The Changing Landscape of the Law School Admissions: What’s New with the LSAT?

 The Law School Admission Test (LSAT) is undergoing more changes.

Image by Pixabay.

Goodbye to Logic Games

Starting with the August 2024 administration, the exam will no longer include Analytical Reasoning—commonly referred to as “logic games.”  Instead, the test will now consist of two scored Logical Reasoning sections and one scored Reading Comprehension section, plus one unscored section of either Logical Reasoning or Reading Comprehension. 

LSAT Logical Reasoning questions evaluate your ability to examine, analyze, and critically evaluate arguments as they occur in ordinary language.   

LSAT Reading Comprehension questions measure your ability to read, with understanding and insight, examples of lengthy and complex materials similar to those commonly encountered in law school.   

There will be a 10-minute break between the second and third multiple-choice sections. The placement of the unscored section is randomly determined—so, test-takers will not know which section is unscored. The change does mean that it is possible that some test-takers will have three Logical Reasoning sections in a row.

While there is a perception that the logic games posed the greatest challenge to students—evidence from the Law School Admission Council (LSAC) predicts that the elimination of this section will have no appreciable impact on LSAT scores. So, you do not need to worry that these changes will create a disadvantage if you did well with logic games.

As importantly, the LSAC has indicated that the Logical Reasoning section (that remains) is not changing. That is, the content and question type from the now eliminated logic game (analytical reasoning) section is not being migrated to the remaining section.

As you study for the LSAT, be mindful that the test-preparation material that you are using (whether that be hard copy books or online, practice materials) reflects the new structure. 

The LSAC has updated LawHub to the new format (and outdated materials will be removed after the June 2024 administration make-up exams have been completed).

Hello to Argumentative Writing

The LSAC will continue to include an unscored writing section—but that too will be changing toward “argumentative writing” as of July 30, 2024. This change will allow applicants to demonstrate writing ability as well as their ability to construct a cogent, persuasive argument.

Applicants will be given up to 15 minutes to review the prompt on a debatable issue. The instructions will include between 3 and 4 statements representing competing perspectives on the issue. The task is to draft an argumentative essay taking a position on the issue that addresses the arguments and ideas presented by the other perspectives.

In the pre-writing period, students will have access to “electronic “scratch-paper” to prepare an outline and preliminary thoughts that will remain visible during the writing period. The pre-writing period will last a minimum of 5 minutes (to review the instructions and prompt), after which students can “skip ahead” to the writing if they wish. The writing period will be 35 minutes.

The free preparation materials available on the LSAC’s LawHub include an example of the writing prompt. The paid access of LawHub Advantage has between 3 and 4 examples. More examples are expected to be released in the future.

Using the Most Up-to-Date Preparation Materials

As above, be sure you are familiar with these changes as you begin the LSAT preparation process and access preparation material (whether free or fee-based resources provided by commercial vendors).

Registering for LawHub on the LSAC website will give you access to the free materials that include all of the the above changes. LawHub has also absorbed the free preparation materials that were formerly available through Khan Academy. An upgrade to LawHub Advantage (increased to $120 in July 2024) will give you more extensive access to LSAC-official practice materials.

There are also numerous commercial preparation programs—whatever you use, just make sure that the offering materials reflect the LSAT’s new exam structure for your optimal preparation.

Image by <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/geralt-9301/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=4369850">Gerd Altmann</a> from <a href="https://pixabay.com//?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=4369850">Pixabay</a>