LSAT Questions | Know What to Study to Get The Perfect Score
There’s simply no denying it: the LSAT is one of the most notoriously difficult standardized tests out there. That’s why it’s so important for prospective law students to be diligent in their preparations to take the exam.
Beyond getting your hands on a top LSAT prep book and studying it carefully, you should also spend additional time learning about and getting experience with the various kinds of LSAT questions that you’ll encounter when you sit the exam. You also need to understand LSAT score and percentiles.
In this article, we’ll give you all the information you need about these exam questions, including how they are formatted, the kinds of things they are designed to assess, and we’ll even give you some useful LSAT tips and strategies for approaching each type of question.
Read on for all this useful information so you can start your LSAT preparation off on the right foot and ensure your success on this infamously challenging exam!
If you fail to do so, all of your efforts studying for the LSAT might go to waste if you can’t actually anticipate what sort of questions await on your chosen test date.
What you also need to know is how many times can you take the LSAT so that you really focus all your efforts on passing it.
LSAT Test Questions
Before we get on with our detailed discussion of the kinds of questions you’ll encounter on the LSAT, we’ll first give you a broad overview of the test’s format, time limits, and general topics.
What’s On the LSAT?
The structure of the LSAT is pretty straightforward. It’s comprised of five 35-minute sections and one 15-minute break, bringing the total test time to 3 hours and 10 minutes. Do have in mind the LSAT overall difficulty.
Here’s a breakdown of the LSAT sections, in no particular order (as the order of the test sections will be random):
- 2 Logical Reasoning (aka “Arguments”) sections
- 1 Reading Comprehension section
- 1 Analytical Reasoning (aka “Logic Games”) section
- 1 Unscored Experimental section
How Many Questions Are on the LSAT?
The number of questions on your version of the LSAT exam is somewhat variable, but it will range from 122 to 132 total questions.
Here are the numbers broken down by section
- Logical Reasoning Section One: 24-26 questions
- Logical Reasoning Section Two: 24-26 questions
- Reading Comprehension Section: 26-28 questions
- Analytical Reasoning Section: 24 questions
- Unscored Experimental Section: 24-28 questions
Now that you have a general understanding of the LSAT’s exam structure, let’s take a closer look at the individual sections and what you can expect.
Logical Reasoning
As we’ve noted above, there are two logical reasoning sections on the LSAT, but both sections will feature the same kinds of questions.
The purpose of LSAT logical reasoning questions is to assess your ability to analyze arguments. Thus, for this section of the exam, you’ll need to show you have the necessary skills to perform the following types of analysis:
Identify assumptions
Detect logical flaws and fallacies in arguments
Identify the relationships between different aspects of an argument
Use analogy to analyze and understand an argument
Note the impact of new evidence on an existing argument
Understand the meaning of logical rules and apply them
LSAT Logical Reasoning Questions
Each logical reasoning question will include a short written passage that you must read in order to answer the associated question. These questions will assess your skills in the previously noted types of analysis through your engagement with the passage the associated questions.
To do well on the logical reasoning portions of the exam, consider using some or all of the following strategies for approaching these questions.
Keys to Success with Logical Reasoning Questions
Read the passage provided and the associated question carefully.
Ensure you fully understand what each question is asking.
Strive to comprehend the meaning of each possible answer.
Answer the questions based only on the information provided. Just because an answer is technically true does not necessarily mean that it answers the question.
Remember that the questions are not designed to trick you.
Reading Comprehension
Reading comprehension LSAT questions are specifically designed to gauge your skills in reading by asking you to display thorough understanding and ability to analyze often complex and demanding texts, the kind of difficult writing you’ll be required to read in any law program.
The Reading Comprehension section of the LSAT is broken down into four parts.
Three of those parts will involve reading a passage and answering anywhere from 5 to 8 questions based on your reading.
The fourth part will provide two shorter passages that share a common topic. The questions for these readings expect you to display your ability to identify relationships between them and draw inferences based on those relationships.
Keys to Success with Reading Comprehension Questions
Read the questions before you read the passage(s). This will help you identify some of the things you need to look for as you approach the readings.
Mark and annotate the passages as you read, so you’ll have important ideas and words to refer to when you begin answering the questions.
Consider every answer choice before making your selection.
The correct answer is the best answer, not simply any answer that is technically “true.” Find the answer that best answers the question.
Answer each question based solely on what you know from the information provided.
Analytical Reasoning
The Analytical Reasoning component of the LSAT exam is one of the most notorious. This is largely due to the greater difficulty of these questions as compared to the other sections.
All of the analytical reasoning questions will measure how effectively you can use a set of rules or facts to come to a conclusion about what could or must be true.
Often, the questions in the analytical reasoning section are known as “Logic Games.” This is because these LSAT logic questions come in the form of logic puzzles that assess your skills in deductive reasoning.
Let’s consider how these questions tend to look on any LSAT exam.
LSAT Logic Games Questions
Logic Games questions are based on sets of rules governing possibilities and combinations of things and people. These rules are not based on actual legal concepts.
Rather, they take the form of a set of facts that will help you determine what could or must be true about some aspect of the parties involved.
These are the kinds of puzzles that usually have a structure like the following:
There are 5 people (A, B, C, D, E) who need to schedule their lunches, and you must decide what order they will eat.
B cannot eat first.
E cannot eat until B has eaten.
A must eat second.
And so on. (Note: this is purely for demonstration purposes; it is not an actual logic games question, so don’t try to answer it, as it has not been tested for accuracy).
Once you’ve read the rules, you will be asked a question. In our example, a question might be something as simple as “Who eats third?” However, the questions can be more involved. Looking to our example again, you might see something like “If C eats first, which of the following must be true?” For each question, of course, you will be given five options to choose from.
Keys to Success with Logic Games Questions
Carefully read the passage several times to ensure you understand the relationships.
Assume nothing without justification from the passage. All of the required information to answer the question is included in the question itself and the passage provided.
Remember that each question is independent. That is, if one question introduces a hypothetical regarding a passage, a second question on that same passage does not assume the same hypothetical.
Sketch a diagram to better keep track of relationships. Just beware not to spend too much time doing so.
