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Summary: Official LSAT Preptests: 10 Actual by LSAC
Review: It's just another book of exams. It doesn't include the 5th section -- the "variable" section of the exam." Would be 5 stars if they had explanations too. But I guess that would be asking too much, right?
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Summary: Question explanations please!
Review: Just in case you didn't know, I thought I should write a review to say that there are no explanations of the questions. All of the answers are, of course, given, but they aren't explained. So, even if you are convinced that it's (A), and the back of the book says (C), it doesn't tell you why you're wrong. Nevertheless, taking loads of tests is absolutely the best way to prep out there. Basically, those thousand dollar courses are for people who don't have the motivation to buy these books and do it themselves. So, if you want to save money and know you can force yourself to take these practice tests, I highly suggest that you do so.
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Summary: Question explanations please!
Review: Just in case you didn't know, I thought I should write a review to say that there are no explanations of the questions. All of the answers are, of course, given, but they aren't explained. So, even if you are convinced that it's (A), and the back of the book says (C), it doesn't tell you why you're wrong. Nevertheless, taking loads of tests is absolutely the best way to prep out there. Basically, those thousand dollar courses are for people who don't have the motivation to buy these books and do it themselves. So, if you want to save money and know you can force yourself to take these practice tests, I highly suggest that you do so.
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Summary: Consider with "10 Next , Actual, Official LSAT Preptests
Review: LSAC (Law School Admission Council) has three books in its Official LSAT Preptests series. This is the first; it was followed by "10 More Actual, Official LSAT Preptests" and more recently "10 Next Actual, Official LSAT." All three books are fine, and each contains LSATs. However, "10 Next Actual, Official (ISBN: 0942639898) is by default the preferred choice because the tests are newer, reflecting the current content of the test. This is relevant, because it seems to me that the incredibly nasty "games and "logic" sections of the current LSAT are a bit less nasty than those given in 1992-1995, when this book was produced.
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Summary: The real deal
Review: No tips, no hints, just 10 actual tests. The hardest thing about the LSAT is not the questions, but the short amount of time you are given to solve them. By taking these 10 tests under simulated test conditions you can figure out strategies that work for you (as opposed those that work for 3 out of 5 Kaplan students). Where most books only include 3 or 4 tests this one gives you over twice that and the tests are authentic. The price is right and after taking all ten of these you will have no surprises come test day. My final score on the LSAT was right where I expected it to be thanks to this book.
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Summary: Consider other options first
Review: Some of the other reviews for this work are puzzling. The examinations included are by far out of date, despite what the other reviews purport. This book includes tests from 1992 through 1995. Since 1995, however, the LSAT committee HAS SIGNIFICANTLY CHANGED ITS TACTICS. Let me explain.
You'll notice that the tests included here are numbered through 18. The 2004 exams are in the late 40s. Since 1995, the writing committee has undergone significant changes, making a serious change in the language of the tests noticeable. Furthermore, the "logical games" sections of these tests are SIGNIFCANTLY easier than the current games. Simply put, too many people were doing well; the LSAT made the games harder.
"The Next 10 Actual, Official LSAT PrepTests" is the third book that compiles 10 tests for sale. Those, along with the most recent individual tests, are BY FAR the best indicator of the substance of the tests.
If you can purchase this book for an unthinkable bargain, or borrow someone else's, the books DOES have its uses. Importantly, if you've never looked at an LSAT before, it may be useful to take a test or two from these books to familiarize yourself with the structure and the rules, and of course to learn the rules of each section. Then, move on to actual test-preparation with the newer tests. That way, you'll have the familiarity you need to score the tests accurately, but you won't have wasted a recent test or two to do it.
Again, in short, avoid this book generally, but it does present some usefulness. It's simply too old to be very effective.
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Summary: Good practice Guide
Review: The fact that this book combines 10 practice tests into one gives many potential students the bonus of a wide selection and cost-savings. While there were no explanations of answers and walkthroughs, this edition overcomes that by giving the user a larger amount of practice questions and keeps true to the format that people will see on the real LSAT test. It helped me to get my mindset into a focused state and the constant drilling of exam after exam helped to focus me towards doing better in the exam. Some people will say that it would all depend on the way people study, others will swear by Kaplan and the various other private study groups for improved scores. As someone who didn't take Kaplan,($2,000 saved for a $$$ investment), my scores were better than expected. The trick is to take your time, prepare and study the material until you become comfortable in doing it, and then repeat the process.
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Summary: Great Prep--Difficult Tests!!
Review: The tests in this book are much more difficult than the sample tests provided by either Kaplan or Princeton Review. While there are not tips on how to improve you score, taking these as practice tests could dramatically improve your LSAT scores because they more closely model current LSATs. Great tool to use with both Kaplan and Princeton Review test preps!
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Summary: Must have material in preparing for the LSAT
Review: There is no substitute for taking real, timed, practice LSATs. It is simply the best way to prepare for the real thing. My study plan was two part: First, I paid the big bucks for an LSAT class. Second, I studied real tests every day out of this and its companion book. While the class was great, I found that simply studing all of the material on the real test was by far the most useful thing I did (not to mention that it cost a lot less). These books are simply a must have to prepare well and I recomend them to everyone. In my case, they helped me score in the mid 170s.
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Summary: Highly Recommended Book
Review: There's a reason the LSAC charges only $3.00 a test for the ten in this book, while more recent tests are $8.00 a piece. The test has changed in some important ways (in my opinion, it is much easier) from these tests, the most recent of which is nearly ten years old. Using these to practice might lead one unwarranted discouragement because of the easier nature of the more recent tests.Because the most significant changes to the test in recent years have been in the "games" section, this section in this book is probably least valuable. The current tests tend to stick to more basic "sequential" and "assigment" games than the more complicated games of past years. The arguments and reading sections seem to have undergone much less significant revisions, and thus those section in this book are of much greater value. To sum up, then, the so-called sequential and assignement games, and much of the argument and reading sections in this book are quite valuable, but when coupled with the more outdated sections on a "simulated" test might give an inaccurate expectation of results. A far better (albeit more expensive) move is to thoroughly learn the material first (I would recommend "Master the LSAT" by Jeff Kolby) and get the more recent tests from LSAC themselves.
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