The short answer
As of October 2026, the LSAT has four 35-minute multiple-choice sections: two scored Logical Reasoning sections, one scored Reading Comprehension section, and one unscored variable section that can be either type. A 10-minute intermission follows the second section. Argumentative Writing is a separate 50-minute task (15 minutes of prewriting analysis and 35 minutes of writing). It is unscored, but it is required and it is sent to the law schools you apply to. Scores run from 120 to 180. Logic Games (Analytical Reasoning) have not been part of the test since the August 2024 administration.
| Part | Time | Counts toward the 120–180 score? |
|---|---|---|
| Logical Reasoning (two sections) | 35 minutes each | Yes |
| Reading Comprehension (one section) | 35 minutes | Yes |
| Variable section (Logical Reasoning or Reading Comprehension) | 35 minutes | No, and you cannot tell which section it is |
| Intermission, after the second section | 10 minutes | — |
| Argumentative Writing, taken separately | 15 + 35 minutes | No, but it is required and sent to schools |
The multiple-choice sections
Logical Reasoning gives you a short argument, statement, or exchange between two speakers, usually under 110 words, followed by one question. The questions ask you to find a conclusion, spot an assumption, strengthen or weaken an argument, name a flaw, match a pattern of reasoning, draw a valid inference, or resolve an apparent conflict. Our guide to the nine Logical Reasoning question types explains each family.
Reading Comprehension gives you four sets of questions. Each set is built on a passage of roughly 450 to 560 words, or on a pair of shorter passages to compare. Passages come from the sciences, the humanities, the social sciences and law. Questions ask about the main point, the author’s attitude, the function of a sentence, what can be inferred, and how the passages relate. LSAC’s description allows the comparative pair to vary, so practice it without assuming every section has exactly one.
A section typically holds about 25 to 27 questions. The exact count varies by test form.
The unscored variable section
One of the four sections is unscored. LSAC uses it to try out questions for future tests. It can be Logical Reasoning or Reading Comprehension, it can appear in any position, and it looks exactly like a scored section. In the official practice interface we used in October 2026, the unscored section was identified only on the score report after the test. Treat every section as scored.
Changes coming in August 2027
LSAC has announced a new layout starting with the August 2027 test. Tests in the 2026–2027 cycle, through June 2027, keep the four-section format described above.
| Part, from August 2027 | Time | Questions (scored) |
|---|---|---|
| Reading Comprehension, first | 52 minutes | 40 (27), six passages, four of them scored |
| Break | 10 minutes | — |
| Logical Reasoning | 45 minutes | 32 (25) |
| Break | 10 minutes | — |
| Logical Reasoning | 45 minutes | 32 (25) |
The separate unscored section goes away. The trial questions are mixed into the three sections instead, so you still cannot tell which questions count. The number of scored questions stays at 77 (27 Reading Comprehension and 50 Logical Reasoning), and LSAC says the 120–180 scale will mean the same thing and scores will stay comparable across testing cycles. LSAC plans to release practice tests in the new format in February 2027. Its announcement does not describe any change to Argumentative Writing.
No more Logic Games
Analytical Reasoning, better known as Logic Games, was removed starting with the August 2024 test. Since then the scored sections have been two Logical Reasoning and one Reading Comprehension. Older books and courses that spend a third of their pages on games are teaching a section you will not see. Conditional reasoning still matters, because Logical Reasoning tests it directly.
Argumentative Writing
Argumentative Writing is the writing part of the LSAT. Key facts from LSAC’s pages, as of October 2026:
- Timing: 15 minutes of prewriting analysis, then 35 minutes to write the essay.
- Prompt: a debatable issue, a key question, and three or four perspectives that reflect competing values. Your essay takes a position and engages with at least one of them.
- Scoring: unscored. It does not change your 120–180 score.
- Required: your LSAT score is not released to law schools until you have an approved writing sample on file.
- Sent to schools: once it is approved and your score is released, schools you apply to can read it.
- Delivery: online, on demand, with remote proctoring. LSAC says you become eligible to take it eight days before your multiple-choice test and have up to one year to complete it.
Our Argumentative Writing guide covers the prompt, the on-screen tools and a practice routine.
How scoring works
Your score starts with the number of questions you answer correctly across the three scored sections. There is no deduction for a wrong answer, so never leave a question blank. That raw count is converted to the 120–180 scale for the specific test form. The score report also gives a score band and a percentile rank, which compares your score with test takers from the previous three testing years.
Where you take the test
LSAC announced in May 2026 that, starting with the August 2026 test, the multiple-choice LSAT returns to in-person testing at test centers. Remote testing is limited to approved exceptions, such as candidates who live far from a test center or who have approved medical accommodations that a center cannot provide. Rules are set per testing cycle, so confirm the current instructions in your LSAC account.
The digital test screen
The multiple-choice test is taken on a computer. The description below comes from a complete official practice test taken in the official interface in October 2026, written in our own words. The real screen’s labels, colors and icons are LSAC’s own and may change.
- Two panes. The passage or argument sits on the left and scrolls on its own. The question and five answer choices, lettered A to E, sit on the right. Click a choice to select it; a control below the choices clears your selection.
- Timer and counter. The top bar shows the question number (for example, 9 of 25) and the time left. You can hide the timer and show it again.
- Flag. Marks a question to revisit. Flags do not affect scoring.
- Answer elimination. Strikes through a choice you have ruled out. You can undo it.
- Highlighter. Marks words in the passage so you can find them again.
- Review screen. A grid of every question in the section, with filters for flagged and unanswered questions. Selecting a question takes you to it.
- Question buttons. A row of numbered buttons along the bottom, with back and next. In Reading Comprehension the numbers are grouped by passage.
- Passage-only view and find. Reading Comprehension can show the passage across the full screen, and a search box finds a word in the text.
- Display options. Font size, color and contrast schemes, and zoom.
How the Think Clearly simulator compares
The Think Clearly exam simulator runs three original full-length practice tests with the same functional layout: two panes, A–E answer rows, flag, elimination, highlighter, review grid, hideable timer, passage grouping, passage-only view, find, and font, contrast and zoom settings. Argumentative Writing runs as two timed phases. The look and wording are our own.
It then adds what a bare answer key leaves out: an explanation for every answer choice with a named trap, results by question family and difficulty, blind review, and an error log. Its results are raw scores out of 78. Original practice questions are not equated to the official 120–180 scale, so the simulator does not invent a scaled score.
Try it with the free 20-question diagnostic.
The practice tests model the three scored sections. They do not include the additional unscored section in a current four-section sitting, and they do not yet simulate the announced August 2027 layout. Use the public practice explanations to learn the method before starting a timed attempt.
Sources
Checked October 25–26, 2026. Policies change; follow the instructions in your LSAC account for your own test.
- LSAC, Frequently Asked Questions about the LSAT: section structure since August 2024, intermission.
- LSAC, Types of LSAT Questions: four 35-minute sections, purpose and placement of the unscored section, writing timing.
- LSAC, LSAT Argumentative Writing: perspectives, timing, unscored status, score-release requirement, delivery.
- LSAC, The LSAT Will Look a Little Different Starting August 2027: the August 2027 section order, timing, question counts, breaks and embedded unscored questions.
- LSAC, LSAT Scoring: 120–180 scale, no deduction for wrong answers, score band and percentile.
- LSAC, Registration Is Open for the 2026–2027 LSAT Testing Cycle, Plus an Update on the Return to In-Person Testing (May 19, 2026): in-person testing from August 2026 and its exceptions.
- LSAC, Specifications of the LSAT and LSAT Argumentative Writing: standard timing and specifications.