In the previous two posts I have reviewed my thoughts on LSAT prep, and thoroughly reviewed the first book I used to prepare. In this post, I will discuss the second book I studied from.
LSAT 180, by Eric Goodman of Kaplan Test Prep and Admissions, promises "Advanced Prep for Advanced Students" and "Intensive Practice for the Toughest Questions." Right from the title, it sets a lofty goal of a perfect 180 LSAT score. It is available from Amazon or Barnes and Noble for $20.00.
The book starts off with a philosophical discussion of perfection, including why you, the reader, might aspire to this. I would like to think that I was not the perfectionist described in the opening, but rather a student looking to increase his overall score.
This book assumes you know the basics, and should not be your first prep material. I highly recommend starting with a general book, such as the one I describe here. This book goes straight to the toughest questions, and does not spend much time on types of questions, the predicted percentages, or generally test taking skills.
LSAT 180 dives right into the logic games, regarded by most test takers as the hardest section, but also by most experts as responding best to preparation. The problems in this one are mind boggling hard. They go through the first problem is a reasoned, well thought out, no nonsense manner. After about fifteen minutes of study, the first problem is manageable. They give about 5-10 problems of each type (examples are problems of order, problems with time, etc), then move onto the next. In all, there are about 100 pages devoted to logic games. The last and hardest ones, I struggled to understand even with the explanations.
The next section, Logical Reasoning, is also highly useful. The book is good about helping you learn to keep the focus on what is written, and exclude outside knowledge, extraneous information, or personal opinions. There is a very basic refresher on what formal logic is, and then the different question types are each described and you get several examples with full, detailed explanations. All in all, you get about 120 or so pages of logical reasoning.
The text then moves onto the Reading Comprehension, which I have stated before is my strongest area. The approach is solid, as they give you examples of why each passage is tough. For example, there is a section titled "Blinded by Science" where the authors teach you how to cut through the difficult technical terms to get at the important information and arguments. Likewise, the section on philosophy based passages is helpful. Still, I find that this is a section where you either get it, or you don't. All in all, there are about 90 pages of Reading Comprehension.
This book completely skips the writing sample, as it is not a part of the 180 perfect score.
This book is also well supported by Kaplan's website, with links to additional information on the test itself that is updated regularly. My only gripe is that Kaplan is always trying to sell you something, especially on their site.
I used this book in a few ways. With logic games, I was able to see how the questions were designed, which was helpful. Also, for 2008-2009, it was reasoned that you could spend eight minutes per logic game. I took these super hard questions, and gave myself nine minutes. In this way, I got used to the time constraint, which helped immensely on the test itself.
The logical reasoning section is very helpful in learning the ins and outs of formal logic, but unfortunately lacks in helping you learn to process the questions quickly, as required by the test itself. It does give you a great idea of how questions are actually written, however, which is helpful in spotting traps and tricks on the actual test.
Reading comprehension can also be used to get your timing down, as well as a large, choking slice of humble pie. I was extra confident about this area, and quickly was shown I had a lot to work on.
Overall, I spent between 20 and 30 hours with this book. It was useful as a final measure of improving my chances. It is a great resource, but keep in mind that it should not be your only study aid.
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