What is on the LSAT?

Answer 1

The traditional LSAT (excluding the LSAT Flex) contains 5 sections, 4 of which are scored and one writing passage which is not scored. Each section is 35 minutes long, although time can be extended for disability accommodations.

2 of the scored sections are called Logical Reasoning (LR) which contains roughly 25 to 26 individual small paragraphs with over 15 different type of question stems ranging from "What is the main point of the passage ?" to "Which of the following, if true, most supports the passage above?" and so on. This compromised 50% of your test score.

The next scored section is called Reading Comprehension (RC) which contains 4 long passages ranging on topics from humanities, science, law and anything in between. These dense passages typically advocate for or against an option and each passage has 5 to 9 questions for it. Overall RC contains 27 questions.

The final scored section of the LSAT is Analytical Reasoning, or often called Logic Games (LG). Logic Games contains 4 "games" in which you are given a group of people or things called variables and are told to put them in a specific order or group in accordance to a set of rules. You are then asked a series of questions per game testing your knowledge and application of the rules to see which variable can go where within those confined rules of the game.

Lastly there is a fifth section which is "experimental" and not scored and it can be any one of the three sections above (LR, RC, or LG). You are not told which section is experimental during the test. The writing section is done at home after you leave the test center, it is timed but not scored and is mainly used for Law schools to look at your writing capabilities. The Test has three 35 minute sections in a row consecutively, followed by a strict 15 minute break, and the finishes with two 35 minute sections. Again all of the sections are randomized so the person taking the test next to you will likely be on a different section than you are.

The LSAT is then graded on a scale of 120 to 180 with 120 being no questions answered correctly to 180 being every single question answered correctly. There are no points lost for guessing on the LSAT so it does not hurt to guess if time is about to expire and it is best not to leave any answer blank!

Answer 2

As of August, 2021, the LSAT is a 4-section exam. Three of the sections are scored and one is experimental, although the test taker will not be aware of which one is the scored or experimental portion of the exam. There are three different sections types: Logical Reasoning (short prompts with answer choices), Reading Comprehension (4 long excerpts with a group of 5-7 questions per), and Analytical Reasoning, also known as the Logic Games (4 games with 5-6 questions per game).

So, your exam could go: Reading Comprehension, Logical Reasoning, Logic Games, Reading Comprehension, with one of the two Reading sections being an experimental section.