Welcome to the LSAT Blog and Library of Best LSAT Blog Posts

My name is John Richardson. I live in Toronto, Canada. I am a lawyer and have been involved in Toronto LSAT preparation courses for many years (sometimes as a business and sometimes as a hobby). LSAT Canada is the same as the LSAT in most of the rest of the world. If you are looking for Toronto LSAT tutoring Toronto or Toronto LSAT prep courses please contact me.

Upcoming Toronto LSAT Course Dates:

February 11, 2012 LSAT

January 21 – February 5 – Early Bird Logic Games Workshop – January 7/12

June 11, 2012 LSAT

April 22 – June 9

April 29 – June 9

May 5 – June 9

You have a lot at stake in both improving your LSAT score and maximizing your LSAT test score. You need to both:

Know what to do and be able to do what you know. You will have to train for the LSAT. Your training must include taking a large number of LSAT practice tests. (Obviously you must use actual LSAT prep tests for this purpose).

LSAT preparation has evolved over the years. In many ways, it is almost “open source”. The rise of social media sites (Facebook, Myspace, discussion boards, internet LSAT study groups, etc.),  has made LSAT preparation very much a group activity. There  is no one company, tutor or approach that is the right way to prepare for the LSAT. All courses and tutors have their strengths and weaknesses and make helpful contributions to  LSAT preparation and law admissions. My goal is for  this site to feature  the contributions  of LSAT teachers who are willing to share particularly helpful thoughts.

I originally  created this site because of the the number of questions I received about “the best LSAT prep books, etc). I will post my thoughts on LSAT preparation. I will sometimes reference other sites. I also maintain a library of the best  LSAT blog posts.

Although the number of  LSAT takers is declining in North America, LSAT is expanding internationally.  The LSAT has always been used for applicants to law schools in Canada. In fact,  LSAT Canada is a big  headache in the lives of Canadian pre-law students.  It is now used for certain law schools in Australia and New Zealand. A special version – LSAT India – has been created.

Please make sure that you have a look at all the pages and links on this site. If you have a site that you would like to be added to the links (no guarantee) please email me.

Also, if you have a specific question that you would like me to try to answer (LSAT or otherwise), either post a comment here or send me an email:

prelawforum at gmail dot com

Finally, I would like to invite LSAT teachers, LSAT test takers or anybody else with an interest (can’t imagine who that might be) to contribute to this blog. You can do this in two ways:

1. By posting a comment on specific pages;

2. By suggesting additional links;

3. By actually writing “guest posts”

All are welcome and encouraged!

John Richardson

LSAT India, Australia, New Zealand and Asia

The LSAT Goes International

“Dan Bernstine, president of the LSAC, said: “The Law School Admission Test has been used very successfully in the US and Canada for over 60 years. Interest in using the test for law school admission has spread to Australia, Japan, Korea, China, and countries in Eastern Europe. We are very excited about the opportunity to adapt this excellent tool in a way that will be useful for assessing the critical thinking skills of applicants to law programs in India.”

http://www.indiaprwire.com/pressrelease/education/2009030921134.htm

The Necessity of LSAT Growth  – Declining  Revenues and A Franchise Under Attack!

The simple fact is that LSAT is a business. The conventional view about business is that “it is either growing or dying.” It is clear that LSAT revenues are under attack  in North America. The reasons include:

- a major decline in the number  of applicants to law school. A law degree  is no longer seen as an automatic ticket to the “middle class”. Furthermore, there is the question of graduating with too much law school debt

- decline in the number  of LSAT test takers as a result of fewer applicants to law school

- the ABA is reconsidering the question of whether to require “a valid and reliable admissions test” (not that the requirement of a test is NOT the same as a requirement of  the LSAT). In other words,  it is possible  that the LSAT will not be required for  law admissions.

- Even if a “valid and reliable admission test” continues to be required, there may be substitutes for the LSAT. After all,  the GRE has successfully targeted  the GMAT market. Many applicants  to MBA programs  now consider the GMAT vs. GRE question. The question of using the GRE as an alternative to the LSAT should be considered by law schools who want to  be more applicant friendly. There are question formats that both have and do overlap with the LSAT question formats. Foir example LSAT Logic Games and the GRE Analytical section overlapped  during the 1990s. LSAT Reading Comprehension is similar  to  GRE Reading Comprehension questions.

LSAT Tutors – How To Choose Them – How To Use Them

This is an excerpt from an article about Toronto  LSAT Tutoring.

LSAT Tutor(s) and LSAT Tutoring

Most  people associate  with tutoring with two ideas.

First, that by using a tutor they will have a one-on-one (or private) session. This may or may not be true. Some tutoring sessions operate  with small groups. We  have made  some effort to organize “small group” tutoring sessions that  focus on specific LSAT question types. Many LSAT test takers actually benefit from  having another student in the discussion. In general, “LSAT tutoring” will be in an environment with fewer students that you will find in “Live LSAT Preparation Courses”.

Why Reading Comprehension is Underemphasized in LSAT Prep, and What You Can Do about It

Guest Post by Kyle Pasewark of Advise In Solutions

A few weeks ago, I spoke with John Richardson, who teaches LSAT prep in Toronto, about doing a blog post for our sites on why most LSAT prep courses—and their marketing material—tend to underemphasize reading comprehension.

Things have been a little busy lately, but sometimes delay is a good thing.  In this case, it allowed me to have lunch with Elise Jaffe, a former law firm colleague who is now the pre-law advisor at Hunter College in New York City.  Elise and John are always insightful and, while this post is my view, it owes a lot to those conversations.

There are several reasons why reading comp seems to be the forgotten stepchild in LSAT prep courses and marketing.  Some of them are merely commercial; others are inherent in the relatively short-term nature of LSAT prep, which is to say that most programs don’t address reading comprehension very well because—within the structure of most LSAT prep programs—it’s harder to address.  In combination with the limited objectives of most LSAT programs, the result is that reading comprehension feels like an afterthought.

To read the complete article click here.

Thoughts on LSAT Preparation – Let’s call it the “READ” test

Renaming The LSAT – Let’s call it the “READ” Test

Principle: The best acronyms should be descriptive acronyms!

What does the acronym “LSAT” stand for?

LSAT is an acronym that stands for “Law School Admission Test”.

The LSAT is:

- a four letter word;
- a barrier between you and the law school of your choice (or perhaps any law  school)
- a standardized test (every test taker gets the same questions);
- a multiple choice test (rewarding answer identification first and understanding second);
- a long test;
- a test administered under strict time constraints;
-  an important test

Read the complete  article here

Why Buying LSAT Commercial Guides is Like Throwing Money Away

Why Buying LSAT Commercial Guides is Like Throwing Money Away

By:  Kyle Pasewark, President

–Advise-In Solutions

I’m pleased to contribute to John Richardson’s Best LSAT books and courses blog, which provides a valuable forum for views about the LSAT.  After reading my blog (www.adviseinsolutionsblog.com) and looking at the Advise-In Solutions website (www.advisein.com),  John asked me to say a little about what, if any, LSAT preparation commercial publications and materials are valuable.

I have short answer and a long answer.  The short answer:  none, except the LSAT prep tests available through lsac.org.  Exams, not guides.

Now for the longer answer.  Before I took the LSAT, scoring a perfect 180 on my first and only try, I did what a diligent guy like me does.  I took a diagnostic test (on which I got a middling score).  So, I figured I needed help and bought every commercial guide I could.  I came home confident that these would show me the way to LSAT (and law school) promised land.  Then I opened them and my heart sank.   Each one was more technical and jargon-y that the last.  None of them presented a consistent, pedagogically sound perspective on the LSAT.  At the time, I was a college professor and knew something about how information is communicated effectively.  None of them (except for part of one, which is now outdated) did that, either.  What’s more, they presented far too many possible techniques and approaches, and I knew that, come LSAT exam day, this complexity would not only not help me get my best score, but prevent it.

New Book of 10 LSATs Finally Here – March 1, 2011

When you prepare for the LSAT it is essential to use actual LSAT questions. The individual test books are available for purchase from LSAT. The most economical way to purchase the tests is in books of 10. At the present time LSAT has released:

- 10 Actual LSATs  (Tests 9 – 18)

- 10 More Actual LSATs (Tests 19 – 28)

- The Next 10  Actual LSATs (Tests 29 – 38)

In September 2009, I blogged that LSAT would be releasing a new book of 10 LSATs.

The wait is over – just in time for you to prepare for the June 6, 2011 LSAT. I just receive an email from Amazon announcing that on March 1, 2011, LSAT will  be releasing:

Ten New Actual Official LSAT PrepTests with Comparative Readings

This book will be essential for your LSAT Preparation.

I have just confirmed with Law Services that it will consist of PrepTests 52 – 61. These are the LSAT tests from September 2007 – October 2010.  You may recall that LSAT comparative reading debuted in June 2007. The June 2007 LSAT is available as a free download from Law Services.

 

The LSAT becomes social

I just received notice of this in an email from Grockit – looks like it might be interesting:

GROCKIT LAUNCHES FIRST SOCIAL NETWORK FOR LSAT STUDYING

LSAT Students Now Have Access to Grockit’s Complete, Customizable and Collaborative Online Test Prep Program

SAN FRANCISCO, July 29, 2010 — Grockit (www.grockit.com), a social network for studying that uses collaborative learning and develops adaptive programs for students, announced today the launch of its LSAT test prep program. The program incorporates the most current, licensed LSAT questions available with collaborative online learning methodology and peer-to-peer interaction to provide the most comprehensive and customizable test prep program available to students. Students have the opportunity to study alone or receive guidance from Grockit’s expert instructors.

Read more about LSAT social.

The LSAT and Blind (Visually Impaired) applicants

The LSAT and Blind Students – An Issue of Access and Fairness

Prologue:

http://www.mercurynews.com/bay-area-new … source=rss

Fisher: Blind law school grad can see injustice

”Being blind didn’t keep Stephanie Enyart from graduating from Stanford University. It didn’t keep her from earning a law degree at UCLA. And she’s determined not to let it keep her from practicing law.”

http://www.lawstudents.ca/forums/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=22655

_______________________________________

During the last few years, I have had contact with several law school applicants who are blind. In fact, I have a blind student planning to take my LSAT class this summer. Every time I have this request, I think: surely this cannot be a unique situation. There must be (numerically) many blind students who want to study law. How do they take the LSAT? How do they prepare for the LSAT? How can any law school in its right mind insist that a blind (or is the correct term “visually impaired” person – I am more interested in helping the student than with the politically correct term) student take the LSAT?  Even if one did take the LSAT, how could the score possibly be compared to that of other applicants?

LSAT Logic Games Webinar- Law Services – Lori Davis

I highly recommend that you visit  “discoverlaw.org”. It is either run by or in conjunction with the Law School Admission Council (the people who brought you the LSAT).

On Thursday April 28, 2010, Discoverlaw.org conducted  an  “LSAT Prep Webinar” about how to prepare for the Analytical Reasoning (Logic Games) portion of the LSAT.

It was conducted by Lori Davis, who is a senior test specialist at LSAT. To the best of my knowledge, this is the first time that LSAT has run a seminar dedicated to LSAT preparation. As a long time, LSAT prep class teacher, I was interested to hear what LSAT says about its own test.  I was treated to one hour of  “LSAT on the LSAT”. It was interesting. I made notes and decided to put those notes on my LSAT blog and social media sites. What follows is a summary of the Webinar (both the information given and the my impressions of it) for the benefit of those who were unable to attend. Discoverlaw.org will be running more LSAT prep Webinars.

Logical Reasoning: The Dangers of Over-Categorization

Logical Reasoning: The Dangers of Over-Categorization

Is bucketing logical reasoning questions worth your time?

By John Rood, President of Next Step Test Preparation

One thing that continually amazes me each time I review an LSAT prep book is the huge amount of space spent in categorizing and sub-categorizing question types in logical reasoning. I just flipped through a 2009-edition prep book from one of the big national LSAT prep companies, and it literally had 2 pages devoted to finding assumptions in logical reasoning but over 20 pages explaining each different question type. I can also tell you from experience that categorization is a big part of the curriculum in large LSAT classes.

I think that the big prep companies do this for three reasons.