The LSAT has no content syllabus. It is not a test of legal knowledge: LSAC describes its questions as assessing how you analyse and evaluate arguments and how you read complex material of the kind you meet in law school. What LSAC does fix is the format — the number and length of sections, which are scored, and the two kinds of multiple-choice question — and that format changed in August 2024, when the Analytical Reasoning section ("Logic Games") was dropped. This page sets out the current format from LSAC's own pages, alongside the Myndaq LSAT course.
Two parts
LSAC describes the LSAT as administered in two parts:
- The multiple-choice test — four 35-minute sections.
- LSAT Argumentative Writing — a separate, unscored writing sample.
The multiple-choice test
- Four sections of 35 minutes each.
- Three sections are scored and one is unscored. The scored sections are two Logical Reasoning and one Reading Comprehension; the unscored section, used to try out new questions, can be either type and can appear in any position — so you cannot tell which it is, and you must treat every section as if it counts.
- A 10-minute break between the second and third sections.
That makes about 2 hours 20 minutes of section time, plus the break. The count of questions per section is not stated on LSAC's question-types page, and none is given here.
Logical Reasoning — two scored sections
LSAC's description: Logical Reasoning questions "assess your ability to analyze, critically evaluate, and complete arguments".
In practice each question gives you a short argument or set of statements and asks you to do one thing with it. The recurring tasks include:
- Find the conclusion — what the argument is trying to establish.
- Find the assumption — what the argument must take for granted, or what would make it valid.
- Strengthen or weaken — which new fact most helps or hurts the argument.
- Identify the flaw — the reasoning error the argument commits.
- Draw an inference — what must be true, or is most strongly supported, given the statements.
- Resolve a discrepancy — what explains two facts that seem to conflict.
- Match the reasoning — which other argument has the same structure, or the same flaw.
- Apply a principle — which judgement conforms to a stated rule.
These labels are the ones test-preparation material uses, including Myndaq's practice bank; LSAC's page describes the section's purpose rather than listing task names. With two of the three scored sections, Logical Reasoning is about two-thirds of your score.
Reading Comprehension — one scored section
LSAC's description: Reading Comprehension questions "assess your ability to read and understand examples of long-form, complex materials which are similar to those that you'll encounter in law school".
In Myndaq's practice bank, as in most preparation material, a set is a dense passage of argument or exposition followed by questions on its main point, structure, details, the author's attitude, inferences and application to new cases; some sets pair two shorter related passages. LSAC's page does not specify passage counts or subjects. The difficulty is less vocabulary than tracking whose view is whose.
LSAT Argumentative Writing
A separate, unscored writing sample. LSAC will not release your score to you or to law schools until a completed sample is on file. For most candidates it is 50 minutes — 15 minutes of prewriting analysis and 35 minutes of writing — and it can be taken online from eight days before the multiple-choice test; you have a year to complete it.
How the LSAT is scored
- Scale: 120 to 180.
- Your raw score is the number of questions you answered correctly. There is no deduction for incorrect answers — so answer every question, including the ones you cannot finish.
- The raw score is converted to the 120–180 scale so that scores from different administrations can be compared.
- Your percentile is the percentage of test takers whose scores were lower than yours over the previous three testing years.
- A score is reportable for up to five testing years after the testing year it was earned. Scores earned before July 2021 are not valid for law school admission.
There is no pass mark. Law schools set their own expectations and publish their admitted-class profiles.
What the format does not tell you
- Which section is unscored. It can be either type, in any position.
- Exact question counts. LSAC's question-types page does not state them.
- A score per raw mark. The conversion depends on the administration.
For a study plan, see the LSAT preparation guide. For fees, date changes and refunds, see LSAT fees and registration. For worked questions of each kind, see LSAT practice questions.
Quick answers
Is there an LSAT syllabus?
No content syllabus. The LSAT tests reasoning and reading, not law. What is fixed is the format: four 35-minute multiple-choice sections and a separate writing sample.
Are Logic Games still on the LSAT?
No. The format since August 2024 has two scored Logical Reasoning sections, one scored Reading Comprehension section and one unscored section, with no Analytical Reasoning.
Is there negative marking on the LSAT?
No. LSAC says there is no deduction for incorrect answers; your raw score is the number you answer correctly.
Is the LSAT writing sample scored?
No, but your score will not be released until a completed writing sample is on file.
How long are LSAT scores valid?
Reportable for up to five testing years after the testing year in which the score was earned.
