Your Ready Reckoner for the LSAT Exam

Dollops of knowledge, buckets of wisdom, steady tranches of professional success, and perhaps a pinch of fame and acclaim too. Such is the heady potion that the legal profession promises aspirants. If you’re determined to pursue a program in law abroad, then the LSAT exam is what you should prepare for at the outset. 

The LSAT test is regarded as a vital component of admissions into prestigious law schools. At the same time, it will also help you understand whether the field is right for you or not. It is thus a good starting point in terms of preparing for admissions into reputed law schools and the professional field itself. 

About the LSAT Exam 

The LSAT exam is the most reputed test for admissions to law schools worldwide. It is the sole test that has full acceptance from all law schools that are American Bare Association (ABA) accredited. The LSAT exam full form is the Law School Admission Test, and it is administered by the Law School Admission Council (LSAC). It is the sole standardized examination specifically tailored for admissions into law schools, created in collaboration with these institutions for evaluating the key skills required by aspirants, namely reading comprehension, critical reasoning, and persuasive writing. 

The LSAT test can be taken through a live and remotely proctored format for the 2023-24 testing year. At the same time, the LSAC has also revised the testing center format from the August 2023 LSAT exam. Students can thus choose to take the test at home or at the Prometric digital testing center. There are no specific LSAT eligibility criteria 2023, apart from the fact that aspirants should be 18 years of age at least, and should have cleared their 10+2 levels. 

LSAT Exam Format 

The LSAT exam format comprises the following aspects: 

• The LSAT test has two parts. 
• The first part comprises multiple 35-minute sections with MCQs. 
• The second part has a 35-minute LSAT Writing sample (unscored). 
• From the August 2021 LSAT, the test has three scored sections and one unscored section. The unscored section may be any question type, i.e. analytical reasoning, logical reasoning, or reading comprehension and may occur in the test at any point. 
• LSAT Writing is administered separately with demarcated proctoring software that may be installed on your computer. You may take LSAT Writing as per your schedule, even as early as eight days before the date of the multiple-choice test. 

LSAT Scoring

Here are the key points to know about the scoring pattern of the LSAT exam: 

• The LSAT score is based on the number of questions correctly answered by the candidate or the raw score. 
• All test questions are weighted in the same manner. 
• There are no deductions for wrong answers. 
• The raw score is then converted to the LSAT scale. It is the score given in the LSAT score report. The scale is from 120-180. 

The LSAT score report has the candidate’s present score, results of all reportable tests, percentile rank (indicating the percentage of candidates with lower scores than you in the earlier three testing years), and your score band. 

LSAT Exam Syllabus 

The LSAT test comprises the following sections: 

• Reading Comprehension- This section contains questions that test the abilities of candidates to read and evaluate complex and long-form content similar to material that they will come across in law school. The section has reading questions in four sets, with every set containing material for reading and five to eight questions. Comparative Reading questions discuss relationships amongst two passages, including application or principle, instance or generalization, and counterpoint or point. 
• Analytical Reasoning- This section contains questions that test the abilities of candidates to understand relationships and their structures, before drawing conclusions about the same. Questions have sets, with every set based on one passage. The passages talk about scenarios that either have grouping/ordering relationships or a mixture of these types. It tests your abilities with regard to finding solutions to problems, inference of true/must-be-true with information, identifying logically equivalent statements, and reasoning with the if-then or conditional statements. 
• Logical Reasoning- This section contains questions which analyze your abilities with regard to critical evaluation, analysis, and completing specific arguments. The questions take shorter arguments sourced from several sources like magazines, newspapers, discourses, advertisements, and scholarly or academic publications. The arguments are similar to legal reasoning or arguments, although few of them may contain law as their subject. Every question will require you to read a passage before answering one (or two questions in some rare cases). Some of the other skills evaluated by the section include how you recognize differences, similarities, components of arguments and their relationships, flaws, rules/principles, additional evidence and its impact on arguments, assumptions, and so on. 
• LSAT Writing- While this section is separately administered, you should know about its structure. The prompt will contain a decision problem, and you will have to choose from either of two courses of action/positions, and defend the same. The writing sample will be analyzed for its usage of language, organization of ideas, clarity, reasoning, and other attributes. 

When to Take the LSAT 

The LSAT exam dates are provided on the official LSAC website. The next LSAT test is in June, 2023 and its registration concludes on the 25th of April, 2023. 

Here are the details of the testing year 2023-24, which starts officially from 1st July, 2023. Registration will open after mid-May 2023. 

• August, 2023- 11th and 12th August (US and Canada)
• September, 2023- 8th and 9th September (US and Canada)
• October, 2023- 13th and 14th October (All testing regions/zones)
• November, 2023- 10th and 11th November (US and Canada)
• January, 2024- 12th and 13th January (All testing regions/zones)
• February, 2024- 9th February (US and Canada)
• April, 2024- 12th April (All testing regions/zones)
• June, 2024- 7th and 8th June (All testing regions/zones)

Look for the applicable testing date at the official website before registering accordingly. 

How do I register for the LSAT? 

Registration for the LSAT exam can be done at the LSAC official website- https://www.lsac.org. The registration fee is $215, while the score preview charges are $45-75. If you are unable to sit for the examination on a registered date, then you can change the testing date, request a refund, or withdraw the registration altogether. The site will show you the upcoming testing dates below. You have to choose your testing region first and then click on the applicable test date that shows up on the screen. 

Conclusion 

As can be seen, the LSAT test is a crucial determinant of admissions to law school for all aspirants choosing to build a career in this field. If you’ve realized that law is your future calling, then preparing for the LSAT is the first step in your checkered journey ahead. It is also important to stay updated about testing dates and other information at the official website.