Cracking the LSAT with Sample Tests on CD-ROM, 2005 Edition (Graduate Test Prep) [Paperback]

Princeton Review (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0375764127 | ISBN-13: 978-0375764127 | Publication Date: June 15, 2004 | Edition: Bk&CD-Rom

If It’s on the LSAT, It’s in This Book

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 question types across Arguments, Reading Comprehension, and Games
-Practice online with full-length LSAT exams and instant scoring analysis

This book and CD-ROM package includes 6 full-length practice LSAT exams: 2 in the book and 4 on CD-ROM. All of our practice test questions are like the ones you’ll see on the actual LSAT, and we fully explain every solution.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Adam Robinson graduated from Wharton before earning a law degree at Oxford University in England. Robinson, a rated chess master, devised and perfected the Joe Bloggs approach to beating standardized tests in 1980, as well as numerous other core Princeton Review techniques. A freelance author of many books, Robinson has collaborated with the Princeton Review to develop a number if its courses.

Product Details

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Princeton Review; Bk&CD-Rom edition (June 15, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0375764127
• ISBN-13: 978-0375764127
• Product Dimensions: 10.6 x 8.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,010,728 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Mixed Bag, May 23, 2005

By 

Tyrone Williams (CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cracking the LSAT with Sample Tests on CD-ROM, 2005 Edition (Graduate Test Prep) (Paperback)

This prep book is a mixed bag. It's strongest on the Arguments and Games sections, weakest on Reading Comprehension. PR's method of diagramming Games is better than the methods found in other prep books: it's clear, intuitive, and easily and quickly grasped; helps avoid confusion during the panic of a real live test. PR's strategy for tackling the Arguments section is also very effective. But PR is WAY OFF in its advice for attacking the Reading Comprehension section. Do NOT follow PR's advice about reading the questions before reading the passage during the test. This stupid strategy wastes precious time and you probably won't be able to keep the six or seven questions in mind as you read the passage. Instead, in the four or five weeks before you take the test, familiarize yourself with the half-dozen TYPES of questions asked in the RC section of the LSAT (Main Idea, Description, Extension, Application, Structure, and Tone). Once you have internalized them, you will automatically mark the passage as you read it (by circling the Pivotal Words and annotating briefly in the margins), so that you can quickly refer to it as you answer the actual questions during the test.

Do not waste your time with the silly CD-ROM: the LSAT is a paper-and-pencil test, so get used to working in that medium. (Besides, PR's CD-ROM is full of bugs.) Get a whole bunch of Actual, Official LSATs, xerox them, and practice, practice, practice.

So, to recap: PR is good for diagramming Games, good for Arguments, and lousy for Reading Comp.

If you have to choose only one prep book, I'd recommend Jeff Kolby's "Master the LSAT". I also like PowerScore's "Logic Games Bible": its classification scheme is a little complicated at first, but if you learn it well, it will pay off handsomely come test time. Using these three prep books, plus Kaplan's "LSAT 180", and studying hard every day for two months, I was able to score a 174 on the last LSAT.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Complete with CD-ROMs that will make you cry, January 30, 2005

By 

L. Giovanetto (Madison, WI USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cracking the LSAT with Sample Tests on CD-ROM, 2005 Edition (Graduate Test Prep) (Paperback)

The "Cracking the LSAT" book itself is actually pretty good, containing all the general standardized test info one might expect (lots of strategies designed primarily for people who have no business taking the LSAT). From both the book and other sources, the best way to practice for the LSAT is to take LSAT practice tests. My advice would be to order them directly from the LSAC.org and don't waste your money with a practice book.

My real qualm is with the accompanying CD-ROM which allows you take 4 practice tests. I thought taking electronic tests would be quicker and easier, encouraging me to do it more. Unfortunately, the CD-ROM program is full of bugs, the worst of which being that after having completed a practice test, if the program has difficulties connecting to the online network, then all of your responses will be lost. As a result, you don't know how well you did, nor can you go back through and review the questions you missed. If you want electronic tests, buy an LSAT review from someone else.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Pass this one by!!!, May 13, 2005

By 

B. Sanchez (North Carolina) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cracking the LSAT with Sample Tests on CD-ROM, 2005 Edition (Graduate Test Prep) (Paperback)

This LSAT Prep book is boring!!! If you want a general overview of the LSAT and a brief overview of some techniques, then maybe this would help you a little bit. The strategies they recommend are too time-consuming for me. Beware, this book didn't help me that much, if any, and the strategies are a little weird. I'd recommend buying PrepTests from LSAC and practicing with real tests rather than the ones provided here. There are plenty of better prep books than this one.