Although the LSAT is a standardized test, it is constantly changing. Major changes are rare. Since the introduction of the current LSAT format in the early 1990s, the only significant structural change has been the introduction of the comparative reading questions in 2007. But throughout its history, many minor changes and innovations have been introduced that can often have a significant impact on an individual’s score.
One such change I have observed over the past two years is the reintroduction of logic game types that have not shown up on disclosed tests for many years.
For the 20 disclosed tests before the June 2014 test, the Law School Admission Council has been very consistent with its use of its major game types. The June 2014 exam, however, contained the now notorious “Summit Company” game, an example of a game type that appeared in the early- to mid-1990s but had only shown up one other time in the 20 years since.
[Apply these techniques for excelling at LSAT logic games.]
Three of the past six disclosed tests — June 2014, June 2015 and December 2015 — have contained a game that has not been seen in many years — or ever. This is a trend worth watching, and I now instruct my clients at Stratus Prep to be prepared to see a game that is very different from the games that are prevalent in the more recent tests. In this week’s post, I’ll discuss three key strategies to employ.
— Don’t significantly change your preparation: Although these games appear to be coming back into favor, so far only one in every two tests has contained a rare game.
The most common game types continue to be common. For example, the most common game type, which I call one-dimensional ordering (sometimes also referred to as sequencing), constitutes over 40 percent of all disclosed logic games over the past nine years.
Other common game types, while not as common as one-dimensional ordering games, continue to show up with regularity.
Because of the continued prevalence of the common game types and the infrequency of the new game types, you should continue to focus your preparation on the common game types. Although it is worthwhile to familiarize yourself with the rare games from June 2014, June 2015 and December 2015, it is better to spend additional time getting extremely comfortable with one-dimensional ordering games than it is to master the three recent rare games.
Another way to gain familiarity with the rare games is to take tests from the early- to mid-1990s, when such games were more common.
[Understand the setup and rules for logic games on the LSAT.]
— Tackle the rare game last: When you encounter the games section on your real LSAT, spend a few seconds quickly skimming each game to identify any rare games. Then, go back to the common games and complete them before moving on to the rare game.
This strategy ensures that you are dealing with what are likely to be the easier games first, where you’ll likely be able to answer questions more quickly and accurately. Remember, you don’t get bonus points on the LSAT for answering hard questions, and time is of the essence.
In June 2014 and June 2015, the rare game was the last game of the section, but in June 2015, the rare game was the third game. So, those who took the December 2015 test and did the games in order were likely to have had very little time to answer the more common fourth game.
[Identify three types of LSAT logic games.]
— Focus on organizing the information: The June 2014 and June 2015 rare games were games that had some precedent. Similar games can be found in the February 1994, June 1994, October 1994 and September 1995 LSATs, which are all publicly available. The rare game on the December 2015 test, however, is unlike any other game on a disclosed test.
Even when you have seen a similar game before, you will likely not have a clear sense of how to create a complete setup for the game. Your goal should be to quickly come up with a way to organize the information given. Do not attempt to comprehensively symbolize each rule or put together a complete base picture as you would for other games.
Do you have questions about preparing for the LSAT? You can reach me at lawadmissionslowdown@usnew.com.
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Follow These Strategies for Tackling Rare LSAT Logic Games originally appeared on usnews.com
