Are you considering going to law school in Canada or abroad? If so, one of the requirements you’ll need to apply to most schools is an LSAT score. You may have heard of this infamous exam and have a general idea as to what it entails, but how much do you really know about the LSAT exam?

Even if you’ve done your preliminary research, or have started studying, there are some new changes coming to the LSAT in August 2024!

What’s different about this new LSAT?

Currently, test takers for the LSAT will complete a multiple-choice portion, which includes:

• One logical reasoning section
• One reading comprehension section
• One analytical reasoning section
• One unscored section that could be any of the above section types

However, beginning in August 2024, any student who takes the LSAT will take this updated version that includes changes to the multiple-choice section. The new LSAT’s multiple-choice format will include:

• Two logical reasoning sections
• One reading comprehension section
• One unscored section of either logical reasoning or reading comprehension

So, as of August 2024, the analytical reasoning section of the multiple-choice test will be eliminated and replaced with an additional logical reasoning section.

How will this affect you?

If you’ve already began studying for the LSAT and are planning to take the test by June 2024, then this change to the LSAT won’t have any impact on you. The Law School Admission Council (LSAC) will continue to provide practice tests and prep materials for the current format, which includes the analytical reasoning section, until the conclusion of the June 2024 test.

If you’ll be taking the LSAT as of August 2024 or later, then you’ll be using the new version that eliminates the analytical reasoning section and adds an additional section for logical reasoning. Don’t worry if you’ve already started studying for the LSAT. The new test format won’t include any new question types that aren’t being used currently. So, you can continue to practice using the logical reasoning and reading comprehension sections of the existing test prep materials.

LSAC will provide test prep materials for the new LSAT format by February 2024 at the latest. That’ll give you at least six months of practice with the new format before the first test in August 2024.

You may be wondering, “will this new LSAT be easier or more difficult that the current version?” According to LSAC, this change should have no impact on your score. With the new version of the LSAT, you’ll still receive a score between 120-180, just like you would with the current test.

LSAT writing

It appears that the changes to the LSAT will only affect the multiple-choice portion of the test. Students will still need to complete the written portion of the LSAT as well.

The LSAT Writing exam is an online test. This is where you can showcase your persuasive writing skills, which are a necessity in law school. The exam is 35 minutes long, and you’ll be asked to write an essay in response to a prompt that you’ll be given.

Completing the LSAT is the first step of your journey to becoming a lawyer. It’s recommended that spend about three months studying and preparing for the LSAT. Good luck on your exam!