
Sometimes you'll spend quite a bit of time on a setup and then pick off the questions in seconds - many times you'll read the question and immediately know the answer based on your set up producing only 2 or 3 possible solutions (this frequently occurs and when you get it, you feel fantastic). Other times, your setup will only take a few moments and you'll spend more time on the questions which will most likely be giving you hypothetical information in these situations. In any event, you'll know this and you'll act accordingly. You'll have been exposed to and instructed on how to approach, construct and deconstruct so many of these games at such great length that you'll be able to do them in your sleep - yes, there is a method to the madness.
Other important items to note are that this book only contains real/official LSAT questions, many questions are from recent exams (yr 2000+) and there's a companion workbook you can pick up which I highly recommend.
This book was incredibly helpful and actually not as boring as I was prepared for. You'll see yourself making progress immediately and consistently and you'll find yourself in many "a-ha!" moments. I hesitate to say this book is "fun", but when you're eventually crushing game after game, it's hard not to enjoy yourself a bit - at least as much as is possible when doing logic games.
Book Review: The best currently available
Summary: 5 Stars
Take it from an experienced LSAT Tutor-this is the best Logic Games book out there, bar none. However this book somewhat wins by default. The rest of the Logic Games books are generally an unhelpful lot that may actually harm you rather than help you. This book has many positive qualities but I want to list a few of the problems with it so you know when to proceed cautiously.
1) This book, like all books, is geared towards a mass audience. What this means is that it is not tailored for your specific weaknesses and strengths and you should always feel free to alter what they tell you to do. For the most part, suggestions in this book are just that: Suggestions. The way of doing games that the book provides is an excellent way, but will not work for everyone and if it doesn't you shouldn't be afraid to tweak what they tell you to do.
2) The book wants you to front-load all the work. That is, they want you to figure out all the deductions before you go on to make the game simple as cake. Which is great if you can figure out all the deductions beforehand, but 99% of the time you won't be able to do so. This is ok. Figure out the deductions that you can figure out and then go on and work through the problems. Front-load the work as much as you can, but if you hit a brick wall then start answering questions.
3) The book does not address the psychological aspect of the test. Looking at a game for the first time is scary, it is terrifying. This is because when you look at a game you are trying to process the entire game at the same time. Unless you are a functional genius, this is impossible to do. Instead what you need to do is take it step by step, sentence by sentence. Look at rule #1. Translate it. Look at rule #2. Translate it. Etc, etc. Suddenly the game that before seemed incomprehensible is now understandable.
4) The book uses the < symbol to say that A comes before B. For the purposes of the book A comes before B would be A > B. This is incredibly problematic because > has a prior reference point for us as human beings. When we see the > symbol we think greater than/less than. However we aren't saying that A is greater than B we are saying it comes before it, which is something completely different. Instead I recommend you write A comes before B as A-B or A....B
For more help you can visit 180degreeslsat.com
Best of luck!
Book Review: Don't Waste Your Money on Other Prep Courses!
Summary: 5 Stars
This is the first time I've ever taken the time to write a review for a product, but I couldn't not say something about the quality of the PowerScore books. Let me say, I started preparing for the February 2010 LSAT in December 2009, and I did so by taking a $1300 Kaplan prep course. I scored a 148 on my diagnostic, and my scores with Kaplan never rose above a 153. I often felt as though their explanations weren't thorough, and it seemed as if whenever something was difficult to explain, it was simply labeled as "out of scope" -- not very helpful in understanding why incorrect answers are incorrect. So I took the LSAT in February and got a disappointing, but not surprising, 152.
I wanted at least a 156, so I planned to take the June 2010 LSAT, but decided to try a new study method. I'd heard about the Bibles, so I ordered the LG & LR Bibles. Overall, I liked their format. Yes, they are wordy, but they are THOROUGH. I went through them slowly and carefully, especially the LG Bible, as logic games were my weak spot. After finishing both bibles, I took my first full length test since the Feb LSAT, and got a 160. That was literally doing no other practice than reading the Bibles.
Ultimately, I ended up taking about 10 full length exams, never dipping below a 160 again, and peaking at 168. I took the June 2010 LSAT, and though I felt that it was quite difficult, I decided not to cancel my score, and ended up with a 165, way above the 156 that I wanted, and quite a leap from anything I'd ever done with Kaplan.
Basically, I'm telling you that there is absolutely no need to spend $1300 on a prep course (or at least not at first). Buy these books and go through them carefully, taking the time to understand each concept. THEN, if you aren't scoring where you want to, consider a course. I wish I'd tried the Bibles first... I would've had to take the LSAT only once, and I could've saved a ton of money.
Book Review: Added 5 points to my score
Summary: 5 Stars
I highly recommend this book.
I've been studying for the LSAT and so far I've taken three practice tests. I took one about a year ago, I took one two weeks ago right before starting this book, and I took one a few days ago after reading through to chapter 8 in this book.
I found the book entertaining and was actually able to sit down and study it fully and for longer amounts of time (something that is a rare occurrence for me). I actually found myself wanting to read this book and study for the LSAT instead of doing my regular homework. It's a very good motivator.
Regarding my score increase:
I got a 158 on the practice test last year. I got a 158 on the practice test I took before reading this book. I got a 163 on the practice test I took after chapter 7.
Of only the test I took before reading this book and after reading most of this book:
The first test: I got 9 out of 24 logic game questions right (about 37.5%)
The second test: I got 16 out of 24 logic game questions right (about 66.7%)
I think I should also mention that before this book I ran out of time before getting to seven of the questions. After this book I had extra time on the section (but I didn't go back through and check my answers. I may have increased my score further had I done so).
I plan to continue on with some of the other PowerScore books, staring with the Logical Reasoning Bible. I also highly recommend using this book in conjunction with the LSAC prep test books (the practice tests that I took immediately before this book and during/after this book were LSAC tests. The test I took last year was a Kaplan test).
Book Review: Great book, blows everything else out of the water
Summary: 5 Stars
I first began preparing for the LSAT in December 2008 by taking a 6 week course offered by Kaplan for $1299. Upon completing this class, I took the February 2009 LSAT and I did horrible, particularly on the games - I finished the first two, and was stumped on the last two. I'm thoroughly convinced that my poor performance in the games accounted for my 150, so when I began studying once again, I knew that I'd have to target the games section. I bought this book after reading the VERY helpful reviews on this website and others, and after the first chapter, I knew that this book would be the best $64.99 I had ever spent.
I was right! This book helped me set up the games in the most clear and concise ways that seemed so much more intuitive and simpler than what Kaplan told me to do. I'm convinced that had I used these methods on the games in February, I would have been able to solve the last two games without a hitch and been totally fine. Now, I'm taking timed tests and ANNIHILATING the games sections - a minimum of 20 questions correct.
I'm also getting the questions done a lot faster, and I think that has to do with the way that PowerScore has you diagram the rules. The diagrams are very clear and do not confuse me, whereas the Kaplan methods called for charts and grids that just confused the heck out of me. These clear diagrams help me deduce the correct answers MUCH more quickly and I'm able to fly through the easier questions to spend a little more time on the tougher ones.
Overall, great investment. If games isn't your favorite section now, then after completing this book, you'll wish the whole test was nothing but games!