Law School Exams

The most common test for potential law students to take is the Law School Admissions Test (LSAT). This is a standardized test used by nearly all law schools to gauge the ability level of their applicants. It is administered in authorized testing centers only, and is available four times each year. The LSAT is given by the Law School Admissions Council, with whom you must register prior to taking your test.

LSAT Subjects

Like the SAT, ACT, and other standardized tests, the LSAT contains reading comprehension sections. These are parts of the test that contain a brief article on a topic, followed by a series of questions. The questions that follow are about the preceding passage, but do not require you to know any more information than was given to you.

The test sections the LSAT is known for are the logical and analytical reasoning sections. These questions often take the form of logic games, in which a series of clues are given and you are asked to make a deduction from them. Alternately, a simple argument is posed, and it is up to you to identify any potential flaws in that argument.

Unlike most standardized tests, the LSAT also contains a writing sample. This is a timed essay written from a specific prompt on the test, but is not graded for style or content by the LSAT administrators. Instead, the entire writing sample is forwarded on to the law schools that you apply to, so that they may evaluate your writing sample by their own standards.