LNAT Essay Section B Explained – All About the LNAT – Part 5

The LNAT essay, also known as Section B, is an important part of the test that checks your ability to analyze and talk about complicated legal issues.

In this article, we will give you helpful tips, examples, and practice questions to help you do well on the LNAT essay.

What is the LNAT Essay?

The LNAT essay section ‘B’ asks you to write an essay of up to 750 words max in 40 minutes.

You will choose one topic from three options. Ideally the length of your essay should be between 500 – 600 words.

The essay tests your ability to make an argument, analyze information, and communicate clearly in writing.

LNAT Essay Scoring

There is no official score for the essay – because it it not marked by the system or by Pearson VUE (who conduct the LNAT on behalf of the consortium.)

The LNAT essay is sent ‘as is’ along with your section A scores, to the universities you are applying to.

Different universities use the LNAT essay in different ways. Some don’t consider it, while others create their own grading system.

How Do Universities Use Your Essay?

Universities that use the LNAT essay in your application might use it in different ways. Some of them give it very little or no consideration.

Some universities will give the essay significant weightage – either on it’s own; or up to 40% of the overall LNAT weightage.

They might compare it to your personal statement or use it as a reference during your interview.

Your LNAT essay score will matter if admission tutors have to choose between you and other similar applicants with similar academic achievements and LNAT section A scores.

Check out our university specific articles which explain how they use the LNAT; and what is the weightage given to the essay.

Assessment Criteria for the LNAT essay

The essay is assessed on the basis of several parameters, such as:

• Clear thinking and expression
• Knowledge and understanding of the topic
• Persuasiveness of the argument
• Structure and flow of the essay

The LNAT essay is meant to test your ability to share your opinion on an issue in a clear, persuasive, and logical way.

The LNAT Essay Writing Prompts or questions

The essay topics usually involve legal and social issues like criminal justice, human rights, and the role of law in society. You don’t need to know about law or legal concepts to write a good essay, but having some background knowledge can help you understand the question better.

You will have to choose one of three unrelated questions, such as:

1. Can a universal basic income help to reduce poverty and income inequality? Explain your answer.
2. Can intrusive surveillance measures be justified in the name of national security? Explain your reasoning.
3. Can hate speech laws infringe on freedom of expression? Discuss the potential consequences.

Choose a question that you are interested in and know something about.

The LNAT Essay Screen

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 Plan Your LNAT Essay

When taking Section B of the LNAT exam, you’ll first need to choose a question. The question you pick will decide how you plan your answer.

Read the question carefully and understand it first. Clarity on what is being asked is the first and the most important step. Check for any double negatives.

Once you’ve chosen a question, take 5-10 minutes to plan your answer. Your plan should:

• Identify your argument
• Show how you will express your argument
• Create a rough structure to keep your essay focused and organized

When making a plan, write down all your ideas, and pick the ones that are relevant to your argument.

Next, review your argument’s balance and make sure you have considered both sides of the debate.

Include any real-world examples you can use to support your arguments and then think about what conclusions you can draw from them.

Once you have a plan, you can create a structure for your LNAT essay.

Writing the LNAT Essay

• Introduction: Keep it short and clear. Introduce the topic and give a thesis statement that outlines the argument you will make.
• Structure: Make sure your essay is well-structured and organized. Use clear topic sentences and transition sentences to connect your paragraphs.
• Thesis statement: The thesis statement is the main argument of your essay. It should be clear and concise and should be presented in the introduction.
• Use of evidence: Use evidence to support your argument. This evidence can come from various sources, such as legal cases, academic journals, and newspapers.

How to Organize Your LNAT Essay

Begin and end your LNAT essay with strong introductions and conclusions. Make sure everything in the middle flows well.

Connect paragraphs to each other, and ensure your points come across naturally, without abrupt shifts in subject or tone.

The structure of your LNAT essay should include:

1. A powerful introduction that presents your main argument.
2. One or two paragraphs that expand your main argument with three to four convincing points.
3. A section addressing any opposing arguments and explaining why they’re not valid.
4. A robust conclusion summarizing your primary argument and demonstrating the strength of your points.

LNAT Essay Samples

To understand what a well-written LNAT essay looks like, examine sample essays and examples. Studying these essays helps you become familiar with the writing style and how to create and support a strong argument.

Search for LNAT essay samples online. Some schools post example essays on their websites, while other websites and books provide practice essay questions and example essays.

When searching for LNAT essay samples, select ones that adhere to the guidelines and demonstrate solid reasoning skills.

Be cautious, as some example essays may not follow the LNAT essay rules or might be of poor quality, so choose reliable sources.

In LawMint’s LNAT Practice Tests series, you can find 90 sample prompts and example essays for each prompt.

University specific details on how they use the LNAT for 2024 and 2025

In these series of articles (see links below), we have covered each university in depth. How do they use the LNAT scores? Do they consider the LNAT Essay? What was the minimum and average LNAT scores from among recent offer holders.

• University College London
• Durham University
• Kings College London
• University of Bristol
• University of Glasgow
• Oxford University
• Cambridge University
• London School of Economics