1. Review LSAT writing samples.
"Across cultures, higher education has served primarily to aid the process of socialization by instilling cultural values, norms, and behaviors, thereby integrating people into the fabric of their respective societies. A university degree provides more than just those so-called 'soft skills' necessary for making white-collar work function smoothly, like interpersonal communication and teamwork. This emblem of accomplishment, the college degree, also provides a social signal that one is befitted to the upper middle class, if not higher. By serving as class membership badges, undergraduate degrees perpetuate social stratification and hierarchies, with the result that access to opportunity is determined largely not by merit, but more so by one's ability to conform to a particular set of valuesin short, to 'fit in.' In this manner, college places subtle constraints on students that go far beyond the more well-known problem of financial barriers to access."
Universities play a crucial role in advancing knowledge and addressing societal issues, sparking debate over whether to prioritize research that tackles global challenges, like climate change, or research in specific academic fields, like theoretical physics. Proponents of focusing on global challenges argue that such research leads to immediate benefits, such as sustainable energy solutions. Conversely, advocates for specific academic fields emphasize that fundamental research can underpin future technological innovations. The allocation of university research resources impacts technological progress, economic development, environmental sustainability, and social equity. Decisions on research priorities can shape scientific breakthroughs, solutions to global challenges, and the preparedness of future generations to tackle complex problems. Therefore, it is important to consider to what extent universities should prioritize research addressing global challenges over research advancing specific academic fields.
Since 1982, LSAT Writing has been a part of the LSAT, providing prospective law students the opportunity to demonstrate their argumentative writing skills. These skills include the ability to organize evidence into a position and to argue logically in writing that is structurally sound. Although each law school uses LSAT Writing samples in its own way, most law schools view LSAT Writing as an important part of their holistic admission process and for that reason do not receive an applicant’s score on the multiple-choice portion of the LSAT until an LSAT Writing sample has been completed.
2. Learn how to structure LSAT writing samples.
As the legal profession continues to evolve, there is an increasing need for prospective law students to develop strong analytical and argumentative writing skills. The LSAT Writing prompt has been redesigned to LSAT Argumentative Writing, giving a clearer, more authentic writing purpose than the former “decision based” LSAT Writing prompt. The new prompt became part of the LSAT starting with the August 2024 test administration and is available to test takers as of July 30, 2024.
Your notes in response to the prewriting questions will still be available to you while you write your essay, but they will not be evaluated or included as part of your essay. These questions are strictly provided to help guide your analysis of the perspectives and to help you develop your own argument in response to the Key Question.
Check out expert LSAT writing sample examples we have for you in this article! To get a good LSAT score, you must prepare with different , including LSAT writing sample prompts. In this blog, you will learn everything you need to ace this unscored section of the LSAT and read amazing LSAT writing samples! Let’s dive in!
Spend the remainder of your prewriting time working through the prewriting questions presented below. These questions are intended to help you think critically about the issue and generate productive ideas for your essay. Record your thoughts in your digital scratch paper by making notes or lists, or by writing short answers to the questions.
How to Handle the LSAT Writing Sample
Likewise, there’s no reason to accept it in our educational lives. Instead, we ought to honor the agency of students in orchestrating their own educational experience. Some colleges have begun to change in the right direction, emphasizing dialogue over monologue and problem-solving over sheer information retention. This new form of relationship between student and university is critical, where teachers collaborate with students to discover new truths together, where student learning is based on their own guided learning experiences, and where curricula are created around topics that engage students’ intrinsic motivation to learn. This moves us closer to creating the flourishing, diverse society we need.”
How Much Does the Writing Sample Matter?
Given the additional reading required, we added 15 minutes to the LSAT Argumentative Writing test. You can use this time to prepare to write your essay using guided prewriting analysis questions and take notes using the digital note-taking tool provided in the testing environment. These questions are designed to help you analyze the various perspectives and generate productive ideas for your essay.
How the LSAT Writing Sample works
(If you took the ACT in high school and are having ACT Writing Test flashbacks, that’s because this essay prompt structure is extremely similar to the essay prompts used on the ACT since 2015.)
LSAT Argumentative Writing | The Law School Admission Council
You will have a total of 50 minutes — 15 minutes for prewriting analysis and 35 minutes for essay writing — to complete the LSAT Argumentative Writing prompt.
The LSAT Writing Essay: What It Is and How to Write It
Likewise, there's no reason to accept it in our educational lives. Instead, we ought to honor the agency of students in orchestrating their own educational experience. Some colleges have begun to change in the right direction, emphasizing dialogue over monologue and problem-solving over sheer information retention. This new form of relationship between student and university is critical, where teachers collaborate with students to discover new truths together, where student learning is based on their own guided learning experiences, and where curricula are created around topics that engage students' intrinsic motivation to learn. This moves us closer to creating the flourishing, diverse society we need."