The Law School Admissions Test (LSAT) has not had a significant format change in 15 years, but the test will soon contain a new passage type called comparative reading, and will revert to offering only one choice for the writing prompt, instead of two. PowerScore Test Preparation offers live courses to help students prepare for the LSAT, and uses proven methods to attack the questions in the LSAT. If properly prepared, students should not fear the new changes to the test.

These new changes will officially be in effect for the June 2007 administration of the LSAT. The changes to the LSAT are being made as a result of thorough research done by the LSAC staff, and consultations with the LSAC Test Development and Research Committee.

The exam will now contain a section of reading comprehension, called comparative reading, as one of the four sets in the LSAT reading comprehension section. Comparative reading questions are similar to traditional reading questions, but instead of being one long passage, the questions are based on two short passages. The two short passages are the same total length as the longer reading passages, so the amount of reading will remain unchanged. An advantage to test-takers is that this may help break up the monotony of the series of long passages contained within the current reading comprehension section.

According to Steve Stein, PowerScore LSAT Instructor and Course Developer, "PowerScore's multi-faceted approach to Reading Comprehension will certainly be relevant to the new LSAT passages, which will be designed to test both topical understanding and recognition of shifts in tone and structure. In addition, the new variant will likely come as a welcome change for students, many of whom have a preference for shorter passages."

In addition to the reading comprehension change, test takers will now be assigned only one type of writing prompt, a decision prompt, rather than randomly being assigned one of two kinds of writing prompts, an argument prompt and a decision prompt. Each Decision Prompt Writing Sample topic follows the same format: a scenario involving a choice between two options is introduced, two criteria to be considered in making the decision are stated, and then the two possible courses of action are detailed.

In response to the recent announcement of changes to the LSAT, David Killoran, founder and CEO of PowerScore Test Preparation stated, "Test-takers should not be overly concerned by these changes. They should neither delay taking the LSAT nor rush to take the LSAT early. As far as writing sample changes, the LSAT is simply returning to the format that they used up until two years ago. Because the writing sample is unscored, this change is insignificant. The reading comprehension change is more important, but it should not worry students. There are proven methods for attacking these types of questions, and, in fact, some students may find that they like the new passage type better."

See below for more information about PowerScore's 80-hour Full-length LSAT Course and 16-hour Weekend LSAT Course.

Full-Length PowerScore LSAT Preparation Course

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• Licensed use of real LSAT questions for both our course materials and practice tests
• Over 2500 pages of course materials. Every LSAT question from previous LSATs is included, along with 24 full-length take home LSATs.
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Weekend PowerScore LSAT Preparation Course

• 16 hours of live, in-class instruction, scheduled on a single weekend.
• Instructors who have all scored in the 99th percentile on an actual LSAT
• Licensed use of real LSAT questions for all course materials and practice tests
• Unmatched student support, including pre- and post-class practice LSAT tests, a comprehensive homework assignment designed for post-class study, free Email Assistance, and the ability to repeat the course for free within a year. The course booklet is over 600 pages and includes techniques, test strategies, drills, real LSAT questions, and 8 full-length LSATs.
• Competitive cost of $350—given that some companies charge nearly $1100 for courses that total only 16 hours of lecture time, this is an incredible value.

PowerScore is one of the world’s fastest growing test preparation companies and offers GMAT, GRE, LSAT, and SAT preparation classes in over 75 locations in the U.S. and abroad. For more information, please visit www.powerscore.com.