I sat the LNAT in October of Year 13 as part of my application to Oxford. I scored in the range that Oxford required, received an offer, and am now in my final year. I have also helped several Greystone students prepare for the LNAT over the last two years. This guide is what I know from both sides of the experience — as a candidate and as a coach.
What the LNAT is and why it matters
The LNAT (Law National Aptitude Test) is a two-hour online test used by a group of UK law schools to supplement A-Level grades in their admissions decisions. The test has two sections: Section A is a 95-minute multiple-choice test based on twelve reading passages, generating a score out of 42; Section B is a 40-minute essay in which you choose one of three argumentative prompts and write a structured response.
The schools that currently require the LNAT include Oxford, Cambridge, UCL, LSE, Durham, Bristol, Nottingham, Glasgow and King's College London. The weight given to LNAT scores varies between institutions. Oxford and UCL are known to weight Section A scores heavily in their shortlisting decisions. Cambridge uses the LNAT but also requires its own Cambridge Law Test. At Bristol and Nottingham, the LNAT is one factor among several.
What scores do you actually need?
The LNAT does not have a published pass mark. Individual universities set their own thresholds, which vary year to year based on the cohort. However, based on published data and what current students consistently report, the following provides a realistic guide:
| University | Competitive Score (Section A) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Oxford | 27+ (out of 42) | Oxford publishes average scores of shortlisted applicants — typically around 27–29 |
| UCL | 25+ | UCL uses Section A for initial shortlisting; very competitive |
| LSE | 22+ | LSE considers Section A alongside GCSEs and predicted grades |
| Durham | 22+ | Section B essay also considered |
| Bristol | 18–20+ | Less heavily weighted than at Oxford or UCL |
| Nottingham | 18+ | LNAT considered holistically |
The national average score in Section A is typically around 22–23. Scoring above 27 puts you in the top quartile of test-takers and significantly strengthens an application to Oxford or UCL.
Section A: the multiple-choice section
Section A presents twelve reading passages — usually 500 to 700 words each — drawn from newspaper opinion pieces, academic essays, legal arguments and philosophical texts. Each passage is followed by three to five multiple-choice questions. The questions test your ability to identify what the author is arguing, distinguish between what is stated and what is implied, evaluate the strength of evidence, identify assumptions, and detect logical flaws.
The most important thing to understand about Section A is that it is not a comprehension test in the way that GCSE English comprehension is. The questions are not asking you what the passage says — they are asking you what follows logically from what the passage says, or what must be true for the author's argument to hold. This distinction matters enormously in preparation.
Section A strategies that actually work
Read the questions before the passage. Knowing what you are looking for before you read allows you to read more efficiently. You will not have to re-read the passage to find the relevant section.
Do not use prior knowledge. The LNAT tests your ability to reason from the passage only. Many candidates go wrong by bringing in external knowledge or opinion. If a passage contains a factually dubious claim, treat it as true for the purposes of answering the questions.
Eliminate before selecting. LNAT questions frequently have two plausible answers. The faster route to the correct answer is to eliminate the three clearly wrong options rather than to search for the definitely correct one. Wrong answers are usually wrong because they go slightly further than the passage supports, or are true but not stated in the passage, or confuse the author's view with the view of someone the author is critiquing.
Manage time aggressively. You have 95 minutes for 42 questions across twelve passages. That is approximately eight minutes per passage and its questions. Students who run out of time at the end typically spent too long on early passages. Practise timed passages from the beginning — every practice session should be under exam conditions.
Do not guess randomly — but do not leave blanks. There is no penalty for incorrect answers in Section A. If you are running out of time, fill in a consistent guess (e.g. always B) for unanswered questions rather than leaving them blank.
Section B: the essay
Section B gives you three essay prompts and 40 minutes to write a response to one of them. The prompts are argumentative rather than descriptive — they ask you to take a position on a contested claim. Examples have included: "Is it ever right to break the law?", "Should judges make law or merely apply it?", "Does freedom of speech have limits?" and "Is equality more important than liberty?"
Section B is not marked by the LNAT organisation — it is sent directly to the universities you are applying to and is read by admissions tutors. Oxford and Cambridge in particular use it as a basis for interview discussion. LSE and UCL also consider it.
What examiners are actually looking for in Section B
The common mistake is to treat Section B like an A-Level essay — structured introduction, three body paragraphs, conclusion. This is not what admissions tutors at law schools want to read. They are looking for evidence that you can argue — that you understand what it means to take a position, defend it against objections, acknowledge the strongest counterarguments, and reason your way to a conclusion.
A strong Section B essay: takes a clear and specific position in the first paragraph (not "there are arguments on both sides"); develops one or two central arguments in depth rather than listing five superficial points; acknowledges and engages seriously with the strongest objection to the position taken; and reaches a conclusion that follows from the argument rather than summarising what was just said.
Avoid: writing about your personal values or feelings; making general statements about law without reasoning through them; sitting on the fence; and spending more than five minutes choosing a question (choose the one where you have the clearest position and the strongest argument, not the one you find most interesting).
How to structure your preparation
The LNAT requires approximately six to eight weeks of structured preparation for most students. Starting earlier than this does not significantly improve scores in Section A (it is a reasoning test, not a knowledge test). Starting later risks insufficient practice.
A realistic preparation schedule looks like this:
- Weeks 1–2: Familiarise yourself with the test format using the official LNAT practice materials. Identify which question types you find hardest and why.
- Weeks 3–5: Work through past passages under timed conditions. Review every incorrect answer in detail — understand why the correct answer is correct, not just why your answer was wrong. Begin practising Section B essays (one essay per week minimum).
- Weeks 6–7: Full timed mock tests. Each mock should be reviewed in detail. Identify persistent error patterns. Continue Section B practice with feedback.
- Week 8 (test week): Light review only. No new material. Focus on being well-rested and calm on test day.
The resources worth using
The official LNAT website provides free practice materials and past papers — these should be the foundation of your preparation. Beyond that, the quality of LNAT preparation resources varies considerably. Books marketed specifically as "LNAT preparation guides" are often low quality; the reasoning skills tested in the LNAT are better developed through reading high-quality argumentative writing (The Economist, The Times law supplement, academic philosophy introductions) and practising under timed conditions.
One final point
The LNAT is a test of reasoning under time pressure. The single most important thing you can do to improve your score is to practise under timed conditions from the very beginning — not to read about strategies. Every practice session that is not timed is preparing you for a test that does not exist.
If your child is preparing for the LNAT and would benefit from structured preparation and essay feedback, our law tutors at Greystone include current Oxford and Cambridge law students who sat the LNAT recently and can provide specific, current guidance on both sections. Book a free assessment to find out how we can help.