In the wake of COVID-19 standardized testing cancellations worldwide, this week the LSAC announced that the in-person April LSAT has indeed been cancelled. This second...
In March, and with little fanfare, the Law School Admissions Council (LSAC) announced that major changes are coming to the long ignored LSAT Writing Sample. While this update to the exam may seem insignificant compared to the retirement of Logic Games as part of the 2024-2025 LSAT testing year that starts in August, this new writing sample format could lead to a scored writing section as soon as the 2025-2026 LSAT testing year!
how the Writing sample is changing
The current version of the writing sample allows test takers 35 minutes flat to read a short introductory prompt and produce a convincing essay arguing for one side of a hypothetical scenario. Either position is equally valid, and no significant research is required to complete the assignment. An example of such a prompt for the 2023-2024 LSAT testing year can be seen below.
The new LSAT Writing will be a much more involved exercise, so much so that the LSAC is incorporating a 15-minute prewriting analysis period to allow writers the opportunity to read and synthesize multiple perspectives into a cohesive argument that addresses the specific question posed by the prompt.
Any text notes taken in the scratch paper will be available to the writer during the subsequent 35-minute writing period, but physical scratch paper will still not be allowed by the remote proctor.
A "successful" (albeit unscored for at least the 2024-2025 LSAT testing year) essay will have considered some (if not all) of the provided perspectives as part of crafting a persuasive essay that thoughtfully addresses the key question presented.
is a scored lsat writing section likely?
We say yes. The LSAC is notoriously conservative, but in its official notice announcing this change, it directly states having "a long-term goal of providing a scored LSAT Writing assessment that schools may use in their holistic admission process". There are several reasons that the LSAT might be moving this direction.
First, is the stated goal of "help(ing) schools better understand the writing capabilities of applicants for the purposes of their admission decisions". The LSAC always refers to LSAT performance as having the most directly predictive value for incoming student success as first-year law students, so adding a scored writing section may help boost that correlative value.
Second, a scored argumentative essay prompt will help to differentiate the LSAT from the new short-form GRE. As part of its move to a shorter form exam this past September, the GRE removed its argument essay. Now, by introducing its own scored argument essay, the LSAC could be planning to show how the GRE is not necessarily a valid alternative to the LSAT for its member schools.
Whatever the reasons may be, the LSAC is telegraphing its intents for a reason, and potential law school students should be ready for at least the possibility that a scored writing section could be replacing the Logic Games in the long run.
Submitting the Writing Sample
Following current protocol, the online writing sample will continue to be opened for LSAT test takers to submit eight days prior to an official testing window, so, on July 31, 2024, eight days before the August 7-10, 2024 testing window, test takers will be eligible to submit their required writing sample. As has been the case since the introduction of at-home LSAT administrations during the COVID-19 pandemic, all test takers must submit the unscored writing section for their overall LSAT scores to be released to the test taker or any law schools.
For at least the 2024-2025 testing year, only one writing sample must be on file for any individual law school applicant and repeat test takers will not be required to submit additional writing samples once one is on file from a prior LSAT administration.