Cracking the LSAT, 2004 Edition (Graduate Test Prep) [Paperback]

Princeton Review (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 24, 2003 | ISBN-10: 037576321X | ISBN-13: 978-0375763212

The Princeton Review realizes that acing the LSAT is very different from getting straight A’s in school. We don't try to teach you everything there is to know about reading comprehension or analytic thinking–only the techniques you'll need to score higher on the exam. There's a big difference. In Cracking the LSAT, we'll teach you how to think like the test writers and

·Eliminate answer choices that look right but are planted to fool you
·Master the 7 principles of LSAT test-taking that you can’t do without
·Nail even the toughest sections: Arguments, Games, Reading Comprehension, and more

This book includes 2 full-length simulated LSAT exams. Plus, we’ll show you how to go online and take four additional exams with instant analysis. All of our sample test questions are just like the ones you’ll see on the actual LSAT, and we fully explain every solution.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

The Princeton Review is the fastest growing test-preparation company in the country, with over 60 franchise offices in the nation. Each year, we help more than 2 million students prepare for college, grad school, professional licensing exams, and successful careers.

Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Princeton Review (June 24, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 037576321X
• ISBN-13: 978-0375763212
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 1.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,952,818 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not the most stunning entry in the genre., November 21, 2003

By 

rkent78 (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cracking the LSAT, 2004 Edition (Graduate Test Prep) (Paperback)

I will admit upfront that I used the 2003 edition of "Cracking the LSAT" rather than the 2004 edition. But this one isn't a whole lot different. In summary, I'm very glad I used a lot of other books besides this one.

The first, main complaint is that the Princeton books use made-up LSAT questions because Princeton Review didn't feel like licensing real ones from LSAC. It's essential that you train using actual LSAT questions. The ones offered here are sort of abstracted to show you the right "types" of questions, but end up not really being that similar to questions you actually get. Since there are literally thousands of real LSAT questions available, why settle?

Secondly, this book is deliberately slanted to help you get a high-ish mediocre score, assuming you're starting with a low-ish mediocre one. The advice about skipping questions is absolutely fatal if you want to do really well. There are better discussions of time management in other books. In fact, if you take an initial practice test and score anywhere in the high 150s or above, this book will be nearly worthless to you.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Only if you're bored and desperate. Get Practice Tests 1st., April 17, 2004

By 

M. Dougherty (Central Illinois) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cracking the LSAT, 2004 Edition (Graduate Test Prep) (Paperback)

First--completely ignore the logic games section in this book and get "LSAT Logic Games Bible." Second, order 10 ACTUAL LSATs and 10 MORE ACTUAL LSATs from Amazon, and do at least 4 or 5 argument sections and 3 or 4 reading comprehension sections. If you're still desperate enough to buy everything you can concerning LSAT preparation, just to see if you can scrounge up tips from everywhere possible, waste $10 on a used copy if your library doesn't have a Cracking the LSATs (Mine had a 2003 copy).

The major mistakes (and few benefits) in this book are this:

Logic Games: completely useless (refer above)

Arguments: tells you to read the question stem first, which, in my opinion is a waste of time. But the one redeeming factor is that it breaks the question "types" into more categories than most books do, which can be helpful; when you're studying for this section of the test, don't get too caught up in "strategizing," just get familiar with the types of questions that you will see, anticipate them, and practice so many that when you're there on Test Day you can say to yourself "hey, I've seen many questions just like this one before on the practice tests"

Reading Comprehension: This section tells you to preview the questions, which, again, is a total waste of time, and it also tells you to try to attempt reading the passage in 90 seconds, which is good advice if you're mildly retarded. On second thought, ignore the whole reading comprehension section, too.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing Effort from Princeton Review, December 21, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Cracking the LSAT, 2004 Edition (Graduate Test Prep) (Paperback)

Given the relatively high quality of the Princeton Review organization, this book has a surprising number of inadequacies. The explanations of many of the so-called "correct" answers on the practice tests are illogical or wrong. This is particularly notable in the reading and and argumention sections. The Essay section gives smart tips and and is fully adequate, given how little weight schools put on it. I found the games section the strongest part of the book, both the text and the practice test questions.

To maximize your score, You would be far better served by practicing on the official LSATs realeasesd by ETS and sold as 10 More Actual, Official LSAT Preptests ISBN: 0942639804. If you want an full-length official explanations of selected questions, get LSAT Official Tripleprep Plus put out by ETS ISBN 0942639758.