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What about the LSAT writing sample?

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After you have finished the multiple-choice sections of the test, you will have 35 minutes to plan and write a writing sample. Plan well, and write small, because you can only use two sheets of paper. This is an opportunity to show prospective law schools your writing skills, critical thinking, and ability to think on your feet: all things that will make you a good law student and a good lawyer.

There are two types of prompts for the LSAT writing sample, and you will receive one or the other of these types of prompt randomly. If you receive a decision prompt, you will read a scenario that presents two possible positions or courses of action. You will need to choose one and defend it with clear and reasonable arguments, while criticizing the other option. If you receive an argument prompt, you will read a short passage in which an author makes an argument and supports it with his or her own evidence and logic. For this prompt, you will need to critique the argument presented, and discuss whether it is well-reasoned.

The LSAC names "reasoning, clarity, organization, language usage, and writing mechanics" as crucial elements in both types of writing sample. The LSAC will not grade your writing sample, however, but will send copies of it to all of the law schools to which you are applying. Reportedly, the LSAT writing sample often serves to break a tie between two otherwise equally qualified applicants. Rather than letting yourself focus on that potentially stressful possibility, use the writing sample as a chance to practice your writing and reasoning skills, and show the law school admissions committees a more human, yet still incisively logical and rational, side of your personality.

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