Thornburg Scott - Novas Master the LSAT

NOVAS

Master The LSAT

Jeff Kolby

Nova Press

Copyright 2011 by Nova Press
Previous editions: 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002, 2001, 2000, 1999, 1998, 1997, 1996, 1995, 1994
All rights reserved.

Duplication, distribution, or database storage of any part of this work is prohibited without prior written approval from the publisher.

ISBN 1-889057-31-2

All actual LSAT questions printed within this work are used with the permission of Law School Admission Services, Inc., Box 2000, Newtown, PA 18940, the copyright owner. LSAS does not review or endorse specific test preparation materials or services, and inclusion of licensed LSAT questions within this work does not imply the review or endorsement of Law Services. LSAT is a registered trademark of Law Services.

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The LSAT has the reputation of being one of the hardest entrance exams given; it is a reputation well earned. This should not discourage you; rather it should motivate you to take the test seriously and study for it assiduously. Although the LSAT is a difficult test, it is a very learnable test.

This is not to say that the LSAT is beatable. There is no bag of tricks that will show you how to master it overnight. You probably have already realized this. Some books, nevertheless, offer inside stuff or tricks which they claim will enable you to beat the test. These include declaring that answer-choices B, C, or D are more likely to be correct than choices A or E. This tactic, like most of its type, does not work. It is offered to give the student the feeling that he or she is getting the scoop on the test.

The LSAT cannot be beaten. But it can be masteredthrough hard work,analytical thought, and training yourself to think like a test writer.

This book will introduce you to numerous analytic techniques that will help you immensely, not only on the LSAT but in law school as well. For this reason, studying for the LSAT can be a rewarding and satisfying experience.

Although the quick-fix method is not offered in this book, about 15% of the material is dedicated to studying how the questions are constructed. Knowing how the problems are written and how the test writers think will give you useful insight into the problems and make them less mysterious. Moreover, familiarity with the LSATs structure will help reduce your anxiety. The more you know about this unusual test, the less anxious you will be the day you take it.

The LSAT is not easynor is this book. To improve your LSAT score, you must be willing to work; if you study hard and master the techniques in this book, your score will improvesignificantly.

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The LSAT is an aptitude test. Like all aptitude tests, it must choose a medium in which to measure intellectual ability. The LSAT has chosen logic. Other tests, such as the SAT, use mathematics and English.

OK, the LSAT is an aptitude test. The question isdoes it measure aptitude for law school? Now if you think analytically and like to fiddle with crossword or logic puzzles, then you will probably warm up to the LSAT. On the other hand, if you think intuitively and synthetically, then you will probably find the medium (Logic) less palatable. Whether the ability to determine the possible arrangements of people around a circular table is an important skill for a lawyer is debatable. Nonetheless, the Law School Admission Council has chosen this type of question to test your aptitude for law school, so you must master their solution.

No test can measure all aspects of intelligence. Thus any admission test, no matter how well written, is inherently inadequate. Nevertheless, some form of admission testing is necessary. It would be unfair to base acceptance to law school solely on grades; they can be misleading. For instance, would it be fair to admit a student with an A average earned in easy classes over a student with a B average earned in difficult classes? A schools reputation is too broad a measure to use as admission criteria: many students seek out easy classes and generous instructors, in hopes of inflating their GPA. Furthermore, a system that would monitor the academic standards of every class would be cost prohibitive and stifling. So until a better system is proposed, the admission test is here to stay.

The LSAT is a three-hour-and-thirty minute test. Only two hours and twenty minutes of the test count toward your scorethe experimental section and the writing sample are not scored. There are five parts to the test.

The order of the format is not fixed: the sections can occur in any orderexcept for the writing sample, which is always last.

The LSAT is a standardized test. Each time it is offered, the test has, as close as possible, the same level of difficulty as every previous test. Maintaining this consistency is very difficulthence the experimental section. The effectiveness of each question must be assessed before it can be used on the LSAT. A problem that one person finds easy another person may find hard, and vice versa. The experimental section measures the relative difficulty of potential questions; if responses to a question do not perform to strict specifications, the question is rejected.

The experimental section can be a game section, an argument section, or a reading comprehension section. You wont know which section is experimental. You will know which type of section it is, though, since there will be an extra one of that type.

Because the bugs have not been worked out of the experimental section, this portion of the test is often more difficult and confusing than the other parts.

This brings up an ethical issue: How many students have run into the experimental section early in the test and have been confused and discouraged by it? Crestfallen by having done poorly on, say, the firstthough experimentalsection, they lose confidence and perform below their ability on the rest of the test.

Knowing that the experimental section can be disproportionately difficult, if you do poorly on a particular section you can take some solace in the hope that it may have been the experimental section. In other words, do not allow one difficult section to discourage your performance on the rest of the test.