How the LSAT is structured
The Law School Admission Test (LSAT) is designed and administered by the Law School Admission Council (LSAC). It measures reading and reasoning skills rather than legal knowledge. Since August 2024, the multiple-choice test no longer includes Analytical Reasoning (Logic Games).
| Section | What it tests | Format |
|---|---|---|
| Logical Reasoning (two scored sections) | Analysing, evaluating and completing short arguments: assumptions, flaws, strengthening, weakening, inference, principle and parallel reasoning | About 35 minutes each |
| Reading Comprehension (one scored section) | Understanding structure, purpose and inference in dense passages, including one comparative passage set | About 35 minutes |
| Unscored variable section | Either Logical Reasoning or Reading Comprehension, used to trial new questions; you will not know which section it is | About 35 minutes |
| LSAT Argumentative Writing | Unscored writing task completed separately; sent to schools with your score report | Taken online on your own schedule |
The LSAT is scored from 120 to 180, and there is no penalty for wrong answers. Because Logical Reasoning makes up two of the three scored sections, it carries the most weight in your score. Check lsac.org for test dates, the current format, registration deadlines and the rules for remote and in-person testing.
What this means for study: the LSAT is a skills exam. You improve by learning to see argument structure quickly and by reviewing your own reasoning errors, not by memorising content. That makes deliberate practice and thorough review far more important than hours logged.
A 12-week LSAT study plan
This plan assumes 15 to 20 hours a week and access to official PrepTests through LSAC’s LawHub. It moves from untimed accuracy to timed performance.
| Week | Focus | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Diagnostic and foundations | Take one official PrepTest timed to get a baseline. Learn argument parts: conclusion, premises, assumptions. Read the LSAC format guide. |
| 2 | Logical Reasoning: core types | Main point, assumption, flaw, strengthen and weaken. Drill each type untimed; write down why every wrong answer fails. |
| 3 | Logical Reasoning: inference and conditional logic | Must-be-true, most-strongly-supported, conditional statements, contrapositives. Make flashcards for logic rules and common traps. |
| 4 | Logical Reasoning: remaining types | Principle, parallel reasoning, parallel flaw, method, role and evaluate. Mixed untimed sets. |
| 5 | Reading Comprehension: method | Practise mapping passages: main point, author’s attitude, structure of each paragraph. Two to three passages a day untimed. |
| 6 | Reading Comprehension and comparative passages | Comparative passage sets; inference and author-attitude questions. Mixed Logical Reasoning sets continue. |
| 7 | Introduce timing | Timed sections. Learn when to skip and return. First full timed PrepTest at the end of the week. |
| 8 | Review and weak types | Spend as long reviewing the PrepTest as you spent taking it. Drill your two weakest question types. |
| 9 | PrepTests | Two full timed PrepTests with full review. Add a fifth section to one of them to build stamina. |
| 10 | Weak areas | Return to untimed drills for any type below your target accuracy. Re-attempt questions from your error log without looking at the answer. |
| 11 | Simulation | Two PrepTests under real conditions, at your real test time, using the LawHub interface. Draft a practice argumentative essay. |
| 12 | Taper | One final PrepTest early in the week, then light review of your error log. Rest before test day. |
How to use active recall, spaced repetition and practice questions for the LSAT
Active recall for reasoning patterns. After every drill set, close the book and write the pattern in your own words: “This flaw confuses a necessary condition with a sufficient one.” Being able to name and explain a pattern from memory is active recall applied to skills, and it is what lets you spot the pattern under time pressure.
Spaced repetition for your error log. The LSAT has little content to memorise, but your mistakes repeat. Turn every missed question into a flashcard: the stimulus summary on the front, and on the back the correct reasoning plus why the tempting wrong answer fails. Review these on a spaced repetition schedule. Conditional logic rules, including how to form a contrapositive, also belong on cards.
Practice questions in the right order. Accuracy first, speed second. Untimed drills build correct habits; timing too early trains you to guess. Once accuracy is high, interleave question types in timed sections, because on test day you will not be told which type is coming.
Blind review. After a timed section, before checking answers, redo any question you were unsure of with unlimited time. Comparing your timed and blind-review scores shows whether your problem is reasoning or pacing.
How to use Duetoday for the LSAT
Duetoday does not provide LSAT questions; use official PrepTests from LSAC for those. Duetoday helps you learn the concepts and retain your own lessons.
- Capture explanations. Record a prep class, paste a YouTube explanation of a question type, or upload a PDF of your prep book chapter. Duetoday creates a transcript and structured notes you can search later.
- Turn your error log into flashcards. Paste your notes on missed questions and use the AI flashcard generator to create cards on flaws, assumptions and conditional rules. Review them with spaced repetition, or export to Anki or CSV.
- Generate drills on concepts. Create a practice test from your notes on conditional logic or flaw types to check your understanding of the concepts, with explanations, before applying them to official questions.
- Ask Galileo to explain a stubborn pattern. When a question type keeps tripping you up, ask Galileo to explain the reasoning from your notes and give you similar practice items.
Choosing LSAT resources
The single most important resource is official LSAT material. LSAC’s LawHub gives access to official PrepTests in the same digital interface you will use on test day, and the more recent tests best reflect the current question style. Pair those with one good explanation source, such as a prep book, course or video series, for learning methods and reviewing questions you cannot work out on your own.
If you use older materials, make sure they are adapted to the format without Logic Games. Older Logical Reasoning and Reading Comprehension questions are still useful practice, but timing advice and full-test strategies written for the four-section format with Analytical Reasoning no longer apply.
The final week and test day
Taper your volume in the final week. One last full PrepTest early in the week, then short timed sections and review of your error log and flashcards. Check your test-day setup: for a remote test, confirm that your computer, webcam, room and internet meet LSAC’s requirements; for an in-person test, confirm the location, arrival time and identification rules. On test day, stick to the pacing plan you practised. Skip and return to questions that are eating time, answer every question because wrong answers are not penalised, and treat each section independently, since you will not know which section is unscored.
Common LSAT study mistakes
- Taking PrepTest after PrepTest without review. Your score improves in the review, not the test. Budget at least as long reviewing as testing.
- Timing too early. Rushing before your method is reliable makes errors habitual.
- Using old Logic Games material. Since August 2024 it is not tested. Make sure your prep resources reflect the current format.
- Reading Comprehension by skimming. Skimming saves time on the passage but costs it on the questions. Read for structure and the author’s view.
- Ignoring Argumentative Writing. It is unscored but sent to schools and must be completed before you can see your score. Practise at least one essay.
- Choosing the answer that sounds right. The right answer must be supported by the stimulus. Learn to reject answers that require outside assumptions.
