Piece Of Cake? Assessing the Law School Admission Test

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by Christepher J Hoffman

The Law School Admission Test looms on every prospective law student's mind like a great storm on the horizon; before you know it, that dreaded day comes and you find yourself seated at a desk with two number 2 pencils and sweaty palms while your heart flutters and you strive to recall everything you learned during the past few months of your life as your prepared for the LSAT.

However, test day is not here yet, so let's take a step back. How hard is it to pass the LSAT, realistically? Can it really be that bad? Let's take a quick look.

Brief Overview of the LSAT

The difficulty of the LSAT is going to depend on a lot of things - namely, how comfortable you are with the subject matter, how accustomed you are to the format, and several other factors. The exam will be based heavily on logic problems, and of course, it will be timed.

Even though you may be comfortable with the subject matter, it is important to keep this in mind; though many people may be able to complete the questions, it comes down to whether or not you can answer these questions - correctly - within the allotted time. What is more, the test takes several hours to complete, and most test-takers leave the exam room exhausted.

Take comfort in the fact that though you may be incredibly nervous for this test, so is everyone else. You are most certainly not alone in your worries.

Scoring and Format

Let's take a closer look at how the exam is scored. On most exams, missing up to 12 questions out of a possible 101 will result in a score of at least 170 - which is definitely a respectable score. You can miss up to about 45 questions to get an average score (150). Looking at those statistics, we an conclude that if, on average, people miss about 45 questions, the exam must be fairly difficult.

The Law School Admission Test can generally be broken up into three sections: Reading Comprehension, Logical Reasoning, and Logic Games. Naturally, some students will find certain portions easier than others.

When preparing for the LSAT, it is important to determine your weaknesses and strengths, and pay particular attention to the areas in which you find most of your difficulties. Below is a general outline of each portion of the LSAT.

Reading Comprehension

Like the reading comprehension you have experienced before, the LSAT will have texts that you must read followed by questions designed to test your comprehension of the text. In addition to the standard reading comprehension you have experienced before that focuses on the content of the passage, these questions will place emphasis on the structure, arguments, and viewpoints of the passage.

The goal of the LSAT here is to test your ability to comprehend a topic that you are unfamiliar with and quickly determine the main ideas and arguments made in the passage, and recognize the ways in which the author proves their argument.

Logical Reasoning

This segment will present short arguments followed up by a question or two. Here, you will have to build up, break down, or complete arguments. The idea is to recognize the context of the facts presented, tie them together, and then form valid arguments.

Logic Games

Many students struggle with the logic games on the LSAT. Logic games apply a series of rules to group of players, in which you must apply these rules to create order. The emphasis here is on the student's ability to apply rules to the provided facts. Many students find this portion extremely difficult.

In Conclusion

It is really impossible to say exactly how hard the LSAT will be for a certain individual; rather, the best thing to do is your absolute best, and based on your result, assess your situation. For most students, taking several practice exams can help you assess how prepared you are to take the test, and help to give you an idea as to how difficult the test will actually be. With enough preparation and dedication, there is no reason why you should not be able to pass the LSAT.

If you need some extra help preparing for the LSAT, you are more than welcome to check out my own personal blog for all sorts of information about how to get into law school, ace exams, and become a lawyer. Visit LawPracticeHQ.com and get ready to study!

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