The Complete Guide On How to Ace the LNAT 2024 and 2025

The Law National Admissions Test (LNAT) was started by some of the popular Russell Group of Universities, to assist them in shortlisting and selecting students for their Law programs, from among the thousands who applied every year.

The LNAT helps understanding the abilities and competencies of the applicants from a perspective of their suitability to study the undergraduate law programs.

The LNAT is intended to assess your intellectual aptitude rather than your expertise in a specific subject.

Considering that applicants from diverse backgrounds apply for the Law programs, the LNAT is a standardized test that presents a similar challenge to all test-takers.

The ground rule for the LNAT is that no specific external knowledge is required or expected from the candidates. All the MCQs in section A need to be answered strictly on the basis of the information within the passages. There are no facts or figures to memorize for the text.

The LNAT does not have any pass or fail marks. The maximum marks that can be scored are 42 (out of 42), in Section A, which is automatically graded by the system.

The LNAT essay is sent ‘as is’ to the universities, to be internally assessed by them as per their specific criteria.

Unlike some other tests (e.g., GMAT), you can sit for the LNAT only once in every admission cycle. Therefore, it is very important to make your attempt count!

Format of the LNAT

The LNAT is divided into two sections and candidates have 2 hours and 15 minutes (135 minutes) in total to complete the test.

Section A – There will be 42 multiple-choice questions based on 12 passages, each accompanied by three or four questions. Test-takers have 95 minutes to answer all questions.

Section B – candidates are given 40 minutes to respond to one of three essay questions on various topics. Candidates are expected to write an essay of between 500 – 700 words in length.

Any time saved in one section cannot be carried over to the other section.

Typically, we have seen that candidates are pressed for time in section A; and not so much in section B.

LNAT Section A – Explained

In section A, there will be 12 passages in total. 6 passages will have 3 questions following them and 6 will have four questions.

So, in total there will be 42 questions – each carrying 1 mark.

There is no negative marking in the LNAT, therefore, the minimum marks a candidate can theoretically score is 0 and the maximum is 42.

As per the official information, the passages for LNAT section A, will cover seven broad areas:

• law
• philosophy
• politics
• media
• science
• ethics
• education

This list of seven is very deceptive – since most newspaper articles, book extracts or general essays will fit into one of these categories. Don’t believe it? Just pick any article from today’s Guardian website and it can be classified under one of these seven topics.

In short, the passages in the LNAT may be derived from anywhere and on any subject.

While no prior knowledge of any specific subject is necessary, practically speaking, having a good general awareness is beneficial.

While designing the LawMint LNAT practice tests, we analysed the lengths of the LNAT passages, and we found that they are typically between 400 to 700 words in length. With some exceptions, a majority of them are closer to 500 words.

We have ensured that the passages in our LNAT practice tests cover a wide range of topics; and average around 500 words.

Time management for Section A of LNAT

The LNAT is not a difficult test per se. If taking the test without any time constraint, many candidates can score 35+.

However, the average LNAT score of all test takers in the recent cycles has hovered a little over the 50% mark, i.e., 22/42. Why is that?

The key to getting a high MCQ score in the LNAT is time management.

Candidates will have 95 minutes to complete section A, which has 42 questions – which means that on an average, test takers will have 135 seconds per question – a little over 2 minutes per question.

You will have to read the passage, read the questions and the answer options and select the correct answer, all within 2 minutes per question.

• 6 passages will have 3 questions each – that translates to 6 minutes per passage
• 6 passages will have 4 questions each – that translates to 8 minutes per passage

This is where extensive practice is very essentially:

• to develop the skills required to read lengthy passages in a couple of minutes
• to train your eyes and your brain to skim over superfluous info and focus on the main content
• to quickly understand the context and the content of the passage and the questions
• to comprehend dense and vaguely written passages on a wide variety of subjects

When we designed the LawMint LNAT practice tests, we first selected 360 passages, from a wide variety of sources. From 18^th century books on philosophy and politics, to extracts from the latest scientific journals.

Even the questions are intentionally longer and a little more complex than what you will see in the actual LNAT.

If you score at around the 50% mark in the LawMint LNAT practice test series, you will score higher in the actual test.

Can verbal reasoning skills be taught?

The LNAT is first and foremost a test for verbal reasoning. The questions are designed to assess components of verbal reasoning, such as:

• Comprehension
• Interpretation
• Analysis
• Synthesis
• Deduction

The multiple-choice section aims to assess some of your skills such as

• Do you possess an attention to detail or tend to make hasty assumptions?
• Can you draw reasonable conclusions from the data provided to you?
• Can you effectively discern between facts, opinions, and deductions?
• Are you able to recognize the constraints of a given assertion?
• Can you detect unspoken inferences or implications?
• Are you able to identify when claims lack sufficient evidence?

Nobody is a born expert. Be it physical or mental tasks, practice does make a person perfect.

So, yes; All of the skills required for acing the LNAT can be taught, developed and honed with practice.

Dealing with the MCQ section of the LNAT

The most important rule for LNAT section A – MCQs

When you start practicing for the LNAT, you need to train yourself to ignore outside information.

The most basic rule for LNAT section A is that all the answers have to be within the given passage. Do not introduce any external data or information when you are going through the passages and the questions.

Anything that is not specifically stated, implied or can be inferred on the basis of the passage is external information.

For example, read this passage and answer the question that follows:

Passage: In the current European landscape, the United Kingdom holds a unique position within the European Union. As one of the largest economies in the bloc, Britain plays a pivotal role in shaping EU policies and regulations. Although it opts not to adopt the Euro as its official currency or join the Schengen Area, the UK enjoys the benefits of the European Single Market, enabling the free movement of goods, services, capital, and people. This access fosters economic growth and stimulates cultural exchange between Britain and the rest of Europe. The UK’s participation in the EU facilitates cooperation and collaboration, strengthening the region’s global influence.

Question: Which of the following statements is incorrect?

I. The United Kingdom holds a unique position within the European Union.
II. Britain plays a pivotal role in shaping EU policies and regulations.
III. UK enjoys the benefits of the European Single Market.

Option 1: All of the statements are correct
Option 2: None of the statements are correct

As per your general awareness, the correct answer as of today, will be Option 2. However, there is nothing given in the passage to support Option 2. The passage explicitly supports Option 1. Therefore, Option 1 will be the correct answer, even though it is outdated.

How to answer LNAT section A questions

• Read the passage and understand the context, intent and content.
• Understand the progression and structure of an argument – in the passage as well as the question
• Pay close attention to the author’s tone – e.g., factual, neutral, opinionated, sarcastic, ironic, mocking.
• Differentiate between Facts, Assumptions, Inferences and Opinions – strictly on the basis of the passage.
• Read the questions carefully and understand what is being asked. For example, are there any double negatives? E.g., Isn’t it true that you don’t dislike pizza?
• Practice filtering out relevant information from extraneous material
• See which reading technique works for you – a thorough reading in the first pass, or a quick skim through first and focussed reading next
• Some test takers prefer reading the questions frost and then reading the passage. Some prefer an opposite approach – try and see which approach works best for you.

In the LawMint LNAT Practice Tests, there are 360 passages, with 1260 questions. Experiment with different techniques and see which ones work best for you.

When you repeat a practice test, the order of the questions under each passage, and the answer options – both are shuffled for better repeat practice.

The LNAT Essay – Section B

The section ‘B’ essay part of the LNAT requires you to write a 500-to-600-word essay on one of the three given essay questions or prompts. The time limit is 40 minutes.

In each of our LNAT practice tests, you will be given three essay questions or prompts to choose from. Such as:

• Can a policy of complete open borders be justified? Discuss the potential benefits and drawbacks.
• Should social media platforms be held accountable for the spread of fake news? Explain your answer.
• Should the use of facial recognition technology by law enforcement be regulated? Explain your answer.

Unlike the MCQ section, the LNAT essay is not marked. The LNAT essay is sent ‘as is’ to the universities chosen by the test-taker.

The universities evaluate the applicant essays as per their own admissions process. Some may give the essay significant weightage in the overall candidature; whereas others may use it as an additional parameter, used marginally at best.

The important thing to remember about these essay questions is that they do not have a right or a wrong answer.

The essay is being used to evaluate your:

• Ability to understand the topic
• Ability to write a concise and compelling argument
• Ability to defend a point of view
• Command of the English language

Each of the three essay questions will appears in its own screen. Answer only one question. You can view all three of them by using the ‘Next’ and ‘Back’ buttons and select the essay question you like.

The LNAT essay question screen will have buttons for ‘cut’, ‘copy’, ‘paste’, ‘undo’ and ‘redo’. There is no spelling or grammar check function.

The system has a built-in word counter at the bottom of the text field. The ideal length of the essay is 500-to-600-words, translating to approximately one A4 page of content; to be written in around 30 minutes. The remaining 10 minutes should be used to review and polish your essay.

How to approach the section B essay

In our LNAT practice tests, we have provided 90 essay questions for extensive practice. By writing essays on a wide array of topics, you will become comfortable with structuring the information you have in a compelling manner.

• Plan a balanced essay – The essay should display your ability to consider multiple aspects of the topics, both pros and cons.
• Put your thoughts down – Type out your thoughts to create the basic outline of your essay. You can then build on the outline.
• Keep an eye on the clock – Remember, thirty minutes for planning and typing out the 500–600-word essay; and 10 minutes to edit and polish it.
• Argumentative not Opinionated! – Your essay should be based mostly on arguments and not simply on opinions. Your data and evidence to support your arguments.

Practicing for the LNAT

Try out the free LNAT practice tests available on the official website and other sources.

The more you practice, the better prepared you are for the real LNAT.

Check out LawMint LNAT Practice Test – which includes 360 passages, 30 full length tests with 1260 questions and 90 essay questions.

Stay tuned for more articles on how to crack the LNAT.