June is quickly approaching and you know what that means — the LSAT is too. Now that you’ve learned all about the Logic Games, Logical Reasoning, and Reading Comprehension sections and how to deal if everything goes wrong on test day, let’s talk about another section of the LSAT — the essay.

You will have 35 minutes to write a persuasive essay based on a prompt, which will include a scenario and the choices of two options. The prompt will also contain two requirements that need to kept in mind when arguing your choice. There’s no prior knowledge needed — all you need to do is pick an argument, defend it, and then criticize the other side’s argument. The essay is just intended to test your ability to reason, argue, and persuade.

With that in mind, here are some important things to remember about the essay section:

It’s not scored: The essay section does not contribute in any way to your LSAT score, which is quite frankly rather frustrating given that you, of course, want to focus your attention on the parts that are scored. Instead of being scored, the essay will be photocopied and sent to any law schools to which you submit scores. Some admissions departments use them and some don’t. But just remember, because it isn’t scored, it’s nothing to stress about too much.

Remember, you already know how to write: If you’re at the point where you’re taking the LSAT, you have most likely completed (at least) a few years of college. You know how to write and make a convincing argument, otherwise you wouldn’t have made it this far. Rely on the skills that you already know and have cultivated for years.

It’s worth it to put in some effort: Even though the section isn’t scored, it is sent to law schools, which means you don’t want to do anything to hurt your chances. A wonderful essay most likely won’t make up for faults in other areas of your application, like a low LSAT score or GPA, or an inadequate personal statement. But a bad essay could convince a school not to admit you. If you really don’t try very hard, or just leave it blank, you’re showing the law school admissions officers that you weren’t putting effort into the essay just because it’s not scored.

Pick a strategy and stick to it: Because the essay section isn’t scored, it’s harder to figure out what goes over well. That problem is compounded by the fact that essays are subjective by nature. There’s no right or wrong answer. Some strategists think that essays that are flashy do better — Princeton Review recommends going for quantity over quality by filling up the entire area allotted for the essay, as well as using complex words and structures. Manhattan LSAT Blog, on the other hand, advocates simplicity, especially when forming your argument. Because it is that subjective, one of these strategies isn’t necessarily superior to the other — just make sure that whichever one you choose you’re consistent with it.

Plan it out ahead of time: The questions tend to require logic or analysis-based arguments, rather than moral or preference arguments, which means that you just want to focus on arguing what you think will be easier to support. Given that you only have 35 minutes to write a two-page essay, you’re probably going to better off planning it out ahead of time. Make some sort of chart or pro-con list just to make sure that once you start writing you can include everything you think is important.

And finally, make sure to proofread: Obviously, when you’re writing quickly and you’re in the middle of the LSAT, it can be easy to make silly grammatical or spelling mistakes. But make sure to go over your essay at least once to make sure it’s clear and not riddled with errors. In law school and as a lawyer, you’ll obviously have access to spellcheck, but it is important to show that you’re able to be detail oriented and organized when you need to be.

Overall though, the essay should be pretty easy for all of you taking the June LSAT. Just remember, it’s not worth anything in terms of points, so just relax and do your best.

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Anneliese Mahoney (@AMahoney8672) is Lead Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

Featured image courtesy of [Jeffrey James Pacres via Flickr]

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Countdown to LSAT: The Essay appeared first on Law Street.

Are you in the final stretch leading to the June LSAT? Well first of all — we feel your pain. But more importantly, we can help. Over the next five weeks leading up to the test, we’re going to give you the last-minute tips you need to complete your study plan. For week number five our resident LSAT expert/tutor Nick recommends starting with the Logic Games Section (formally known as Analytic Reasoning).

Here are your basic parameters:

The Logic Games will contain four questions/games, each with a few different parts. There are three main types of logic games — ordering, assignment, grouping — although they’re pretty broad categories. A logic game begins with a story, then offers clues and conditions, and then poses questions.

That sounds intimidating, I know, but one of the great things about the Logic Games section is that it’s totally learnable. Practicing the different types of games can absolutely make a great score on this section attainable — it just takes a lot of work.

So here are some easy-to-follow tips to help you get a great score on the Logic Games section of the test:

Start with the basics: Some people are going to just naturally have an easier time with the logic games, and some people aren’t. There’s no need to freak out if you’re one of the latter, but it is important to identify your strengths and weaknesses.

A good way to start preparing for the Logic Games is to learn the basics. Even though you probably won’t have anything quite as simple on the test, these skills will be the building blocks for the real problems. In order to learn these basics, LawSchooli recommends The Logic Games Bible. Instead of going through it linearly though, they lay out a really great strategy to get those building block skills for basic Logic Games, then moving on to more difficult games. They also recommend studying by type, and making sure you master one type before moving onto the next.

Be consistent: One important thing to do with the Logic Games is to draw a diagram. Make sure that you’re consistent with your diagrams, even if that means creating one that makes more sense to you than prep books or classes recommend, like this 180-scorer did. Just make sure you find what works for you.

Practice your concentration and timing: This applies to studying for pretty much all of the LSAT, but the Logic Games are the area where people are most likely to run out of time. The best ways that you can do this is to take practice tests and try to slowly shave off your time. The more problems you get exposed to, the more quickly you’ll be able to accurately move through them.

Be Prepared to be Flexible: There are hybrid games on the LSAT Logic Games section, and some of these have been known to throw people off. For example, in 2009 there was a logic game that is now referred to as “the dinosaur” game. It was a hybrid and a lot of people walked out of the test upset by it. As basic as it sounds, the best way to prepare for possible hybrid games is to expose yourself to as many as possible. Here are some examples of hybrid games from ManhattanLSAT Blog, LSATBlog, and Kaplan.

These are just a good starting point for mastering the LSAT Logic Games section, obviously it’ll take a lot of practice and hard work — but this close to the test you’ve already put in a god chunk of time…right? Follow these tips, work hard, and you’ll be a Logic Games master in no time!

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Anneliese Mahoney (@AMahoney8672) is Lead Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

Featured image courtesy of [Ofbarea via WikiMedia Commons]

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Countdown to LSAT: Logic Games Section appeared first on Law Street.