LSAT Answers: Unauthorized, Unofficial & Unsurpassed Explanations this question feed

asked by sumbuddy on November 6, 2006 3:19 PM
When you read the Amazon reviews for LSAT prep books, you will see that many make the same recommendation. They recommend that you buy real LSAT tests-specifically "10 More Actual Official LSAT PrepTests."

Unfortunately, there is a dilemma if you use real LSATs. As all the reviewers will caution you, "10 More Actual Official LSAT PrepTests" contains NO explanations for why the correct answers are correct and why the wrong answers are wrong. So, if the answer key says (C) is correct, and you don't understand why, then expect to be very frustrated. Also, the "10 More" book gives no advice for how to solve the problems, how to diagram the games, how to eliminate wrong answers, or how to use simple strategies and shortcuts to find the correct answers.

"LSAT Answers" solves this problem. It explains all 1010 question in "10 More Actual Official LSAT PrepTests." It has detailed analysis and contains the vital strategies, techniques, tricks, and tips you need to achieve an excellent score. It reveals the testing patterns that are repeated year after year.

Use LSAT Answers and learn how to:

Analytical Reasoning Puzzle Games -
Choose and execute the correct diagram (hint, there are only four common diagrams).
Skip the diagramming step for many questions. You will save time, yet still answer them correctly 100% of the time.
Significantly and quickly improve your score in the puzzle games.

Logical Reasoning -
Find the correct answer, faster, by identifying the key issues.
Avoid the "red-flag words" that fool most test takers.
Master the three question types that account for 65% of your logical reasoning score.

Reading Comprehension -
Read for the only three issues that are tested.
Maximize your efficiency if you are a slow reader.

Thousands of Get Prepped classroom students have used "LSAT Answers" to raise their scores. Now you can obtain the same time-tested strategies and techniques for the price of this book.

If you buy only two LSAT prep books, buy "LSAT Answers" and "10 More Actual Official LSAT PrepTests."


Reviews

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This book could be a lot stronger. The answers are not visually appealing, the games are laid out in ridiculous ways, there are numerous typos, the authors resort to explanations that amount to "just because", and I have found reasoning flaws in some of their explanations of why an answer is correct.

You might be wasting money on the book, but there isn't another option out there. GetPrepped's explanations in this book are of the same caliber as what I've seen of Kaplan and possibly Princeton Review. The explanations are also surpassed by GetPrepped's next attempt at explanations: 'LSAT Explained: Unofficial Explanations for "The Next 10 LSAT PrepTests"'

If you get this book you'll want to try to figure out why you got a question wrong before you turn towards "Answers" for explanations; even then the explanations may not be completely helpful. Personally, I wouldn't want my understanding of the LSAT or the individual questions to hinge on this books but it is a mediocre supplement for thinking in greater depth and getting another perspective on the questions.
reviewed by pits on November 9, 2006 8:49 AM

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This book is pretty helpful in terms of discovering what you did wrong - unless it's in the games section. The diagrams that this book creates are unrealistic in my opinion because they take up too much space and also they are difficult to follow. They look like something done in a word processor, so they aren't aesthetically pleasing, but also, more importantly, they're not great at organizing lots of information. There are crazy lines and arrows all over the place that are supposed to show flow of logic, but I don't see it. There are just too many and it's difficult to discertain which arrow came first.

Princeton Review did a good job explaining games and how to diagram. I wish they made an answers book. Because then I would understand what I did wrong.

But this book gets 3 stars nonetheless because it was helpful for the other sections.
reviewed by onthemic on November 24, 2006 3:51 PM

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Because there aren't comparable books out there with explanations for every test question in every released LSAT Preptest included in "10 More Actual, Official LSAT Preptests," I would still consider buying this book for lack of a better option. However, calling the explanations "Unsurpassed" is reaching quite a bit.

The reasoning given for why wrong answers are wrong is often not helpful, and sometimes even incorrect. The book occasionally makes a correct answer sound like it should have been chosen as the best selection among poor choices, but if someone understands the actual logical basis behind a correct answer, then the correct answer is clearly the only choice that would satisfy a question.

For example, the book has a habit of dismissing incorrect answers with the terribly unhelpful explanation, "So what?" That is not a paraphrase; the book will actually analyze an incorrect answer choice with the words, "So what?"

Now, if someone picked that answer choice, and needed help understanding why it was wrong, "So what?" would not even begin to help him or her. "So what?" is not a sufficient explanation because, if it were that obvious, no one would have ever been tempted to choose an incorrect answer choice in the first place!

Regarding the inaccurate reasoning given for eliminating wrong answer choices and selecting the right one, an example wouldn't be very clear here because it would be totally out of context for someone who didn't have the Preptest questions in front of him or her to examine. However, consider looking through the book at a bookstore after taking a Preptest, and carefully reading the explanations that "LSAT Answers" provides for why any of your correct answers are correct. You won't have to read many before you'll find one that is really nothing but fluff.

As I said, because it suffers from a lack of competition, the book still might be worth buying. But don't make it your only source of reference because there are better explanatory texts out there, even if they don't cover all of the questions from all of the Preptests in one of the 10-Preptest volumes.
reviewed by blueoasis on November 25, 2006 11:54 PM

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If you are taking LSAT tests 19-28 and are able to figure out why your incorrect answers are wrong then do not waste your money on this book. I immediately purchased this book when I bought tests 19-28 assuming that I would need the book to improve my performance. The book has turned out to be unnecessary. Of the dozen or so old LSATs I have taken I have yet to find an incorrect answer that didn't become apparent within a minute or so of reflection. When I initially consulted this book for help in understanding my mistakes I was very disappointed with the superficial reasoning and, in some cases, by the text's failure to actually explain the reasoning behind some of the answers. I gleaned some useful tips (ie, save parallel reasoning questions for the end of the section, etc.) but otherwise it was a wasted thirty bucks. If you understand your mistakes save yourself the cash.
reviewed by jan1975 on November 28, 2006 12:37 PM

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This is a helpful guide to figuring out those troublesome questions in 10 More Actual, Official LSATs. It's great because we all get stuck on at least a few questions that no matter how hard you try, you just can't seem to figure them out on your own. This is where this book comes in handy. I took the test in 10 More, scored it and marked the answers I got wrong. Then I went back and tried to figure out for myself what I did wrong. If I got stuck, and just couldn't figure it out on my own, I went to LSAT Answers to help me figure out my mistake. It was wonderful. I also skimmed over the explanations for the answers I got correct, just to make sure that my reasoning was correct. It has really helped me see where I'm going wrong and right. For the price, this is a book you can't afford to miss if you are self-preparing for the LSAT.
reviewed by teacher on November 29, 2006 6:22 PM

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