Contents
Overview
High scores on the LSAT can open doors to the world’s most prestigious law schools. Preparation is key, so we’ve listed the best LSAT Prep Books and Study Guides for test year 2020!
The LSAT is a huge part of the law school admissions process in the US and Canada. It assesses a student’s ability to reason logically, and write persuasively, which are critical skills in both law school and actual practice. There is a huge range of material tested via a wide variety of question types.
With so much covered by the test, a quality study guide can make or break you. Having an organized approach and a good understanding of the exam format will give you a leg up on the competition. To that end, we strongly recommend picking up one of the guides on our detailed list below.
If you just can’t wait, here’s our short list:
Best LSAT Prep Books
The LSAT has several strong contenders for the best brep books and study guides, which we’ve ranked for you above. A quality prep book can prepare you for what to expect on test day. Don’t go into the exam blind! At minimum, sit through one of the practice exams included with each book. Familiarity with the types of questions you’ll be asked can make a huge difference.
Continue on for detailed information on each book on our list of top LSAT prep guides below!
The LSAT Trainer
Pros: Logical, simple presentation of materials
Cons: Narrow focus can leave people feeling like details are lacking in places
Best For: Self study
Our Rating: 5 / 5
The LSAT Trainer by Mike Kim is our number one recommendation for LSAT prep book, and shoud be the first one you consider. It maintains a sharp focus on the material you’ll need to know inside and out, without all the fluff. It has hundreds of practice questions that reflect the actual difficulty you’ll find on the real test.
Key features include:
- Over 200 official LSAT questions and real-time solutions
- Over 30 original and unique drills designed to help develop LSAT-specific skills and habits
- Access to a variety of free study schedules, notebook organizers, and much more
- Simple and battle-tested strategies for every type of question and logic game
The book does a phenomenal job of teaching students how to think about the questions, rather than just how to answer them. It’s perfect for self-study, and can serve in place of a more expensive tutor or organized study class. It keeps things simple, and presents logic games in a way you may not have seen elsewhere. All in all, this is the single best resource around.
LSAT Prep Plus
Pros: Access to additional online resources
Cons: Lack of clarity in some spots.
Our Rating: 4.5 / 5
LSAT Prep Plus comes from Kaplan, a name you’ll likely be familiar with. They offer instructor led study for the LSAT and a number of other exams, but they also produce study guides that are generally high quality. While it didn’t make our top pick, the Kaplan guide is definitely worth your consideration.
Some of the content you’ll find inside:
- Online access to an official full-length exam from LSAC
- Study plans will help you make the most of your practice time
- Hundreds of real LSAT questions with detailed explanations
- Interactive online instructor-led workshops for expert review
If you plan to take the Kaplan course, they will provide study guides for you. If you’re planning on self study, or just want to round out your arsenal of available review books, you should certainly give this a hard look.
Digital LAST Bible Workbook Trilogy
Pros: Excellent for those who aren't familiar with the exam format and question types
Cons: Won't usually work as your only prep resource
Our Rating: 4.5 / 5
Digital LAST Bible Workbook Trilogy isn’t intended as a stand-alone resource, but rather as a workbook set to help reinforce concepts through repeated drills. You don’t have to have read the PowerScore Bible to take advantage of these, but it does help. We include them on the list in hopes you’ll consider them along side one of our top 2 picks above (or the PowerScore Bible).
Features:
- Opportunity to emulate actual testing conditions
- Complete explanations and analysis of each game, stimulus, & passage
- Incredibly detailed
The book provides a comprehensive subject review for every section of the exam, which can be a huge boon for making the most of your time. Having realistic hands-on experience with the actual look and feel of the test is one of the most important ways to increase your score and do well overall!
The LSAT Tutor
Pros: Tons of relevant practice questions.
Cons: Some answer explanations are vague or incorrect.
Our Rating: 4.5 / 5
The LSAT Tutor from Apex Test Prep rounds out our list! Odds are good you’ve never heard of Apex, but this guide book is actually quite good. It’s packed full of test tips, practice questions, and detailed answer explanations to help you improve your scores.
The full list of features includes:
- Test out your skills and evaluate your readiness with an officially-licensed LSAT Practice Test
- Includes best practice when taking exams to reduce test anxiety and help you pass with confidence
- Comprehensive coverage of all possible test topics.
There’s really no shortage of LSAT Prep Books out there, but each one of the books on our list is perfectly suited to being either your only resource, or just 1 of many. Having a good idea of what to expect on the test is super important to success, and this book will make sure you show up ready on test day!
LSAT Details
The LSAT is designed to assess skills that are integral to success in law school. Namely:
- Reading Comprehension
- Analytical Reasoning
- Logical Reasoning
- Persuasive Writing
It’s the only admissions test universally accepted at ABA accredited law schools.
The test is given in two parts, one being multiple choice for the reading and reasoning sections, and the other consisting of a written essay for the persuasive writing section.
LSAT Topics
Reading Comprehension
Reading is obviously a critical skill for any student considering Law School. Both school and the actual practice of law requires extensive reading and understanding of dense texts, and the ability to reason and form arguments about them.
This section of the exam contains 4 sets of questions, each of which includes a selection of text passages followed by 5-8 questions.
Analytical Reasoning
Questions in this section are designed to force you to analyze a group of facts and determine what must be true. You’ll demonstrate skills like:
- Reasoning with conditional statements
- Making inferences based on facts
- Recognizing logically equivalent statements
- Comprehension of relationships between objects of the question
Logical Reasoning
As a law student and practitioner, you’ll be required to use logic to create and refute arguments regularly. Questions in this section are designed to assess your ability to evaluate arguments expressed through natural language. Each question will require you to read a short text and answer questions about it. Skills tested include:
- Analogy
- Finding logical flaws in arguments
- Drawing supportable conclusions
- Identifying assumptions made by an argument
Exam Scoring
LSAT Scores are given on a scale ranging from 120 to 180. There’s no penalty for wrong answers (so don’t leave any blank), and each question is weighted the same. You’ll receive your score by email about 3 weeks after your exam date, and along with it, you’ll get the current score, results of any previous tests, an average score, and your percentile rank.
Exam Registration
You can register for the LSAT online or by phone. You’ll need to setup an LSAC.org account for online registration. They recommend if you’re calling that you do so later in the week (Monday is their busiest day).
LSAT Frequently Asked Questions
How many hours a week should you study for the LSAT?
Most students should spend around 200-300 hours preparing for the LSAT. The best plan is consistent chunks of 2-3+ hours of study every day.
What books should I read for the LSAT?
There aren’t any mandatory books, and the truth is there are plenty of options that will work well. Our favorites are contained in this guide above, and we recommend going through as many as your time and budget will allow.
Can you self study for the LSAT?
Self study for the LSAT is definitely possible. There are many great study guides (our favorites can be found in this guide), as well as online videos at places like Khan Academy and others.
What’s an ideal LSAT score?
180 is a perfect score, with 150 being about average. If you’re looking for top-tier law school acceptance, you should be shooting for 160 or higher.
Wrapping Up
Doing well on the LSAT can open up a pathway to prestigious schools and other opportunities critical to your future. With a strong understanding of the topics and questions you should expect to face, you’re best positioned to do well.
We’ve rounded up some of the best LSAT prep materials out there, which can help you succeed.
Our pick for best LSAT prep book is The LSAT Trainer. It’s narrowly focused, and has been used by thousands of self-study students to prepare and score well.
Whatever your circumstances, supplemental study and review prep materials are a key part of ensuring success on the exam. We’ve listed some of the best LSAT prep resources available. Good luck!