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Section A of the LNAT exam is designed to test the following attributes needed to study law:
As a whole, the purpose of LNAT Section A is to measure your ability to focus on details and not jump to conclusions.
LNAT Section A questions are 12 long passages of text – approximately 4 – 8 paragraphs in length. You will answer 3 – 5 multiple choice questions on each passage, each with 5 options to choose from. Only one of the answers will be correct.
The questions will not specifically be focused on law. Instead they will cover a wide variety of topics, including:
The list is not exhaustive. However, LNAT Section A is not designed to test your knowledge on these subjects, but your ability to decipher meanings from the text, whether it’s the intentions of the writer or the reasons for the use of specific words or sentences.
Section A of the LNAT is the only part of the exam that is officially scored. You are given a mark out of 42 based on how many questions you answer correctly. There is no pass or fail mark for the LNAT test. Instead, your score is used by LNAT universities as part of your application.
LNAT universities use your Section A LNAT score as an indication of your comprehension and reasoning skills. University admissions tutors want to know that you can analyse, understand and interpret texts, as they are the essential skills needed for studying law.
Your LNAT Section A score provides admissions tutors with more information on which to base their decision of who to give a place to on their law degree courses.
In particular, LNAT universities will use your Section A score when other university applicants have similar qualifications. For example, it can be difficult to compare an applicant who has A-Levels with applicants who have Advanced Highers or qualifications from other countries.
There are 3 types of LNAT multiple choice questions that are the most common:
Each type of question tests different skills.
Argument analysis questions assess your ability to understand what arguments are being made in a passage of text. You could be asked:
To answer argument analysis questions, you need to understand what an argument is, and how to undermine an argument. An argument is a series of statements, which are purposely presented in order to prove, or disprove, a given position.
To analyse the strength of an argument, you must divide the text, separating the various premises for the argument – whether expressed or implied – and the logical reasoning made from them. Then assess each of the parts separately.
First, establish whether each of the premises for the argument are strong or you could easily argue against them. Then determine whether the reasoning is logical or a misconception. Arguments are a misconception if they incorrectly apply the laws of logic, which makes an argument less solid.
Often one of the best strategies for answering argument analysis questions is to use a process of elimination. This will enable you to swiftly eliminate the wrong answers and progress to the right one. Closely reading the passage will help you do this as the right answer will always emerge from careful reading of the text.
Analysis and interpretation LNAT questions in Section A can include:
Careful reading of the text is required to ensure that you do not make any assumptions that the author is not making. You are not supposed to rely on your general knowledge to interpret the text, instead you should focus on what the passage is actually saying and the facts presented as they are, rather than what you believe they should be.
You will also need to look at the bigger picture to try and interpret the words of the writer, rather than simply looking for the answer in the passage. It’s crucial that you read the whole text as you will need to understand what the author is trying to say.
Literary style LNAT multiple choice questions focus on your understanding of the words used by the writer, and the overall argument they are trying to present. Questions you could be asked include:
These questions are designed to test your understanding of unusual words and phrases. It’s important that you read a wide variety of news articles and books on a regular basis to broaden your vocabulary, and to help you answer literary style LNAT questions.
To prepare for Section A of the LNAT, read articles on a daily basis, but adopt a critical approach. When reading an article, get into the habit of trying to answer the following questions:
When sitting LNAT Section A:
You can practice LNAT multiple choice questions for free with our LNAT Question Bank.
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