The LNAT ‘Past Papers’ and ‘Real Questions’ Trap

A quick Google search throws up at least a few websites that seem to blatantly offer or drop very obvious hints that their practice tests include ‘real’ LNAT past papers or real questions from the actual LNAT.

Beware! This is a trap that candidates should watch out for.

At best, students may end up wasting time and money on such dubious websites; at worst, students may get entangled in unnecessary legal hassles.

The content of the LNAT is managed by the members of the LNAT Consortium – which comprises of the universities that originally set up the LNAT. The test itself is administered online by Pearson VUE – a well known international testing services provider.

The only officially published LNAT question papers (full length sample tests 1 and 2) are available to all on the LNAT website as downloadable PDF files. In addition, candidates can attempt another full-length sample test on the LNAT simulator.

Neither the LNAT consortium, nor Pearson VUE have published any other sample papers or past papers for this test.

Any website offering such past papers or ‘real LNAT questions’ may be either peddling fake content or the material may be illegal.

The GMAT – Scoretop.com cheating scandal is a good example of the pitfalls of engaging with such dubious websites.

The lesson from the GMAT – Scoretop.com cheating scandal

The GMAT – Graduate Management Aptitude Test is administered by Pearson VUE – the very same company that administers the LNAT.

Taking the GMAT is mandatory for applying to MBA programs in almost all business schools in the United States, UK and several other countries.

Given the criticality of the test in the admissions process (similar to the LNAT), several websites keep popping up, claiming to offer past papers and ‘real questions’ from this test.

Scoretop.com was one such website – which sold test preparation courses and it was also a very popular discussion forum.

Scoretop.com encouraged test takers to disclose and discuss questions that they had seen in the actual exam. In addition, they used other methods (probably sending their own candidates to take the test and memorize the questions) to collect GMAT questions – which were then packaged into their preparatory material.

After receiving complaints, the FBI commenced surveillance on this website. When enough evidence was collected, Scoretop.com’s servers were seized and the domain name itself was confiscated.

As can be expected, Scoretop.com’s servers had stored the email IDs, IP addresses, payments and other activity details of their users.

Over 6,000 users were investigated; and the GMAT scores were ultimately cancelled for many test-takers who had been shown to knowingly share or access the illegal material. Some users were also banned permanently from taking the test.

Cancelling the scores meant that users had to retake the test. A permanent ban meant that such users would be completely excluded from almost all popular business schools. (Remember, like the LNAT, the GMAT is a mandatory part of the selection process.)

Where can you get official LNAT past papers & real questions?

The short answer is – Nowhere. And you shouldn’t try either.

Currently, all the official sample questions, sample tests and other guidance material from the LNAT Consortium and / or Pearson VUE are available only on the official website at https://lnat.ac.uk

Any other website offering any such ‘past papers’ or ‘real questions’ is most likely peddling fake stuff – since buyers will have no way of verifying the authenticity of such material.

Several websites have just re-uploaded the two official LNAT sample papers as ‘past papers’. You can download them directly from the official website, free of cost.

Candidates who have previously taken the LNAT should remember:

• Do not share or discuss any questions or passages that you would have seen in your attempt
• Avoid getting trapped by unscrupulous companies, who may offer incentives for revealing questions

As future legal professionals, play close attention and follow the terms or the Non Disclosure Agreement that you will have agreed to before taking the LNAT:

The LNAT NDA : “This exam is confidential. The exam is made available to you as an examinee, solely for the purpose of being assessed in this exam. You are expressly prohibited from disclosing, publishing, reproducing, or transmitting this exam, in whole or in part, in any form or by any means including visual, aural, verbal, written, electronic or mechanical means, for any purpose, without the prior express written permission of LNAT. Your personal data and test data will both be stored in the Pearson VUE and LNAT databases.

Official LNAT Sample tests & other prep resources

This is the list of the official sample tests and other preparation resources made available by the LNAT Consortium and / or Pearson VUE.

All test takers should thoroughly read through the official guidance and reference material first, before starting their preparation.

LawMint’s LNAT preparatory material and practice tests are designed using the basic guidelines in the official reference material.

How to prepare for the LNAT

This gateway page provides a basic overview of the LNAT and links to all of the other official prep material. The page also provides a list of news papers from where some of the passages may be sourced.

Unfortunately, most of these news websites, other than a few like The Guardian, are behind a ‘pay wall’ – i.e., they require a paid subscription to read anything beyond a few free articles.

LNAT Hints and Tips

This section is a ‘must read’, offering very useful hints, tips and tricks on sections A and B of the LNAT, including advice from past candidates.

A couple of interesting excerpts from this page:

• Advice from a past candidate on the importance of extensive preparation : “The more you practice the more you can understand what the questions are getting at”
• Official essay tips:
  • Don’t try to impress with fancy words or elaborate style. Be straightforward in your writing and your argument.
  • We are also not very interested in your opinions. We are interested in whether you can defend a position – which may or may not be your own personal position.

The official LNAT preparation guide

You can download a 15 page PDF version of the official LNAT preparation guide from this page. The document provides an excellent overview of the LNAT test, guidance on the preparation strategy and a few sample passages and questions – including answers and explanations.

The explanations are particularly useful in understanding how to approach the questions and select the best answers – using a combination of elimination, interpretation and inference.

Official LNAT section B sample essays

This section has a small list of essay questions or ‘prompts’ for practice. There are also also three downloadable official sample essays – to help candidates understand the ideal way to structure the LNAT essays.

• Official Sample essay 1 : Make the best case you can for public funding of the arts
• Official Sample essay 2 : Does it matter if some animal and plant species die out?
• Official Sample essay 3 : What is ‘political correctness’ and why does it matter?

Official LNAT Practice tests

The most important resource on this page is the official online simulator – which gives candidates a feel of what the real LNAT will look like.

Taking the full length sample test available on the simulator does not require any registration. The test can be attempted multiple times; and the order of the passages and order of the questions is shuffled in every attempt.

The LawMint LNAT practice tests follow a similar approach – all of our practice tests can be attempted multiple times for better practice; and the order of the questions for each passage + the order of the answer options for each question are also be shuffled for better practice.

The page also has two offline full length sample tests – downloadable in PDF or RTF formats. These are based on real paper tests, from the time before the LNAT shifted to an online mode.

• Practice test paper 1 – PDF format or RTF format
• Practice test paper 2 – PDF format or RTF format
• Practice test commentary (How to approach the questions in the sample tests) – PDF format or RTF format
• Answer keys for Practice tests 1 and 2 – Practice test marking scheme – PDF format or RTF format

Official LNAT FAQs

This section answers quite a few frequently asked questions about :

• Who should take the LNAT
• When to take the LNAT
• Registration
• Preparation
• Test Results
• The Test Centre
• Identification Documents
• During the Test
• Examination Access Requirements (for Disabled Candidates)
• Vouchers and Bursaries
• General LNAT Questions