how do i prepare for the LNAT

I'm taking the LNAT in October - anyone who's taken it before or is going to, how do I make sure I smash it?

I am taking it in October as well! I've been reading this book called 'Critical Thinking: An Introduction' by Alec Fisher and have found it really useful in improving my ability to discern arguments and assumptions (which are useful skills for LNAT). I would reccomend doing the sample exams on their website as well and looking at the essay question bank they have - though i'll admit LNAT lnat essays are giving me some difficulty.

Reply 2

ruthf

15

Original post by lisaanne-19

I'm taking the LNAT in October - anyone who's taken it before or is going to, how do I make sure I smash it?

Hey guys, I’m off to Oxford this October to study Law so I took my LNAT last year. I also received offers to King’s and UCL, along with other universities that don’t accept the LNAT. My cohort average was 19 or 20 and I got 29/42.

My first piece of advice is that you absolutely should not pay for tutoring. LNAT themselves do not endorse it and I happen to agree. No one can tutor you to excel in the LNAT. There’s nothing you can learn from someone else that you couldn’t from reading certain books or using practice materials.

I personally did not use any critical thinking books but if you feel they may be helpful then you may want to purchase one or two. It is worth noting that LNAT themselves do not endorse any books and again do not necessarily recommend their use. I don’t feel that it would be massively detrimental if you used them however and may be beneficial.

What I did for the most part was just to keep up to date with world news. I read some of the recommended newspapers from the LNAT website such as The Economist, The Guardian, and The Times. Get a feel for what’s going on in the world and look at opinion pieces that maybe challenge your own view. This helps not only with multiple choice, but also with any potential essay questions.

The week before my LNAT I went over practice papers and made sure that I understood why the questions I got wrong were wrong and the same for the right questions. Don’t expect to get near perfect marks and don’t beat yourself up for not doing as well as you may have liked. Also I recommend looking up words that you’re not certain of the definition of because they love to throw in the odd question about the paradox in the passage for example. Just make sure you’re clear on things such as that!

The sample essays are nothing to be worried about. Nicholas McBride explains in Letters to a Law Student (which I highly recommend reading) that they are written at a far higher standard than you’d ever be expected to write at. I stressed myself out so much over them! It’s completely unnecessary to compare yourself to their examples. Another piece of advice that I took away was not to attempt to answer any specific essay question that you don’t have the relevant knowledge to back up. Try and go for more general questions. For example, I wouldn’t answer a question about human rights unless I knew a lot about the specific UN human rights etc myself. I personally answered a question about sexual relationships between family members because I didn’t feel that I needed specific knowledge to tackle it properly.

Hope that this has been helpful!

Reply 3

lisaanne-19

OP

6

Original post by Assembly

I am taking it in October as well! I've been reading this book called 'Critical Thinking: An Introduction' by Alec Fisher and have found it really useful in improving my ability to discern arguments and assumptions (which are useful skills for LNAT). I would reccomend doing the sample exams on their website as well and looking at the essay question bank they have - though i'll admit LNAT lnat essays are giving me some difficulty.

Thanks I'll definitely try the specimens and see if I can find a pdf of that book. Good luck with your lnat although you don't seem like you'll need it!

Reply 4

lisaanne-19

OP

6

This was very helpful, thanks!

Reply 5

Supernovas

14

I'm taking mine on the 4th of October, I'm not doing that great (14/15 marks overalll) but what really did help was Eve Cornwell's LNAT prep video that's on YouTube.

She goes through one or two questions with you too so you can see how you come to the right answer

Reply 6

lisaanne-19

OP

6

Original post by K.bower

I'm taking mine on the 4th of October, I'm not doing that great (14/15 marks overalll) but what really did help was Eve Cornwell's LNAT prep video that's on YouTube.

She goes through one or two questions with you too so you can see how you come to the right answer

Thanks I'll check it out

Reply 7

Yoshi123456

11

@ruthf

Congrats on your Oxford offer!

I’m taking the LNAT tomorrow, so a little late for any advice on that, but I was hoping you could advise which college you are going to and whether it was your first choice and why?

I’ll be applying in a couple of weeks and I haven’t made my mind up. Trinity is up there at the top of my list, along with Brasenose. I’m unable to visit as I live in the Highlands of Scotland and the journey is too long for just a day or two. My school has very little experience of Oxbridge.....

Many thanks

(edited 5 years ago)

Reply 8

Supernovas

14

Original post by lisaanne-19

Thanks I'll check it out

Thought I'd update you. I waited 4 few days after watching Eve's LNAT video and making notes. I then timed myself the 95 minutes and this time I got 20/42. Of course, I'm not 100% there yet, but considering the fact that the last few times I was getting 14 and 15 marks, this result is really good. Especially as my lnat is on the 4th of October so I have loads of time to get my score to 25+.

I also recommend the LNAT website there's two practise test which is close to how the real one will be. There's also an online simulator. I also recommend you print off the how to prepare for the LNAT guide by Pearson.

I found that constant practice means I'm getting used to the style of the questions and it means I'm getting more and more answers correct.

Reply 9

ruthf

15

Original post by Yoshi123456

@ruthf

Congrats on your Oxford offer!

I’m taking the LNAT tomorrow, so a little late for any advice on that, but I was hoping you could advise which college you are going to and whether it was your first choice and why?

I’ll be applying in a couple of weeks and I haven’t made my mind up. Trinity is up there at the top of my list, along with Brasenose. I’m unable to visit as I live in the Highlands of Scotland and the journey is too long for just a day or two. My school has very little experience of Oxbridge.....

Many thanks

Thank you very much!

I’m going to New College and that was the college that I applied to so I’m very happy to be going there. For me it came down to the open day. I didn’t get to visit every college so I don’t think that I actually made a particularly informed decision, but out of all of the colleges I visited New College really stood out to me. I felt like I just had a connection with the college and I really loved every part of it!

I think the main things to look at would be quality of accommodation and food because you’ll be living there for a while! Also consider how close it will be to the St Cross building, New College is very close! Try and do as much research as possible online and read the alternative prospectus. There is also a quiz you can take to see what college is best for you but it is based upon fairly basic criteria so definitely take it with a pinch of salt!

Best of luck with your LNAT and your application!

Reply 10

Yoshi123456

11

Thank you!

Good luck in your studies at New College.

Reply 11

Ayshia Darroux

1

Congratulations on your Oxford offer. This advice was also extremely helpful, so thank you! All the best for your start in October :smile:

Reply 12

Arbitio LNAT

10

Original post by lisaanne-19

I'm taking the LNAT in October - anyone who's taken it before or is going to, how do I make sure I smash it?

Hi!

The best way to do really well is to do lots of practice papers. That is absolutely the best advice, because although the LNAT doesn't test your knowledge-base (so yes it is true when they say you can't really 'revise' for it) but it does absolutely test your skills of analysis , critical reading and thinking, which by all means get better with practice.

If your LNAT is in October then doing practice papers on regular basis now and getting good feedback on them is the way to go about preparing. Doing practice papers and then seeing where you tend to make mistakes will actually help you improve over time and increase your scores.

All best & Good luck !
Arbitio

Reply 13

10oba-abbad

16

Original post by ruthf

Thank you very much!

I’m going to New College and that was the college that I applied to so I’m very happy to be going there. For me it came down to the open day. I didn’t get to visit every college so I don’t think that I actually made a particularly informed decision, but out of all of the colleges I visited New College really stood out to me. I felt like I just had a connection with the college and I really loved every part of it!

I think the main things to look at would be quality of accommodation and food because you’ll be living there for a while! Also consider how close it will be to the St Cross building, New College is very close! Try and do as much research as possible online and read the alternative prospectus. There is also a quiz you can take to see what college is best for you but it is based upon fairly basic criteria so definitely take it with a pinch of salt!

Best of luck with your LNAT and your application!

Congrats thats amazing!

What subjects did you take at a-level?

Reply 14

ruthf

15

Original post by 10oba-abbad

Congrats thats amazing!

What subjects did you take at a-level?

I took History but dropped it part way through year 13 and decided not to do an AS so I have no qualification for that. I did Law, Psychology and Sociology and got an A* in each :smile:

Reply 15

10oba-abbad

16

Original post by ruthf

I took History but dropped it part way through year 13 and decided not to do an AS so I have no qualification for that. I did Law, Psychology and Sociology and got an A* in each :smile:

Thats insane wow. Do you think a-levels in biology maths and economics would suffice an Oxford application?

how do i prepare for the LNAT

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