Follow the law

Updated on: Sunday, October 24, 2010

If the study of law appeals to you, and you plan to attend a law course in America or Canada then you need to take the Law School Admission Test (LSAT). This test administered by the Law School Admission Council is a requirement for admission to all American Bar Association approved law schools and most others in the USA and Canada.

LSAT is conducted four times a year and the half-day test consists of five 35-minute sections of multiple-choice questions, one of which is an experimental section not used for scoring. This is followed by a long writing sample which is again not evaluated but copies of the writing sample are sent to all law schools to which you apply. There are three multiple-choice question types in the LSAT.

Reading Comprehension Section
This section contains four passages of 400-500 words, related to law, humanities, science and social studies, followed by five to eight questions that test your reading and reasoning abilities. One of the four passages consists of the comparative reading of two short passages giving different views on the same subject on which the questions are asked.

Analytical Reasoning Section
The ability to understand the structure of relationships and to draw logical conclusions is tested in analytical reasoning. Given a set of statements and rules or principles that describe the relationships among persons, things, or events, the questions require you to deduce conclusions from given statements. Some questions could add or change the given rules and you are expected to restructure the information and come to a conclusion quickly.

Logical Reasoning Section
Based on a short passage, these questions assess your analytical ability, critical evaluation and completion of arguments. The text consists of two sections of logical reasoning questions.

Essay or Writing Sample Section
This is the last section of a test where you will be given a problem statement and two options, regarding a situation. You have to make a choice and write an essay to justify your choice of a particular decision over the other. Colleges have their own criteria as to how they use the writing sample, for they usually have the applicants submit a personal statement of some kind along with the application.
It is prudent to note that admission procedures to law schools have a range of application requirements and deadlines. Keep tabs on all these while you apply. It is advisable to take the test in December to get your applications off in time for the academic session of the following year. If you want to improve your scores you may appear for the test on earlier dates. Usually all the colleges will receive your scores, however you may opt to cancel the test score during the test itself or within 14 days of the test.

In India test centres are located in Bengaluru, Hyder-abad and New Delhi. To prepare for the tests you could go through a sample test paper and also buy LSAT preparation material from LSAC. There are coaching classes and also some online tutorial services that provide training to candidates appearing for this test.

For further information, log on to the council’s website at www.lsac.org

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