Order of practice tests

[PowerSteve]

My plan is to take two practice tests per week until the June LSAT. I was planning to go basically in order from the oldest exams to the newest exams (with the exception that I would finish the most recent available exam by May 27th and then go back to do the June '09 and December '10 exams. My PowerScore instructor, Nikki, suggested giving myself some time to study in detail any errors I may have made on the most recent exams since they are likely to be the most similar to the June LSAT).

I just completed the September '95 exam and when I went to put my answers in via the PowerScore website, I noticed that the exams were not ordered chronologically, and I was wondering if there was any reason for that (they were ordered chronologically in the section in which you print the exams out - except for the June '09 and December '10 exams which for some reason are broken up by section).

A side concern: the logic games section seems to be the biggest variable when I do my practice exams. Some games I get quickly, others I do not. I figure that by just doing a ton of them I will start to get more comfortable and capable of completing most of them quickly. I think it would probably be very helpful, however, if I knew what the appropriate set-up would be for the games from the practice tests that I do. Outside of the tests that were done in the class, there isn't anywhere the other set-ups are located on this site that I'm not aware of, are there?

I'm also considering doing the logic games problem sets. Of course my previous question about the set-ups also applies to these problem sets. Also, my intuition is that the second problem set is the one that I should focus on since it contains games from the more recent exams. I am under the impression that none of the games in that problem set are from any of the practice exams available on this website. Please correct me if my intuition or impression are mistaken. Thanks, and sorry for the long post.

[Nikki Siclunov]

Hey PowerSteve,

As your instructor, let me briefly answer your questions, but feel free to follow up with me after class.

The order of exams from the oldest to the newest makes sense, although quite frankly I don't believe it makes any difference. The LSAT is a standardized exam. Although the test does change sightly over time, that happens over the course of many years - the change is tectonic, if you will. So whether you take the December 2008 before December 2011 or the other way around makes no difference. The key is to review the tests as thoroughly as possible, as mentioned in class.

On the Student Center, all the practice tests are in chronological order (Sept. 1995 - December 2011) with the exception of June 2009 and December 2010. We wanted to give students the option of doing individual sections from these two tests, or using their sections to add as "experimental" fifth sections to the practice tests they are taking. You can, of course, take them as full-length practice tests as well.

Logic games are indeed a concern for most people, but considering we haven't even gotten to Lesson 3 yet (Linear Games), I wouldn't worry too much about the games from the practice tests. Focus on your homework for now and thoroughly review the set-ups for each game in it (the set-ups are at the end of each homework). We will obviously go over the set-ups for the in-class proctored tests. If you have any questions about the rest of the practice tests, feel free to use this forum or the student hotline.

And yes, you are correct in that none of the logic games problem sets include games from the practice tests. When creating your homework or any additional supplemental training materials, we make sure not to use questions from the practice tests that you can score on-line.

See you in class,

Nikki

[PowerSteve]

Thanks for the prompt reply Nikki. Also, sorry for the confusion - I actually took the course with you in February, though I am taking the June LSAT. So, I have actually finished the entire course and during the month of March reviewed the course material. I am now strictly focusing on doing old exams and going over them. I suppose the best thing to do then is post concerns about particular logic games on this forum.

From the September '95 games section I had particular difficulty with number 6 as well as the entire last game - I couldn't figure out an effecient way of going through the questions in that game. That game, though, seems to be much different than most of the ones I'm used to.

Thanks,
Steve

[PowerSteve]

I'm sorry - I wrote my last post from work (without my September '95 exam in front of me). The question from the Logic Games section that I had the biggest problem with was number 18 (not number six). Again, I also had a great deal of difficulty with the entire fourth game. I'd appreciate any tips on how to think about #18 (I probably am missing a key inference) or how to go about the fourth game.

[Nikki Siclunov]

Steve,

As far as Q. 18 is concerned, you simply need to suspend one of the rules in the game. Four of the answer choices could be an accurate list of the styles of houses 2, 4, 6, and 8. The correct answer choice will violate one of the remaining rules in the game. Answer choice (A) violates the rule requiring every ranch house to have at least one Tudor house adjacent to it (R --> TR or RT). Therefore, (A) is the correct answer choice.

As far as Game 4 is concerned, I wouldn't worry too much about it - this is a pattern game (a type virtually extinct from modern tests). We never covered Pattern Games in class, although you can see our general approach by watching the Pattern Games Virtual Modules I and II in Lesson 7. If you still have questions after reviewing the pattern games in that module, let me know.

Good luck!