Past LSAT Explained/February 2006 LSAT

Summary As always, test forms for the February 2006 LSAT included an experimental (unscored) section. On most test forms, the experimental section appeared in Section 3. Be aware, however, that LSAC often administers a few selected forms with identical scored sections, but with their experimental sections in a different location. Ratings of this administration placed its difficulty on par with or slightly below that of other recent exams. Princeton Review students report being pleased with their overall performance. Games (Analytical Reasoning) - 22 questions Princeton Review students rated the difficulty of this section as on par with or easier than Games sections that have appeared on exams within the past year. In the first game, six interns had to be assigned to the floors of a five-story building. Having more than one intern per floor or no interns on a floor was permitted, which made narrowing down the assignments challenging. The second game concerned five types of birds that each visited from one to three sources of water at a park. Each type had to visit one or two water sources, and no source was visited by more than three types. The third game asked test takers to determine which of five highway bills and two mass transit bills were passed by a legislature. In the last game, a family visited six places in one day, two before noon and four after noon. Overall, test takers rated the second and fourth games as easier and the first and third games as harder. Our students found that their familiarity with the games and experience with making deductions helped them set up the games and work the questions efficiently.

Arguments (Logical Reasoning) - 25 questions in each section Both scored Arguments sections had 25 questions. While most LSATs have one scored Arguments section that is harder than the other, several examinees felt that the imbalance was more pronounced than usual on the February exam. The overall question distribution was similar to that on exams from the past year. Test takers cited careful use of process of elimination (POE) as the most helpful technique. Overall, Princeton Review students reported being pleased with the Arguments sections they saw, and they found the techniques they had learned in class worked well on the exam. They reported that their ability to spot language shifts, recognize common flaws, and diagram conditional statements were the most useful tools for analyzing arguments. Broad experience with past exams was invaluable to test takers, and smart pacing choices were required to get the best possible results.

Reading Comprehension - 28 questions The reading comprehension section offered the usual breakdown of topics뾱cience, law, social science, and arts/humanities. Examinees varied in their assessments of passage difficulty, but many said the law and science passages had the easiest questions. The first passage dealt with Internet regulation and discussed the difficulties of enforcing trademarks and laws internationally. The second passage concerned questions raised by recent measurements of Hubble뭩 Constant. The third passage considered the social significance of popularization of the cakewalk dance. The fourth passage examined issues surrounding the rise of groupthink in cohesive organizations. Overall, this section demanded the skills of mapping the passage well, paraphrasing its contents, searching for specific evidence in support of answers, and eliminating choices judiciously.