What is LSAT Writing?
LSAT Writing is a section of your LSAT that is unscored and taken separately from the administration of the Logical Reasoning and Reading Comprehension sections of your LSAT. It becomes available 8 days before your administration of the LSAT, and we recommend completing it within one week of taking your LSAT. Your scores will not be released until LSAT Writing is completed.
Starting July 31, 2024, LSAT Writing became LSAT Argumentative Writing with a number of changes to the nature of the prompt and the corresponding essay you will craft. You have a total of 50 minutes to complete it (must be done in one sitting) -- with 15 minutes for analysis and 35 minutes to write. Read through this step-by-step Blueprint guide about the new writing section.
If It's Not Scored, Why Do I Need to Complete LSAT Writing?
The most obvious reason is that neither you nor law schools will see your LSAT scores until your have LSAT Writing on file. Law schools vary when it comes to what exactly they do with your essay. But in the modern era of Chat-GPT and AI assisting law school candidates in developing their personal statements and other admissions essays, LSAT Writing is the one piece of writing that law schools can say with a high degree of certitude that you wrote yourself. You'll be doing a ton of writing in law school and in your legal career, so law schools consider your ability to express your ideas with the written word to be of the utmost importance.
When Does LSAT Writing Come Up In My Course?
In both Live Online and 170+, the fundamentals of LSAT Writing are introduced in Lesson 12. In this lesson, you'll learn how to analyze a prompt, what kind of planning you'll need to do, and then how to brainstorm and structure your essay.
You'll also have access to several sample prompts in your LawHub account for practice. We wait until the final lesson to introduce LSAT Writing because it is nowhere near as important as Logical Reasoning and Reading Comprehension, and you'll be able to practice after you complete the scored sections of your LSAT.
Are Office Hours Available to Discuss LSAT Writing?
Yes! About a week before each administration of the LSAT, we offer a 2-hour Office Hours lesson entitled "The Writing Section and Open Q&A." You can register for live Office Hours, or find this lesson in past Office Hours.
(*Starter tier self-paced courses have access to 2 free Office Hour sessions)