What is the LSAT?

The LSAT or the Law School Admission Test is required by most law schools as part of the admission process and is a key component of law school applications. The LSAT is an entrance exam required for admission to most law schools. At many law schools, your LSAT score is weighted just as heavily (or even more heavily than) your undergraduate GPA.

The test consists of five 35-minute sections of multiple-choice questions. Four of the five sections contribute to the test taker’s score. These sections include one Reading Comprehension section, one Analytical Reasoning section, and two Logical Reasoning sections. The unscored section, commonly referred to as the variable section, typically is used to pretest new test questions or to preequate new test forms. The unscored writing sample is administered at the end of the test. Copies of your writing sample are sent to all law schools to which you apply.

Logical Reasoning – This section consists of short text passages to test your ability to identify points of argument, apply critical thinking to abstract concepts, discover relevant information within a passage, and critically evaluate and analyze an argument.

Analytical Reasoning – This section tests your ability to determine relationships between concepts, identify how rules impact outcomes and decisions, analyze situations based on specific guidelines, and apply logic to complex scenarios.

Reading Comprehension – This section tests your ability to read and comprehend, identify main points and ideas, decipher relevant information, and draw analytical inferences from text.

Writing Sample –You make a decision based on two positions of an assigned topic. You must use provided criteria and facts to craft a response. There is no right or wrong position, and writing is evaluated on the candidate’s ability to support their decision.

LSAT scoring includes three types of sources: raw, scaled, and percentile. The raw score represents the number of questions a test taker answered correctly. A scaled score represents a scaled conversion of the raw score ranging between 120 (lowest possible score) and 180 (highest possible score). The percentile score represents the test taker’s score in percentage form as it relates to other examinees.

The LSAT is offered four times per year, typically in February, June, September/October, and December. Most law schools require applicants to take the LSAT by December for admission the following fall semester. To meet application deadlines, the Law School Admission Council recommends students to take the test as early as possible.

• Take time to digest the material and read through it thoroughly, so you’ll understand the process of how you arrived at an answer and be more able to duplicate the results.
  

• Find ways to take breaks when studying.
  

• Practice tests are a vital component of LSAT test preparation. Be sure to only use actual LSAT tests.

• When studying, don’t focus on how long it takes to complete a question, but rather the accuracy of your thought process.
  

• During the course of the test preparation, add more and more time to individual studying sessions.
  

• Determine your strengths and weaknesses. If there’s a section that feels like an uphill battle, put a plan in place to enhance studying efforts in that area.
  

• Take the time to become comfortable with each type of question.
  

• Create a daily study calendar, set aside specific studying times, and stick to both.
  

• Start studying early.
  

• Hire an LSAT tutor.