Self-study
Hi, I recently just discovered that I have to take my LSAT argumentative writing within 8 days of my LSAT, and I haven't practiced for it. I have an English degree and I am familiar with writing; however, I have a couple questions for the general guidelines of what is acceptable/expected of the argumentative writing section.
Questions (sorry so many)
1) Do we need to do in-text citations of a certain format? Or does simply (Perspective 1) work?
2) Should we aim for two or three points when arguing our perspective? I have extra time, but I am not sure if I should spend my extra time polishing my essay rather than providing more evidence or additional points.
3) Can we use anecdotal evidence? For example: the practice essay mentions career prep for University students, can I mention my schools career preparation center resources?
4) In regards to my previous question, should we use first person pronouns when sharing anecdotal evidence?
5) Do we need to use all the evidence provided? Or can we stick with a couple of sources?
Lastly,
6) Are we discouraged from direct quotations, should we paraphrase evidence provided?
I apologize for the million questions, I usually had very strict guidelines when writing essays in school and I can't find any information regarding these questions.
Thanks in advance!
(BTW I have to take it Thursday)
3
3 comments
Hi! Might not know all the answers but here's what I've got for ya:
Not really. You could do "perspective one" or use the description they give you of the perspective (for example "the science article" or whatever it may be)
I would focus on polishing. Make sure your argument is well organized, cohesive, and clear. I would say give yourself at least 5 minutes at the end to do a read-through and make sure you like what you've got.
Yes, in fact they encourage you to!
Probably up to you, but it would likely seem more natural to use first person pronouns.
Nope! You just need to use one, but using a couple probably would help build out your argument more.
They don't say either way, so whatever you'd like. Context is probably important here. If you're quoting someone/something well known, it would likely make sense to direct quote versus quoting a personal friend who the folks reading wouldn't be familiar with.
TLDR: they don't have super strict guidelines on most of those questions, and what they do provide is in the instructions, so I'd just go off of that!
Most of the info I have I got from LSAC's FAQ page: https://www.lsac.org/lsat/frequently-asked-questions-about-lsat/frequently-asked-questions-about-lsat-argumentative
I recommend reading through that, it was very helpful to me.
Also, I highly recommend logging onto LawHub and doing one of the practice argumentative writing samplers if you haven 't, or at least reading those instructions. They answer all your questions and more!
Best of luck!
@alk2001 Thank you so much for your info! I appreciate it!
@lsatdiva12345 No problem! Hope it is helpful to you