LSAT to Debut Updated Writing Section this Summer

The LSAT’s writing section is getting refreshed. LSAC announced this week that, as of July 31st (start of LSAT testing cycle), the test will debut a new writing section designed to gauge test-takers’ argumentative writing skills. 

The update, made in response to the evolving needs of the profession, and to input gathered from the legal community, will no longer focus just on logical reasoning.  It will now try to capture an applicant’s “ability to construct a cogent argument based on a variety of evidentiary sources.” To do this, the section will provide test-takers with an issue and additional context, given through competing perspectives on that issue. The writer will be asked to draft an essay taking and supporting a position, taking into account and addressing, as appropriate, the context provided.

For now, the writing section will remain an unscored component of the LSAT. However, LSAC plans to collect data over the 2024-2025 testing administration period to assess the validity and reliability of the updated section. The organization will work towards its longer-term goal of providing a scored section for law school admissions officers. 

Interested test-takers can review a sample prompt, via LawHub, as a part of the free official LSAT Prep test library. A sample writing prompt is also available on LSAC.org. 

Logic Games to be Removed from the LSAT Next Summer

Next August, the LSAT will ditch its infamous “logic games” section. In its place, the test will include an additional logical reasoning section. 

While the new logical reasoning section will test the same skills, the impetus for the change stems from a 2019 settlement that LSAC made with two blind test-takers. According to the test-takers, the analytical reasoning section violated the Americans with Disabilities Act, as they could not draw the diagrams that most test-takers use to work through the questions.  

LSAC President, Kellye Testy, commented on the announcement to Reuters. "This decision might help some, and it hurts none," Testy said. "The skills that we assess are the same and the scoring is the same."