LNAT essay

many people who have taken the LNAT have stated that the essay questions are on current affairs - not sure how true this is but we are rolling with it. i just wanted to ask if this is true and what topics you think may appear. for those who have completed the LNAT, what advice would you give for both sections A and B!

thanks!

Reply 1

lily31

Original post by sewminin

I did the LNAT last year and the 2 essay Qs I remember were something about enforcing an obligatory ratio of men to women (50/50) in places like the senate/justice & governmental systems, and the other (which I chose) was discussing and defending your stance on whether criminal fines should be regulated based on ones income. The last one was something mathematical but I cant rly remember more. In short, based on what I got, I'd say that the topics are prevalent to current affairs, but the aim of the essay is more to see how well you can defend an argument, not how much you watch the news - so I wouldn't worry too much about knowing everything going on in the world
In regards to advice - definitely worry more about section A, as this is what most unis look at more; I personally failed section A because I didn't know about the LNAT until too late, and I had to take it in a rush with no preparation, so don't think you can just wing it and do as many practice tests online as you can!!
The worst thing about the LNAT section A imo is that the options all seem kind of correct in a lot of cases, so try and find resources that will help you determine how to choose the right answer in the shortest amount of time
Section B isn't too bad if you know how to write an argumentive essay - and it's only around 500 words, though you have a limited time which makes it a little more stressful, but just choose the subject you're most interested in and state your case. Also, don't worry about examiners not agreeing with your opinion because again they just want to know if you can argue it compellingly.
Hope this helps :smile:

Reply 2

Durham Rep Ghala

Official Rep

Original post by sewminin

Hiya

As Lily said, section A can be very tricky as all the options seem correct however there is always one that seems better suited than the others. To be able to identify this, you'd have to practice as many questions as possible and try to figure out the pattern in reasoning. Books like The Ultimate LNAT Collection are helpful as they give you a reason for why that particular option is correct and then you can follow similar reasoning to identify other answers. Unis don't usually have a minimum or pass grade in the LNAT as the average varies each year. I got a 17 on my LNAT but still got an offer from Durham so LNAT is not the make-all end-all !

As for the essay questions, look up previous LNAT topics on google and try and answer them. First, as soon as you read the question, give yourself time to evaluate it and decide which side of the argument you want to be on (either in favour or against). This is very important because unless you know your stance, it will be difficult to think about strong arguments to support it. As for the essay structure, always have three basic components- intro, main body and conclusion. The intro should be brief and give the reader an overall idea of what your essay is about, what you will argue and why. Finish this in 4-5 lines max.

In the main body, think of 3-4 arguments which can persuade the reader to adopt your stance. These could be related to the facts or general principles of law or policy grounds. It is even better if you can imagine a counter-argument to your argument (as in what your opponent would argue) and then counter that. This makes your stance more strong. Always make sure that your arguments are relevant to the question and directly contribute to the stance you're taking.

In the conclusion, again mention briefly what your arguments were and how they have pushed you towards taking one side over the other. Never insert a new argument in the conclusion- that shows a lack of clear train of thought. This should again be brief, lasting no more than 5-6 lines.

You can always read some sample essays and evaluate them to find out their strong and weak areas :smile:

-Himieka

(edited 2 years ago)

Reply 3

swjp

Original post by sewminin

I did the LNAT last year - I can't remember the two questions that I didn't answer, but the one I did was about whether blasphemy should be outlawed. I think that seems to be pretty representative of the general type of question.

My advice for section A would be to really focus on timing (how much time to spend on each passage) when doing past papers, including not leaving too many questions until the end because going back and rereading passages is very time consuming. One thing I did which was slightly unorthodox was to (on the whiteboard provided) write out ABCDE for 1-42 before the time started and then for each question where it wasn't obvious, cross off each letter as I ruled them out. I found ruling out options a lot easier than ruling them in. Then, if I flagged a question, I could go back to it and easily see, for example, that B and D were the only remaining options and thus focus on those.

The biggest thing I found helpful for section B was doing practice essays (under timed conditions, including with the spellcheck turned off because you don't have that in the actual thing) and getting them marked - ideally by someone who knows what the LNAT is looking for (I'd be happy to look over some essays for you!), but if not a humanities teacher at school etc would be good.

I got 34 in the LNAT, and I have an Oxford offer. I'd be more than happy to answer any other questions.

Reply 4

Cheesepuff123

Original post by swjp

I did the LNAT last year - I can't remember the two questions that I didn't answer, but the one I did was about whether blasphemy should be outlawed. I think that seems to be pretty representative of the general type of question.
My advice for section A would be to really focus on timing (how much time to spend on each passage) when doing past papers, including not leaving too many questions until the end because going back and rereading passages is very time consuming. One thing I did which was slightly unorthodox was to (on the whiteboard provided) write out ABCDE for 1-42 before the time started and then for each question where it wasn't obvious, cross off each letter as I ruled them out. I found ruling out options a lot easier than ruling them in. Then, if I flagged a question, I could go back to it and easily see, for example, that B and D were the only remaining options and thus focus on those.
The biggest thing I found helpful for section B was doing practice essays (under timed conditions, including with the spellcheck turned off because you don't have that in the actual thing) and getting them marked - ideally by someone who knows what the LNAT is looking for (I'd be happy to look over some essays for you!), but if not a humanities teacher at school etc would be good.
I got 34 in the LNAT, and I have an Oxford offer. I'd be more than happy to answer any other questions.