A student practicing LSAT Argumentative Writing in a university library

The LSAT Argumentative Writing component of the LSAT tests the skills designed to better align with the sort of writing, arguing, and defending that prospective lawyers will need in the real world. Here are four LSAT writing tips to help you prepare.

1. Brainstorm an LSAT Writing Prompt

An LSAT Argumentative Writing prompt gives you three or four excerpted perspectives and provides you with four prewriting questions to help you generate ideas regarding those sources. You should use two to three of those excerpts to make an argument that pertains to the prompt's Key Question. You'll have 15 minutes for this reading, brainstorming, and prewriting and 35 minutes for writing. Make the most of your time by taking notes on each perspective in the digital scratch paper area:

  • Identify key arguments and evidence: what, if anything, convinces you about each viewpoint?
  • Create a list of plusses and minuses: what does each perspective offer that the others don't?
  • Consider how each relates to your position: how can you use them to strengthen your argument?

2. Make Your Argument

It is generally easier to argue something you really believe in, so lean into your opinion as you synthesize information from the perspectives that you brainstormed. This will also allow you to reference things outside of the perspectives, such as:

  • anything you've previously read, studied, or discussed on the subject
  • your beliefs or convictions, and how they interact with the topic
  • personal experiences that have informed your opinion

3. Address Counterarguments

The reason the LSAT Writing section is called "Argumentative" is because your goal is not just to make a case for your thesis but to account for how others might respond against it. Identify and plug gaps in your argument:

  • For a perspective you agree with, speak to why its compelling features are more important than any potential flaws.
  • For a perspective you disagree with, emphasize why the weaknesses outweigh the positives.

4. Be Clear and Coherent

According to the test makers, this task aims to "measure your ability to write an argumentative essay." That means that you should:

  • Use complete sentences that follow from the previous ones. If it helps, use your brainstorming notes to briefly outline each chosen perspective into its own paragraph.
  • Point to specific examples from the viewpoints or, occasionally, your own perspectives.
  • Make sure each idea is supported and connected; do not leave loose threads.
  • Stay on task: make each argument loop back to your central thesis.
  • Avoid the first person; instead of focusing on what "I think," argue for the issue.

These LSAT Writing tips are meant to help you quickly and efficiently make your case. Make sure that you get all the brainstorming done in the first 15 minutes, and that you know how to draw upon those notes to write the actual essay in the remaining 35. Writing a well-reasoned argument on a complex topic is the cornerstone of lawyering; take this opportunity to showcase your reasoning and stand out from a crowded pool of applicants in your law school admissions cycle.