My name is Carol and I am addicted… to LSAT logic games.  I secretly love the LSAT logic games.  Call me crazy, but I would be the happiest person if the LSAT exam only had logic games.   I even think they are fun.  Weird, I know.

I am a highly visual person, which is probably why I do not mind and actually enjoy the logic games section.  Drawing diagrams really helps me understand and anticipate different scenarios.  I love plugging in letters into my diagrams and quickly making the necessary connections to answer the questions.  By far my favorite questions are the “if” questions: “if Center 3 recycles glass, then which one of the following kinds of material must Center 2 recycle?”  For these questions, all I have to do is plug in G into my diagram under Center 3 and use the conditions they have given me to figure out the answer.  Unlike the logical reasoning section, I do not have to make any assumptions because everything I need is right there in front of me.

If it were up to me, I’d only take the logic games part of the exam.  However, most ABA law schools would probably throw my addendum of why I only believe in logic games out the window. Unfortunately, I’m stuck with the rest of the exam and the sections I despise the most, logical reasoning and reading comprehension.

The logical reasoning section just overwhelms me.  The arguments don’t overwhelm me; after all, I can be very argumentative at times.  (Sorry, Jose.) This section is overwhelming because there are so many different types of questions.  It makes me feel like a basketball that is being bounced around and thrown across the court.  No two consecutive questions are the same type.  The exam can go from “most seriously weakens the argument” to “strengthens the historian’s argument EXCEPT”.  It’s pretty easy to skip over the “EXCEPT” and choose the choice that “most strengthens” when I have to answer 25 questions in 35 minutes. That’s about 84 seconds per question.  I absolute abhor being rushed and this section just loves pushing that button.

Reading comprehension is probably my weakest section since I have the attention span of a 3 year old!  I know how to read and I comprehend what I read, but I just have so much trouble focusing on the stories.  They are so tedious and unappealing.  My mind loses interest pretty quickly and ends up wandering off into lala land.  I’d actually enjoy this section if they took all of the stories from ESPN.com, but since that will never be the case I need to force myself to love it.

If I want to run this marathon in June, I have about 100 days to prepare.  Although, I have the option to take the exam in October, I really would like to have my score by then so that I can submit my law school applications as soon as the admissions cycle begins.  Most schools have rolling admissions, so I definitely want my application to go in with the first big wave.

Here’s my equipment list for marathon training:

• #2 Pencils.
• A Good Eraser.
• LSAT Prep Books
• Water. My workouts will be intense and I’ll need to stay hydrated.

3 out of the 4 items are pretty easy to find.  I ran an Amazon search for LSAT Books and 771 books show up!  Dismayed, I took a deep breath and refused to panic. I used my search engine skills and searched for LSAT book reviews.

From the reviews I read, a lot of people do not recommend buying the Princeton Review and Kaplan books since these books do not use authentic exam questions from previous tests.  Princeton Review, Kaplan, and most of the other publishers can’t use real LSAT questions unless they pay the Law School Admission Council (LSAC) licensing fees.

These following books seem to be the most recommended by students and tutors:

• The Next 10 Actual, Official LSAT PrepTest (Lsat Series)
• 10 More Actual, Official LSAT PrepTests (Lsat Series)
• The Official LSAT SuperPrep

For students wanting to focus on specific sections, the following books by PowerScore are also highly recommended.  PowerScore uses real exam questions.

• The PowerScore LSAT Logic Games Bible
• LSAT Logical Reasoning Bible: A Comprehensive System for Attacking the Logical Reasoning Section of the LSAT
• The PowerScore LSAT Reading Comprehension Bible

I’ll be starting my training with The Official LSAT SuperPrep and make my way to LSAT Logical Reasoning Bible.  Over the next few days, I’ll be creating a detailed schedule so that I can make sure I’ll finish all 6 books by the June exam.