The Law School Admission Test (LSAT) is a half-day, standardized test that attempts to measure logical and verbal reasoning skills, administered four times a year at designated testing centers throughout the world. All American Bar Association-approved law schools, most Canadian law schools, and many other law schools require applicants to take the LSAT as part of their admission process.
Purpose
The LSAT is designed to measure skills that are considered essential for success in law school.
Test Format
The test consists of five 35-minute sections of multiple-choice questions. Four of the five sections contribute to the test taker’s score. The unscored section, commonly referred as the variable section.
A 35-minute writing sample is administered at the end of the test.
LSAT does not score the writing sample, but copies of the writing sample are sent to all law schools to which you apply.
Section |
No. of Sections |
Duration |
Logical Reasoning
Section I |
Analyzing Arguments
Evaluating Arguments |
35 minutes |
Logical Reasoning
Section II |
Analyzing Arguments
Evaluating Arguments |
35 minutes |
Logic Games Section |
Basic Logic
Systems of Order
Outcomes |
35 minutes |
Reading
Comprehension
Section |
Identifying Purpose
Identifying Structure
Ascertaining Main Idea |
35 minutes |
| Experimental Sections |
Writing Ability
Ability to Argue a Position
Ability to Analyze an Argument |
35 minutes |
Total |
|
3 hrs
30 min. |
Section |
Format |
Logical Reasoning Section I |
 24-26 questions |
Logical Reasoning Section II |
24-26 questions |
Logic Games Section |
22-24 questions |
| Reading Comprehension Section |
26-28 questions |
| Experimental Sections |
22-28 questions |
| Writing Sample |
Two-page written response to a prompt |
| Verbal |
Max. of 41 questions |
Scoring
Normalized scores are distributed on a scale from a low of 120 to a high of 180. Prior to 1991, the scale was from 10 to 48 and had also been from 200-800.
The LSAT is not scored based on test-taker performance on the day of the test. The relationship between raw questions answered correctly and score is determined before the test is administered, through a process called equating.
This means that the conversion standard is set beforehand, and the distribution of percentiles can vary during the scoring of any particular LSAT.
