383 of 395 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Beats the competition hands down, December 21, 2003
This review is from: LSAT Logic Games Bible: A Comprehensive System for Attacking the Logic Games Section of the LSAT (Paperback)
I have currently completed studying logic games with this book, Master the LSAT (which was recommended in several Amazon.com reviews), Kaplan LSAT (for average students), and Kaplan LSAT 180 (for very strong students). The Logic Games Bible by PowerScore was definitely the most helpful of any of the books. Applying PowerScore's methods has reduced my time per game from 13 minutes to 8 - which gives me enought to complete every game in the section - and to boot, I'm hitting 100 percent accuracy on most of the practice tests I've taken from real LSATs and simulated tests from other companies. I didn't think that was possible.
PowerScore was helpful because it includes clear suggestions for the best way to diagram any of the game types and what to watch out for when diagramming. (As I mention below, Kaplan doesn't do this.) It is the only book of the four I've used that exclusively uses actual logic games administered since the LSAT was rewritten in 1991. The other books don't do that because they don't want to pay as much in licensing fees (which is reflected in this book's comparably high price), but their simulated questions have a much different feel. Simulated questions are often too easy, which can leave you underprepared, or too difficult, which can frustrate you needlessly. In addition, there are certain patterns in the way real questions are set up that other companies haven't been able to imitate.
I read the reviews that gave this book three or fewer stars, and I found all of them unconvincing. It's true that the book won't solve your timing issues automatically, but no book I've seen was very helpful on timing. PowerScore does have a fairly strong section discussing who should skip a game and who shouldn't, and it goes over some rules for picking the hardest game if you do decide to skip one. I haven't seen anything more than that about timing in any other book. Ultimately, practice makes perfect, and again, using real questions for practice will be a big help in terms of timing.
This book does have a few typos, which I was surprised to see in a book of such quality in terms of content. But this isn't a mass market publication, and the fact that PowerScore apparently doesn't have the financial resources to hire decent copy editors won't impact your LSAT score.
Kaplan's book wasn't nearly as helpful. It gives broad suggestions (e.g., use a concise system that you understand), but it's much more helpful to have someone suggest symbols that will capture the essence of most games. I'm still thinking about taking Kaplan's classroom course, since I presume that there is more information in it, but I wouldn't recommend their book to someone on a limited budget. It took me only a few hours to get through the lessons, and I think studying simulated practice tests is a waste of time when you can get real tests.
Master the LSAT is not a bad book. Unlike Kaplan, it does include a real LSAT logic game in each section. I think it will be a good tool for reading comprehension and the analysis section. But if you can afford to get the Logic Games Bible, I would study with that first and only go to Master the LSAT if you have extra time. Once you have studied the Logic Games Bible, most of the examples in Master the LSAT will be easy. (I completed some Master the LSAT logic games in under four minutes with 100 percent accuracy.)
Overall, an excellent resource and well worth the extra money.
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54 of 55 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Best, Period, September 10, 2005
This review is from: LSAT Logic Games Bible: A Comprehensive System for Attacking the Logic Games Section of the LSAT (Paperback)
I've been studying for the LSAT off and on for the past two years, and I've worked my way through a lot of study guides. Princeton Review's LSAT publication and the Kaplan book (not the 180) are good as general overviews, but I wouldn't bank on taking away any methods that will drastically improve your score. Additionally, using such material in addition to PowerScore materials may leave you confused as to what symbols or methods to employ in a given situation. That said, this is by far and away the most powerful tool that you can have in your arsenal as you prepare for the LSAT. It teaches clear and easy symbolization techniques, helpful places to look in making deductions, and the most effective ways to tackle different kinds of questions. Even after using other LSAT prep materials, I was still answering only about half of the questions in the Logic Games section correctly. After going through this book thoroughly twice, I am much more efficient and scoring near perfect in Games on every previously administered LSAT that I take. This book, in combination with the Logic Reasoning Bible, raised my practice LSAT score ranges from the mid-150's (153-157) to the high 160's (166-169). Beware of study prep materials that tell you that you can perform without first making deductions on the Logic Games portion of the LSAT, as deductions are incredibly important (most likely not only for me) in pre-phrasing answers and eliminating wrong answer choices, allowing a rapid attack of the questions. Also be advised that taking previously administered LSATs under timed conditions is another very important key to success, and the more tests you take, the more your comfort level will grow and the higher your average score will become. In short, if you are struggling with the Logic Games portion of the LSAT, buy this book!
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161 of 175 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A serious book for anyone seeking serious LSAT scores, June 6, 2003
By A Customer
This review is from: LSAT Logic Games Bible: A Comprehensive System for Attacking the Logic Games Section of the LSAT (Paperback)
This book is extremley comprehensive in every respect... But if you are smart enough to begin your LSAT preperation a few months ahead of time--and are willing to work [hard]--then this book will do the trick. It helped me score a 179 in February.
Before purchasing the Logic Games Bible, I took KAPLAN's $1000 classroom course... Right away, I knew "The Bible" was going to be better than KAPLAN because it used the commonsense approach of setting up games BELOW the questions (where there's actually room to write). In every respect, The Bible provides a more systematic and organized approach to setting up games than does KAPLAN. Having The Bible's more diciplined and systematic approach to setting up and solving the games proved invaluable on test day. I finished all four games with 9 minutes to spare. You should have seen the confused looks I got when, after only 26 minutes into the Logic Games section, I put my pencil down, raised my hand, and asked to go to the restroom! Their system paid off. Agian, this book will deliver the goods--but like most things in life, you'll only get out of it what you put into it.
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