Can someone mark my LNAT essay?
I am due to give the LNAT in August-September next year and I am planning to apply to Oxford, LSE, UCL and Newcastle (for 2025 entry). This is my first attempt at writing an LNAT essay and I didn't time it, but I would appreciate it if law students could judge my essay and give me feedback on the structure, quality of arguments and so on...and of course, if I have any chance of getting into the above universities.
Topic: What is your response to the view that the purpose of education is to prepare young people for the world of work?
The purpose of education is a subjective question. Education involves imparting knowledge to people; but to what end? The obvious conclusion is that the knowledge they are equipped with, would be of use later in life. Whether or not that knowledge is meant solely for their entry into the world or work is the question at the heart of the matter.
I believe that building a capable workforce is, indeed, the purpose of education. Work, whether skilled or unskilled, intellectual or manual, rooted in the arts or in the sciences, requires some degree of education. A lawyer needs a qualifying law degree; a mechanic starts out as the apprentice of another. This suggests that education serves the purpose of building people capable of productive work. The converse is also true; universities today base their claims to fame upon, amongst other factors, the employability of its graduates. The institutions with larger proportions of employed graduates enjoy greater prestige and higher popularity among prospective students; students from schools that, in turn, pride themselves on sending their pupils to these very universities.
Another case to be considered is the existence of state-provided education. Governments spend money on free education of its citizens, respecting education as a fundamental right. However, spending millions of the nation’s money without anticipation of return would put the country’s economic stability at risk, the return being ‘human resource development’, a future productive workforce that would boost the nation’s economy. Some of the world’s most developed economies recognise free and compulsory education as a fundamental right, the United Kingdom, the United States and Switzerland, among others. If preparing students for the world of work was not the purpose of education, governments all over the world would not have invested public money in providing free education.
It can be argued that education, in its most fundamental sense, involves the dissemination of knowledge for its own sake; its purpose being to increase people’s knowledge, whether or not they join the workforce. Such an argument is, however, incomplete. People who have gained education may use it in different forms of work. They may apply it in real-life scenarios, like doctors, engineers, lawyers or executives, or they may be part of a group traditionally classed as involved in the pursuit of ‘knowledge for knowledge’s sake’, such as theoretical scientists, philosophers and other academics. Even the members of the latter group have used their education for a form of ‘work’ - conducting laboratory experiments, writing research papers, publishing scholarly works so that their ideas are preserved for the future. If an educated person does not use his/her training for any of these purposes, practical or academic, their knowledge will die with them; their education has not served an alternative purpose, but rather no purpose at all.
Some might argue that education also serves the purpose of making people more socially responsible, more sensitive to those around them. But even that can be said to be connected to building a more congenial workplace environment for everyone concerned. Consider an example. A person, by virtue of his education, is sensitised towards the importance of regarding specially abled people as equals and respecting their needs. The mere knowledge of this fact does not have any noteworthy impact, but if the person extends this same attitude towards the workplace, being a considerate and respectful colleague towards his specially-abled coworkers, or being an equal-opportunities employer, his education has made a positive impact on the specially abled community; it has served its purpose.
In short, the various purposes for which education is deemed necessary are, directly or indirectly, connected to preparing students to enter the workforce. (606 words)
Topic: What is your response to the view that the purpose of education is to prepare young people for the world of work?
The purpose of education is a subjective question. Education involves imparting knowledge to people; but to what end? The obvious conclusion is that the knowledge they are equipped with, would be of use later in life. Whether or not that knowledge is meant solely for their entry into the world or work is the question at the heart of the matter.
I believe that building a capable workforce is, indeed, the purpose of education. Work, whether skilled or unskilled, intellectual or manual, rooted in the arts or in the sciences, requires some degree of education. A lawyer needs a qualifying law degree; a mechanic starts out as the apprentice of another. This suggests that education serves the purpose of building people capable of productive work. The converse is also true; universities today base their claims to fame upon, amongst other factors, the employability of its graduates. The institutions with larger proportions of employed graduates enjoy greater prestige and higher popularity among prospective students; students from schools that, in turn, pride themselves on sending their pupils to these very universities.
Another case to be considered is the existence of state-provided education. Governments spend money on free education of its citizens, respecting education as a fundamental right. However, spending millions of the nation’s money without anticipation of return would put the country’s economic stability at risk, the return being ‘human resource development’, a future productive workforce that would boost the nation’s economy. Some of the world’s most developed economies recognise free and compulsory education as a fundamental right, the United Kingdom, the United States and Switzerland, among others. If preparing students for the world of work was not the purpose of education, governments all over the world would not have invested public money in providing free education.
It can be argued that education, in its most fundamental sense, involves the dissemination of knowledge for its own sake; its purpose being to increase people’s knowledge, whether or not they join the workforce. Such an argument is, however, incomplete. People who have gained education may use it in different forms of work. They may apply it in real-life scenarios, like doctors, engineers, lawyers or executives, or they may be part of a group traditionally classed as involved in the pursuit of ‘knowledge for knowledge’s sake’, such as theoretical scientists, philosophers and other academics. Even the members of the latter group have used their education for a form of ‘work’ - conducting laboratory experiments, writing research papers, publishing scholarly works so that their ideas are preserved for the future. If an educated person does not use his/her training for any of these purposes, practical or academic, their knowledge will die with them; their education has not served an alternative purpose, but rather no purpose at all.
Some might argue that education also serves the purpose of making people more socially responsible, more sensitive to those around them. But even that can be said to be connected to building a more congenial workplace environment for everyone concerned. Consider an example. A person, by virtue of his education, is sensitised towards the importance of regarding specially abled people as equals and respecting their needs. The mere knowledge of this fact does not have any noteworthy impact, but if the person extends this same attitude towards the workplace, being a considerate and respectful colleague towards his specially-abled coworkers, or being an equal-opportunities employer, his education has made a positive impact on the specially abled community; it has served its purpose.
In short, the various purposes for which education is deemed necessary are, directly or indirectly, connected to preparing students to enter the workforce. (606 words)
(edited 11 months ago)
Personally I wouldn't post something like that on here - as it may be copied word for word and submitted by someone else also applying for the LNAT.
My comment though, is you don't seem to have cited any sources (either for or against) the points you make (what reading did you do in preparation for the essay?). If you want to add some, you could try looking up the topic you're covering on Google Scholar (if you've not done so already)
My comment though, is you don't seem to have cited any sources (either for or against) the points you make (what reading did you do in preparation for the essay?). If you want to add some, you could try looking up the topic you're covering on Google Scholar (if you've not done so already)
(edited 11 months ago)
Not an actual law student but prospective law student who is picky about grammar. Your introduction is a bit repetitive in its ideas and there's a grammatical error in 'the knowledge they are equipped with, would be of use later in life" - comma is unnecessary.
I'm not sure if LNAT want you to refer to yourself personally in the essays, but maybe check that before using 'I' etc. Your ideas are good and thought out and you have strong vocabulary but maybe use the extra 150 or so words to develop ideas?
Your argument about making people more socially responsible is interesting but opening sentence comes across as gramatically strange. Remove the comma and maybe just change it to "and". In your statement, "a person, by virtue of his education", the use of the pronoun "his" comes across as a bit patriarchal. Maybe just use the neutral singular "they". Not sure what you mean by specially-abled, but if you mean disabled, maybe just say that instead.
I'm not sure if LNAT want you to refer to yourself personally in the essays, but maybe check that before using 'I' etc. Your ideas are good and thought out and you have strong vocabulary but maybe use the extra 150 or so words to develop ideas?
Your argument about making people more socially responsible is interesting but opening sentence comes across as gramatically strange. Remove the comma and maybe just change it to "and". In your statement, "a person, by virtue of his education", the use of the pronoun "his" comes across as a bit patriarchal. Maybe just use the neutral singular "they". Not sure what you mean by specially-abled, but if you mean disabled, maybe just say that instead.
Original post by Matilda_Moo
Personally I wouldn't post something like that on here - as it may be copied word for word and submitted by someone else also applying for the LNAT.
My comment though, is you don't seem to have cited any sources (either for or against) the points you make (what reading did you do in preparation for the essay?). If you want to add some, you could try looking up the topic you're covering on Google Scholar (if you've not done so already)
My comment though, is you don't seem to have cited any sources (either for or against) the points you make (what reading did you do in preparation for the essay?). If you want to add some, you could try looking up the topic you're covering on Google Scholar (if you've not done so already)
Actually I didn't do any reading at all, just to see what I could come up with if the topic given on exam day is something I know nothing about.
I have an entire year to read up on various topics, so I'll be able to cite real sources when I write essays later.
Thanks for the feedback.
Original post by soupstore
Not an actual law student but prospective law student who is picky about grammar. Your introduction is a bit repetitive in its ideas and there's a grammatical error in 'the knowledge they are equipped with, would be of use later in life" - comma is unnecessary.
I'm not sure if LNAT want you to refer to yourself personally in the essays, but maybe check that before using 'I' etc. Your ideas are good and thought out and you have strong vocabulary but maybe use the extra 150 or so words to develop ideas?
Your argument about making people more socially responsible is interesting but opening sentence comes across as gramatically strange. Remove the comma and maybe just change it to "and". In your statement, "a person, by virtue of his education", the use of the pronoun "his" comes across as a bit patriarchal. Maybe just use the neutral singular "they". Not sure what you mean by specially-abled, but if you mean disabled, maybe just say that instead.
I'm not sure if LNAT want you to refer to yourself personally in the essays, but maybe check that before using 'I' etc. Your ideas are good and thought out and you have strong vocabulary but maybe use the extra 150 or so words to develop ideas?
Your argument about making people more socially responsible is interesting but opening sentence comes across as gramatically strange. Remove the comma and maybe just change it to "and". In your statement, "a person, by virtue of his education", the use of the pronoun "his" comes across as a bit patriarchal. Maybe just use the neutral singular "they". Not sure what you mean by specially-abled, but if you mean disabled, maybe just say that instead.
Thanks for the feedback on grammar! Which year are you going to enter university?
Regarding the usage of 'I', I have seen some candidates refer to themselves in official lnat sample essays.
hello! im a ucl law offer holder for this year, my score was 26. ucl weigh the essay pretty heavily so i think mine pulled my application through lol. i honestly left my essay prep very last minute so its good you are preparing so early! just remember that no matter how much you practice it really comes down to the set of questions you get on the day. out of the questions i was given, i only found one of them easy enough to answer.
my biggest tip for the lnat essay in general is probably to have a clear structure / tick boxes in your head about what to write, then you have the content/clarity needed that you can apply for any essay efficiently as you only have 40 minutes. i followed this structure:
- intro: define key terms and clearly state your line of argument
- first argument
- counter argument (but make sure you aren't suggesting that you agree with this point, only acknowledging/showing an understanding of it)
- why is the counter argument wrong? (make sure this point is very strong but still relevant)
- conclusion (don't just state your line of argument, make sure you address counters. basically sum up what you have just said)
things to remember for content:
- show an understanding of the wider world (don't bother reading up on sources, research etc. you likely won't be able to mention them as there are so many questions that could come up and the lnat essay is about proving your ability to write argumentatively and convincingly about a random topic that you make your own ideas about, not scientifically/accurately. you could talk about history, current affairs etc. as long as you can link it to the question, i mentioned andrew tate in mine)
- you don't need long, complex words/sentences (the essay is about clarity)
- ensure you are directly answering the question throughout your essay
also, you can refer to yourself in first person. probably don't do it too much, but i definitely did use it in my essay occasionally otherwise it would just read weird haha, for example i think i wrote 'i would like to introduce my argument by...'. dont be too picky with grammar tbh, the admissions tutors know that its been written in 40 minutes in exam conditions about something you've never seen before. as long as it's generally correct and understandable it should be ok
hope this helps !
my biggest tip for the lnat essay in general is probably to have a clear structure / tick boxes in your head about what to write, then you have the content/clarity needed that you can apply for any essay efficiently as you only have 40 minutes. i followed this structure:
- intro: define key terms and clearly state your line of argument
- first argument
- counter argument (but make sure you aren't suggesting that you agree with this point, only acknowledging/showing an understanding of it)
- why is the counter argument wrong? (make sure this point is very strong but still relevant)
- conclusion (don't just state your line of argument, make sure you address counters. basically sum up what you have just said)
things to remember for content:
- show an understanding of the wider world (don't bother reading up on sources, research etc. you likely won't be able to mention them as there are so many questions that could come up and the lnat essay is about proving your ability to write argumentatively and convincingly about a random topic that you make your own ideas about, not scientifically/accurately. you could talk about history, current affairs etc. as long as you can link it to the question, i mentioned andrew tate in mine)
- you don't need long, complex words/sentences (the essay is about clarity)
- ensure you are directly answering the question throughout your essay
also, you can refer to yourself in first person. probably don't do it too much, but i definitely did use it in my essay occasionally otherwise it would just read weird haha, for example i think i wrote 'i would like to introduce my argument by...'. dont be too picky with grammar tbh, the admissions tutors know that its been written in 40 minutes in exam conditions about something you've never seen before. as long as it's generally correct and understandable it should be ok
hope this helps !
Original post by Joanne Mathew
Thanks for the feedback on grammar! Which year are you going to enter university?
Regarding the usage of 'I', I have seen some candidates refer to themselves in official lnat sample essays.
Regarding the usage of 'I', I have seen some candidates refer to themselves in official lnat sample essays.
I'm entering this year (fingers crossed to Durham) and scored 27 in my MCQ. I'd say in terms of use of 'I' - maybe avoid as much as possible but if you reach a point where what you're trying to say won't make sense otherwise, then use it (40 minutes is a short time constraint to waste time on thinking about this)
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