LSAT®
What You Need to Know
What
All American Bar Association (ABA)-approved law schools accept the LSAT (and the vast majority require it) as one component of an admission file. Recently, several law schools have announced that they will accept either the LSAT or the GRE for the 2018-2019 application cycle. In addition, the ABA is considering changes that would allow law schools to make the LSAT (or GRE) an optional component of admission.
Nonetheless, those who know they want to pursue a law degree should plan to take the LSAT. Currently, even schools that accept GRE scores as a substitute for LSAT scores often cannot do so for more than a fraction of their incoming classes. Furthermore, it’s likely that selective law schools will continue to require the LSAT for admission, even if the ABA ultimately decides to make it an optional component of the admissions requirements for law school. A high LSAT score will always strengthen an applicant’s admission file.
When
The LSAT is now administered 6 times a year: September, November, January, March, June, and July. Most law schools require that applicants seeking admission for the following fall take the LSAT no later than November, though some do accept scores from the January exam date.
It is highly advised that test takers have sufficient time to devote to preparing for the LSAT so that they can score as highly as possible the first time they take the test. Although some schools will take the highest score from multiple test dates, many law schools will average multiple test scores. While it’s perfectly fine to retake the LSAT (and many people do), it’s always best to have a good first showing. Thus, the LSAT test dates offered in June and July are preferable for students currently in college, as preparing for the LSAT is a huge task to undertake in addition to a full college course load.
How
To register for the LSAT, test takers create an account with the LSAC (Law School Admissions Council) at lsac.org. This account will also be used later in the law school admissions process itself.
Test Format
The LSAT consists of five 35-minute sections of multiple-choice questions. Four of these five sections count towards a test taker’s score; the other section is experimental (called the “variable” section) and is used to pretest new questions or to pre-equate new test forms. The placement of this section will vary, but it is impossible to determine which section is experimental. The LSAT also includes a 35-minute, unscored writing sample at the end of the test. Copies of this writing sample are sent to all schools along with LSAT scores.
The four scored sections include 3 components:
- Reading Comprehension
- Analytical Reasoning
- Logical Reasoning (2 sections)
The Reading Comprehension section measures a test taker’s ability to comprehend complex texts similar to those commonly read in law school. The section has a total of 27 questions. It consists of four sets of reading passages, each with 5–8 questions. One of the sets of passages contains two related, shorter passages.
Reading passages are drawn from several topics, including humanities, social sciences, biological and physical sciences, and law. The passages are dense and use complex language and argumentative and rhetorical structures. Questions fall into a variety of categories:
- Main point
- Fact-finding
- Making inferences
- Vocabulary in context
- Organization and structure
- Analogies
- Principles
- Author’s attitude or bias
- Impact of new information
The Analytical Reasoning section (commonly referred to as “Logic Games”) measures a test taker’s ability to understand a structure of relationships and to draw logical conclusions from that structure. The section has a total of 23 questions. It consists of four “games,” each with 5–7 questions.
Each “game” provides with a set of rules and conditions and asks questions about what could or must be true based on those rules and conditions. Most games involve determining grouping or ordering relationships (or a mixture of both). While no formal training in logic is necessary, students will find that this section becomes significantly easier through exposure and practice. Most test takers find this section to be the most difficult on the LSAT.
The Logical Reasoning component (commonly referred to as “Arguments”) assesses a test taker’s ability to analyze, critically evaluate, and complete arguments. It is broken down into two sections, each with 24–26 questions (for a total of 50 questions). As with the Analytical Reasoning section, no formal training in logic is required for this section.
The Logical Reasoning sections consist of short arguments drawn from a wide-ranging source of topics.. Each short argument is accompanied by a question. Questions measure a wide range of skills that are crucial to legal reasoning:
- Recognizing parts of an argument and how they relate
- Drawing parallels and differences between patterns of reasoning
- Drawing conclusions
- Analogous reasoning
- Identifying points of disagreement
- Identifying assumptions
- Determining how additional evidence impacts an argument
- Applying principles
- Recognizing flaws in reasoning
Scoring & Accommodations
Scoring
The LSAT is scored based on the number of questions a test taker answers correctly (this is known as the “raw score”). There is no penalty for wrong answers, nor are individual questions on the various test sections weighted differently. Raw scores are converted to an LSAT scale that ranges from 120 to 180 (with 180 representing the highest possible score). The scale for each test is equated to account for minor differences in difficulty between test forms.
Testing Accommodations
The LSAC does provide test takers with diagnosed learning disabilities the opportunity to take the LSAT with accommodations. To request accommodations for the LSAT, candidates must first be registered for a test date. Information and all required forms can be found here.
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