The LSAT Essay

Introduction to LSAT Writing

Test takers are given 30 minutes to complete the brief writing exercise, which is not scored but is used by law school admission personnel to assess writing skill. Read the topic carefully. You will probably find it best to spend a few minutes considering the topic and organizing your thoughts before you begin writing. Do not write on a topic other than the one specified. Writing on a topic of your own choice is not acceptable

There is no "right" or "wrong" position on the writing sample topic. Law schools are interested in how skillfully you support the position you take and how clearly you express that position. How well you write is much more important than how much you write. No special knowledge is required or expected. Law schools are interested in organization, vocabulary, and writing mechanics. They understand the short time available to you and the pressure under which you are writing.

Confine your writing to the lined area following the writing sample topic. You will find that you have enough space if you plan your writing carefully, write on every line, avoid wide margins, and keep your handwriting a reasonable size. Be sure that your handwriting is legible.

Scratch paper is provided for use during the writing sample portion of the test only. Scratch paper cannot be used in other sections of the LSAT.

The writing sample is photocopied and sent to law schools to which you direct your LSAT score. A pen will be provided at the test center, which must be used (for the writing sample only) to ensure a photocopy of high quality.

Sample LSAT Essay

Topic

The English department at a university must choose a text for its first-year composition course. Write an argument in favor of selection either of the following texts with these. Considerations in mind:

The department has a strong commitment to teaching basic writing skills, such as grammar and essay organization
The department wants to increase the students enthusiasm for and interest in writing.

During the three years that the department has used The Standard Textbook of English, instructors in other departments have reported significant improvement in students writing skills. Nicknamed "The Best and the Dullest" the text contains classic essays from both ancient and modern authors and is organized to illustrate the various forms of the essay- such as narration, exposition, and persuasion. The essay average more than 10 pages and almost all are written in a formal style. While students find some of the subjects foreign, they feel the materials covered are often useful in their other coursework.

A new text, The Modern Writer, contains both an introductions describing the basics of grammar and a number of journalistic essays by contemporary authors. The pieces are typically short (only 2 to 3 pages) and explore topics of interest to most college students, such as popular music and career planning. The style of the essays tends to be informal, even colloquial. Each chapter contains several essays on a given topic and exercises designed to aid students in developing essays of their own. Although the introduction provides an adequate overview of basic grammar, the text does not discuss the essay form.

Sample Response

I would urge the English Department to change its English composition textbook from The Standard Textbook of English to The Modern Writer. By helping to make the students more enthusiastic about writing, the new textbook should ultimately boost the students writing skills in general.

To give credit where credit is due, we must acknowledge that The Standard Textbook of English is not a bad book. This textbook has shown itself to be somewhat effective in helping to improve the students basic writing skills, and it presents a variety of essay forms, exposing the students to different types of essays they have to either write or understand late on. It would be a safe choice for the department to continue its use of this time-tested book.

But the past glories of the old textbook cannot hide its problems, particularly its dullness. The essays in this textbook are obviously too long for first-year students to appreciate their beauty. While various essay forms are illustrated in this textbook, they are often illustrated with content that students find very hard to relate to. Students using The Standard Textbook of English may have improved their writing skills in the past three years, but if that is true, they must have had a hard time doing so, to the possible detriment of their performance in other areas. Such problems can only be solved with a new textbook like The Modern Writer.

The Modern Writer is such that it should generate a lot more enthusiasm in students for learning English writing. The essays in this book are much shorter and therefore easier for university beginners to grasp. Moreover, these essays explore topics that are of interest to most college students such as popular music and career planning. Given the built-in appeal in this new textbook, just no student will have to be compelled to read and learn from it. With this book, the students can be expected to learn while they are having fun or at least thinking of issues that they care about. In all likelihood, the enthusiastic student will be a better student than the bored student.

The Modern Writer should be able to reach students basic writing skills at least as well as, if not better than,The Standard Textbook of English. The new textbook contains not only a good description of the basics of grammar but also carefully designed exercises to aid students in developing their own essays. In contrast, the old textbook may load the students with too much grammar but give them little chance to actually use it. With their enthusiasm and opportunities to practice, students should be able to pick up writing skills fairly easily, even those skills that are not fully covered by the textbook. The interested students can, for example, do their own research on essay forms.

Although The Standard Textbook of English is okay as a writing textbook, The Modern Writer should now be preferred. The new textbook can match the old one in strength bur does not have its problems. Besides, the new textbook contains qualities that are not only lacking in the old one but also fundamentally important to the learning students.

WRITING SAMPLE TOPIC
"Cutters," a contemporary hair-care studio for men and women owned and operated by Jim and Joan Baxter, has been operating from the same downtown location for several years. However, the Baxters must move their studio when their lease terminates next month. They are considering two possible locations. Write an argument for one of the two following choices. Two considerations should influence your decision:

The Baxters wish to minimize the time and expense involved in starting up business in a new location.
The Baxters seek maximum potential for business growth and for return on their financial investment.
The Baxters are considering a location on Frye Street where a contemporary-style men's hair salon has recently failed. The Frye Street storefront is only a few blocks away from the Baxters' present location. Although the space would be just large enough to support the Baxters' current operation, they could expand to an adjacent retail space in the same building. While the Baxters' present location is on a busy thoroughfare, Frye Street is a quiet side-street lined with quaint older houses and a few neighborhood stores. Most Frye Street residents are either senior citizens or young couples in their twenties.
The Baxters are also considering a location in the new Fashion Place suburban mall, located about three miles from their present location. The space, which is positioned next to one of the mall's department stores, is large enough for the Baxters' current as well as potential future needs. The monthly rent is approximately twice that of the Frye Street location. Although parking at the mall is ample, no public transportation is available between the mall and the downtown area.

. Sample Response #1 (in favor of the Frye Street location)  

Next Essay
The Frye Street location is the better choice for the Baxters. The time and cost of renovating the Frye shop would be minimal, since the store is already set up to accommodate a hair studio. Its close proximity would minimize the time and expense of moving as well as providing for uninterrupted business from current clients. A continued stream of business and a low initial rent would ensure short-term survival as well as making it financially feasible to expand to the adjacent space, thereby achieving long-term growth. Although the prior salon failure on Frye Street might suggest poor growth potential, that failure may have been due to other factors梥uch as mismanagement or a narrow male-only client base.
The mall space's high-traffic location might seem to provide more long-term profit potential. However, the Baxters may face greater competition in the suburbs from franchise salons. More importantly, the Baxters' primary concern should be with short-term survival, since otherwise they cannot achieve their longer-term profit goals. The additional expense of equipping a new retail space, along with a high initial rent, may jeopardize that survival, especially since it may take considerable time to develop a new clientele.

In sum, Frye is the better location; it would allow for a fast and inexpensive start-up and an uninterrupted flow of business, in turn ensuring both short-term survival and long-term success.

. Sample Response #2 (in favor of the Fashion Place Mall location)  

Previous Essay
The mall location would better meet the Baxters' objectives. The strategic high-traffic position next to a department store offers greater opportunity for long-term growth and profit. While the initial expense to equip the new space might be substantial, renovations at Frye Street to convert that space from a men-only salon may be just as costly and time-consuming. Even if not, the Baxters' primary concern should be with long-term investment return, as additional start-up costs will prove insignificant over time.
Admittedly, the relatively close and quiet Frye Street location might help the Baxters retain current customers, thereby offsetting moving expenses. However, failure of the previous hair studio suggests an insufficient demand among nearby elderly residents for a contemporary hair studio. This factor, along with the location's low visibility, is likely to prevent growth. Although low rent would appear to help the Baxters to meet their objectives, any expansion at Frye would come at greater expense, thereby undermining long-term profit goals; the mall location allows for expansion without additional rent.

In the final analysis, the mall is the better choice; while the relative start-up costs are uncertain, the mall location is more certain to achieve the Baxters' overriding objectives of long-term growth and profit.