Deconstructing the LSAT: Logic Games
One
of the hurdles faced by LSAT
test takers is Analytical Reasoning, more commonly known as Logic Games
. These questions are designed to test how rules create systems of
order and limit possible outcomes.
Success
on Logic Games depends on paying attention to detail and maintaining awareness
of multiple facts simultaneously. You need to turn the game's information to
your advantage by organizing your work and identifying key deductions.
Pacing
and section management are of critical importance on this section, and time is
your most precious resource. One of the benefits of the LSAT remaining a
pencil-and-paper test is that you can look ahead and prioritize—almost every
Logic section has one easy game, two games of medium difficulty, and one that’s
very hard.
This
chart shows the Logic Games section results from Prep Test 40. The bars
indicate the percent of people who answered each question incorrectly.
Questions vary in difficulty from those missed by fewer than 10% to those
missed by almost 70% of test takers. The dotted lines show which questions were
associated with each game.
What
may surprise you is the variation in difficulty among the games. For example,
compare Game 3 to Game 4: Every question on the former was harder than any
question on the latter.
With
experience
, it is possible to learn
how to spot the easy game upfront. Not only will it serve as a warm-up and give
you confidence as you proceed to the more difficult questions, but you also
won’t labor too long on the hard ones and risk running out of time. If you
leave the easy questions for the end but can’t finish the section in the time
allotted, you’ve missed out on precious (and relatively easily-earned)
points—Logic Games account for almost 25% of your total score.
Want to try some Logic Game questions? Take the LSAT Strategy Sessions
for tips on how to crack these kinds of problems and
score higher on the LSAT.
|
63
|
Percentage
of all law school applicants who actually gain admission to law school1
|
|
93
|
Percentage
of Kaplan LSAT students who do so2
|
|
10
|
Number
of Flawed Argument questions on the June 2007 LSAT3
|
|
1:5
|
Ratio
of Flawed Argument questions to all Logical Reasoning questions on that exam3
|
|
66
|
Percentage
of law school admissions officers who report that LSAT score is the most
important factor in their decisions4
|
|
25
|
Number
of the 42 U.S. presidents who were also lawyers5
|
|
42
|
Percentage
of respondents to a survey of February 2008 LSAT students who said they would
definitely or probably consider running for political office2
|
|
46
|
Percentage
of the 195 accredited US law schools that offer courses in animal law6
|
|
1,143,358
|
Number
of active and resident US attorneys7
|
|
1
|
Minimum
number of students who reported listening to Europe’s “The Final Countdown”
as their pre-LSAT “warm-up” music2
|
Sources:
1 LSAC [numbers based
on 2006 admissions cycle]
2 Kaplan student survey, 2007
3 Kaplan internal analysis, 2008
4 Kaplan law school admissions officer survey, 2007
5 Potus.com
6 Harper’s Index,
January 2008
7 ABA: National Lawyer
Population by State
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of the Law School Admission Council, Inc.
†Conditions and restrictions apply. For
complete guarantee eligibility requirements, visit kaptest.com/hsg.
