LSAT prep

Upon purchasing an LSAT date, I read up on the exam and discovered that preparation paid off, so I started buying prep books, opting not to sign up for a prep class.

My first purchase in preparation for the LSAT was LSAT for Dummies, which was a good primer to the LSAT and the distinctions between its sections, although the writing within was wrought with the occasional misspelling/inaccuracy. The book contained two practice LSAT's. My first score was a 163, my second a 166. These are apparently scores that would put me in the top 10% of test-takers.

My biggest weakness proved to be Analytical Reasoning. I would tend to panic and run out of time on these sections, or end up having to go back and redo key elements of my assumptions and charts. Reading LSAT 180 proved to be helpful in this area, as I learned about different types of Analytical Reasoning questions and how to chart and approach them. LSAT 180 is kind of funny in that it has a series of statements about what "180 test takers" do, like "180 test takers move on once they've identified the correct answer." I find it funny that the book plays to my desire to be included in some fictitious band of elitists known as "180 test takers." But overall, the book was helpful. I then purchased Kaplan's Logic Games Workbook and improved even more.

I also had problems with not reading questions carefully enough, and then with losing focus towards the end of the test. Because my problems became less involved with content and more with extraneous factors like concentration, my performance in Logical Reasoning and Reading Comprehension started sliding as my Analytical Reasoning score grew.

My third practice LSAT was the free downloadable from LSAC. I scored a 160.

After this test, I took a break from preparation for the month of March while I dealt with work-related time strains and getting over the flu.

When I returned, I took a practice exam from a preptest book and scored a 162, noting that my Logical Reasoning scores were still low. I did more studying from LSAT 180 and determined myself to stay focused during the late stages of the pracitce exam. My next score was a 166. The score on my practice exam today was a 169. I'm hoping this is meaningful improvement, and not just fluctuations around the 160's.

There are some limitations I'm wary of concerning my pracitce exams. First, I realize my apartment is not the same test-taking environment as the college classroom I'll be in for my actual LSAT. There aren't bathroom breaks after every section or chances to say "hello" to my girlfriend when she's returning from work.
Second, the workbook practice exams are kind of old. The three I've taken have been from 1993 and 1994. If I understand correctly, the LSAT gets harder every year. Does this mean I'm taking softball questions compared to the real thing?
Third, the preptests only have four sections, while the five-section LSAT will be more of a grind on my concentration. I used to hope for one logic games section with an extra reading comprehension, but I'm reaching a point now where I'm consistently good at logic games and I lose focus on reading comprehension.