The LNAT test format

At a glance

Section A: multiple choice

Section A gives you 12 passages, each making some kind of argument, and roughly three to four questions on each, for 42 questions in total. You have 95 minutes, which works out to a little over two minutes per question once you account for reading. The questions test whether you have understood the passage precisely: what it claims, what it assumes, what follows from it, and what would strengthen or weaken it.

This section is marked by computer and produces your LNAT score out of 42. There is no negative marking, so never leave a question blank. If you are running short on time, make sure every question has an answer, even a guess.

Section B: the essay

Section B gives you 40 minutes to write one essay from a choice of three prompts. The prompts are general questions of the sort that invite a reasoned argument rather than specialist knowledge. What matters is a clear position, a well-structured case, and disciplined writing. Length is not what is being assessed, so a tight, well-argued essay beats a long, rambling one.

Section B is not given a numerical mark. Instead your essay is passed to the universities you have applied to, where it is read as direct evidence of how you build and express an argument. That makes it just as worth practising as Section A.

What it is really testing

Underneath the two formats, the LNAT is testing the same core skills throughout: reading closely and accurately, following and evaluating arguments, drawing sound inferences, and doing all of it under real time pressure. The pressure is not incidental; it is part of what the test measures, which is why practising against a live clock matters so much more than reading questions at leisure.