Tips on How to Prepare for the LSAT

The LSAT test stands for Law School Admission Test. It is a standardized test that lasts for approximately a half-day and is required before you are admitted to an ABA-approved law school. It is even used by many Canadian law schools and even non-ABA-approved schools of law. This test provides a standard measure of verbal reasoning skills and acquired reading skills that law schools may use as one of several different factors in assessing its applicants. This test is given four times each year at many different locations around the world.

Many law schools require that the Law School Admission Test be taken by December if the applicant is going to be admitted the following fall. However, it is advised that the LSAT be taken even earlier in June or October. Some law schools place a greater weight on the LSAT than others do. Most of the law schools today are careful to take into consideration the full range of your credentials.

Test Format: The Law School Admission Test is made up of five 35-minute sections containing multiple choice questions consisting of three different item types. Four out of the five sections contribute to the applicant's score. The unscored part of the test, which is known as the variable section, is used to pre-equate new test forms. Placement of this section varies. At the end of the LSAT test, a 35-minute writing sample is given. This writing sample is not scored, but a copy of the writing sample is sent to each law school to which the applicant has applied.

What the Test Measures: This test has been designed to measure skills that will be considered essential for the applicant's success in law school. Therefore, the applicant must demonstrate the reading and comprehension of certain complex texts with insight and accuracy. The test taker must also be proficient in the organization as well as management of information. It is important that the applicant be able to think critically. He or she must also demonstrate the ability to analyze and evaluate the reasoning and arguments of other people.

There are three types of multiple choice questions on the LSAT and I have briefly covered each below.

1. Reading Comprehension Questions: These questions will measure your reading ability and will take into consideration your insight and understanding of the text. These questions are rather complex and lengthy and are similar to those that you will encounter in law school work. This section is composed of four sets of reading questions. Each question consists of a reading material text followed by 5 to 8 questions that will test the reading and reasoning abilities of the applicant.

2. Analytical Reasoning Questions: This section is designed to measure his or her ability to understand relationships and to be able to draw logical conclusions regarding the structure. You will be asked to make deductions from different sets of rules, statements or conditions that describe relationships. Such relationships may be about persons, things, places or events.

3. Logical Reasoning Questions: This section is designed to evaluate the applicant's ability to understand, criticize, analyze and complete various arguments. Each of the questions will require you to read and comprehend a brief passage and then answer only one question concerning it. This section was designed to test your ability to reason logically and think critically.