You'll figure it out! But I can give you a very brief summary of the exam that I wish I knew when I started!
Hopefully they won't change it too much, but the exam is four sections. Three out of the four are scored, and one section is an experimental and will not be scored. You will not know which section is the experimental one, so you should treat it as if it's scored! And it can either LR (Logical Reasoning) or RC (Reading Comprehension). Of the three scored sections, two of the sections are LR and one will be RC. So you can either end up with 3 LR, 1 RC or 2 LR, 2 RC.
You have 35 minutes per section, with ~25 questions for LR and ~27 questions (4 passages) for RC. Each question is essentially worth the same amount, so getting a 'hard' question wrong is the same value as getting an 'easy' question wrong. You should also always fill in every bubble if you run out of time.
For LR:
There are question types, stimulus types, etc. It's very overwhelming at first, but trust that it will eventually start to make sense when you are practicing. It helps to reference them from time to time -- this is the LR question stem sheet. Recognizing question types is essential for knowing which strategies to apply and predicting the strength of the answer choice for the argument.
Conditional Reasoning is everything. Causal Reasoning is everything else. Learn the difference between these two, and also recognize when there is overlap!
The questions get progressively difficult. Generally, Q1-10 are 'easier' and shorter, Q11-20 get a little more challenging and complex, and Q21-25 are considered very difficult, long, and time-consuming. There are outliers here and there, but this is how the section is typically organized.
You typically want to read the passage within 2.5-3 minutes, and answer the questions. For any given passage, you will have 5-8 questions. Passage topics can range from international law/philosophy to black Jazz artists to astrophysics. You will likely encounter a type of passage called 'Comparative Passages' (it used to appear on every RC section, but since Jan 2026, that is no longer the case). Comparatives give two shorter passages, Passage A and Passage B. They may be expressing similar or different opinions about the same or adjacent topic. The questions will ask you about the two passages.
Like LR, the passages get more difficult towards the end of the section (frankly, I think it's a little more subjective than LR because everyone's capacity for reading is different). But the passages are generally more dense and complex and require a deeper level of understanding.
Argumentative Writing:
This is a short, one hour long written essay. It asks you a debate question, and your job is to argue for one side or the other. I completed mine a while ago so I don't remember it very well, but it's not counted towards your LSAT score. However, at least one recorded attempt is required on file to view your LSAT score.
General Tips:
DO NOT USE UP YOUR PTs! Go to your preferences under your profile and make sure that all of the PTs between PT140-159 is turned off for drills and sections. These are the most recently released practice tests, as well as the most similar to the real exam. PTs 120-139 are good for section practice (when you want to practice timing and strategy without doing full PTs). PTs 119 and below is good for drills and learning. Of course you can practice however you'd like, but this is the number one tip that I wish I knew when I started.
Use as many resources as you can. 7Sage is one of the most comprehensive ones, but there are other resources online that can help. Sometimes, it will take one random explanation on a subreddit that will make everything click for you. In other words, don't feel like you have to limit yourself to one resource.
Sharpen your grammar, review difficult vocabulary (SAT vocab words are usually good), and start reading more.
The thing that I can recommend to you, is to protect your 4.0 GPA like your life depends on it! Generally accepted philosophy is that you can never change your GPA, but you can always improve your LSAT score. Your 4.0 will be a huge asset down the road!
First of all: take a deep breath. You are going to be A-okay!!! It feels overwhelming when you start, but you will quickly understand the exam and get into the groove of studying!
Here was my approach:
Starting off: I took a practice exam blind (a "diagnostic" exam) - with little prior knowledge of the LSAT. I didn't know what the content would look like, timing, or anything. All I knew is that there are two section types (Logical Reasoning and Reading Comprehension); I didn't even know how many sections there were. Other than that, I kinda just threw myself in. There are 2-3 free exams offered through LawHub (the study site offered through LSAC, which is the organization that administers the LSAT)--I did one of these. I'd recommended blocking out 3 hours to do that. Your brain will feel fried after, and the score might surprise you - but the number doesn't really matter. What matters most is that you start to understand what the exam is like. Did any question type or section particularly stump you? What was the timing like? How did you feel after each section, stamina-wise?
Next (still on LawHub): I started with Logical Reasoning and went through each question type. You might not understand what "question type" means right now, but you will after you take the diagnostic exam. I started on LawHub and used the videos and lessons there in order, taking notes and fully digesting each one. That helped me build a strong understanding of HOW they ask questions on the LSAT, and I started to understand why I got some wrong on the practice exam. As I started to drill, I realized I needed software that isolates question types (LawHub will give you a drill of however many questions, but will not organize by question type). That's when I moved on to 7Sage.
7Sage: This was the game changer for me!!! I noticed a big gap in my understanding: logic mapping (7Sage calls it "Lawgic"). It was frustrating me so much, I wanted to cry. Doing practice questions wasn't helping me, so I went into the 7Sage core curriculum (offered under "study plan") and started working my way through the lessons. J.Y.'s lessons on logic changed everything!!! I ended up liking how 7Sage organizes study plans, so I've been following that for the past 6 weeks. Using 7Sage has really helped me. The way they analyze your results and create new drills tailored to your 'weak' spots is really helpful. My score has accuracy has increased exponentially since starting 7Sage, and I couldn't recommend it more. Definitely worth the money!
This is a broad overview - if you have any questions or would like me to go into more detail on any of the beginning steps, please don't hesitate to ask. I know it can be overwhelming and stressful in the beginning (it was that way for me), but it gets better! Easier said than believed... I know. Also, since you're a rising junior, YOU HAVE SO MUCH TIME! Even if you want to go to law school straight after graduating (i.e., with no gap years), you have over a year to prepare and take the LSAT. If you're taking gap years, you have even more time. So take a breath and tell yourself YOU GOT THIS!
Hey! I'm kind of in the same boat. I'll be taking the LSAT before my 17th birthday as a rising senior. I never had to take a standardized test in high school and I have always been a great student. The LSAT is unlike anything I've ever done. First tip: DON'T BURN OUT. I started studying March of 2026 for 3 hours a day and had to pause studying for a month because I was so sick of it. I'm now registered to take it August 8th, but I feel like I need to cram to make up for lost time. My diagnostic (prior to opening a prep book) was 139. Now I'm at a 160! I started paying for 7Sage 3 weeks ago and jumped 6 points instantly. I don't believe in plateaus. As long as you slowly continue studying and working at it, the sky is the limit! I have 150% time through accommodations and that has really helped. I've never done it traditionally, like they recommend, but find your groove and rhythm, and it'll be great! Work on beefing up your softs too!
3 comments
You'll figure it out! But I can give you a very brief summary of the exam that I wish I knew when I started!
Hopefully they won't change it too much, but the exam is four sections. Three out of the four are scored, and one section is an experimental and will not be scored. You will not know which section is the experimental one, so you should treat it as if it's scored! And it can either LR (Logical Reasoning) or RC (Reading Comprehension). Of the three scored sections, two of the sections are LR and one will be RC. So you can either end up with 3 LR, 1 RC or 2 LR, 2 RC.
You have 35 minutes per section, with ~25 questions for LR and ~27 questions (4 passages) for RC. Each question is essentially worth the same amount, so getting a 'hard' question wrong is the same value as getting an 'easy' question wrong. You should also always fill in every bubble if you run out of time.
For LR:
There are question types, stimulus types, etc. It's very overwhelming at first, but trust that it will eventually start to make sense when you are practicing. It helps to reference them from time to time -- this is the LR question stem sheet. Recognizing question types is essential for knowing which strategies to apply and predicting the strength of the answer choice for the argument.
Conditional Reasoning is everything. Causal Reasoning is everything else. Learn the difference between these two, and also recognize when there is overlap!
The questions get progressively difficult. Generally, Q1-10 are 'easier' and shorter, Q11-20 get a little more challenging and complex, and Q21-25 are considered very difficult, long, and time-consuming. There are outliers here and there, but this is how the section is typically organized.
For RC:
There are also passage types and question types, this is the RC Question type sheet.
You typically want to read the passage within 2.5-3 minutes, and answer the questions. For any given passage, you will have 5-8 questions. Passage topics can range from international law/philosophy to black Jazz artists to astrophysics. You will likely encounter a type of passage called 'Comparative Passages' (it used to appear on every RC section, but since Jan 2026, that is no longer the case). Comparatives give two shorter passages, Passage A and Passage B. They may be expressing similar or different opinions about the same or adjacent topic. The questions will ask you about the two passages.
Like LR, the passages get more difficult towards the end of the section (frankly, I think it's a little more subjective than LR because everyone's capacity for reading is different). But the passages are generally more dense and complex and require a deeper level of understanding.
Argumentative Writing:
This is a short, one hour long written essay. It asks you a debate question, and your job is to argue for one side or the other. I completed mine a while ago so I don't remember it very well, but it's not counted towards your LSAT score. However, at least one recorded attempt is required on file to view your LSAT score.
General Tips:
DO NOT USE UP YOUR PTs! Go to your preferences under your profile and make sure that all of the PTs between PT140-159 is turned off for drills and sections. These are the most recently released practice tests, as well as the most similar to the real exam. PTs 120-139 are good for section practice (when you want to practice timing and strategy without doing full PTs). PTs 119 and below is good for drills and learning. Of course you can practice however you'd like, but this is the number one tip that I wish I knew when I started.
Use as many resources as you can. 7Sage is one of the most comprehensive ones, but there are other resources online that can help. Sometimes, it will take one random explanation on a subreddit that will make everything click for you. In other words, don't feel like you have to limit yourself to one resource.
Sharpen your grammar, review difficult vocabulary (SAT vocab words are usually good), and start reading more.
The thing that I can recommend to you, is to protect your 4.0 GPA like your life depends on it! Generally accepted philosophy is that you can never change your GPA, but you can always improve your LSAT score. Your 4.0 will be a huge asset down the road!
Wishing you luck! Welcome to 7Sage :)
First of all: take a deep breath. You are going to be A-okay!!! It feels overwhelming when you start, but you will quickly understand the exam and get into the groove of studying!
Here was my approach:
Starting off: I took a practice exam blind (a "diagnostic" exam) - with little prior knowledge of the LSAT. I didn't know what the content would look like, timing, or anything. All I knew is that there are two section types (Logical Reasoning and Reading Comprehension); I didn't even know how many sections there were. Other than that, I kinda just threw myself in. There are 2-3 free exams offered through LawHub (the study site offered through LSAC, which is the organization that administers the LSAT)--I did one of these. I'd recommended blocking out 3 hours to do that. Your brain will feel fried after, and the score might surprise you - but the number doesn't really matter. What matters most is that you start to understand what the exam is like. Did any question type or section particularly stump you? What was the timing like? How did you feel after each section, stamina-wise?
Next (still on LawHub): I started with Logical Reasoning and went through each question type. You might not understand what "question type" means right now, but you will after you take the diagnostic exam. I started on LawHub and used the videos and lessons there in order, taking notes and fully digesting each one. That helped me build a strong understanding of HOW they ask questions on the LSAT, and I started to understand why I got some wrong on the practice exam. As I started to drill, I realized I needed software that isolates question types (LawHub will give you a drill of however many questions, but will not organize by question type). That's when I moved on to 7Sage.
7Sage: This was the game changer for me!!! I noticed a big gap in my understanding: logic mapping (7Sage calls it "Lawgic"). It was frustrating me so much, I wanted to cry. Doing practice questions wasn't helping me, so I went into the 7Sage core curriculum (offered under "study plan") and started working my way through the lessons. J.Y.'s lessons on logic changed everything!!! I ended up liking how 7Sage organizes study plans, so I've been following that for the past 6 weeks. Using 7Sage has really helped me. The way they analyze your results and create new drills tailored to your 'weak' spots is really helpful. My score has accuracy has increased exponentially since starting 7Sage, and I couldn't recommend it more. Definitely worth the money!
This is a broad overview - if you have any questions or would like me to go into more detail on any of the beginning steps, please don't hesitate to ask. I know it can be overwhelming and stressful in the beginning (it was that way for me), but it gets better! Easier said than believed... I know. Also, since you're a rising junior, YOU HAVE SO MUCH TIME! Even if you want to go to law school straight after graduating (i.e., with no gap years), you have over a year to prepare and take the LSAT. If you're taking gap years, you have even more time. So take a breath and tell yourself YOU GOT THIS!
Hey! I'm kind of in the same boat. I'll be taking the LSAT before my 17th birthday as a rising senior. I never had to take a standardized test in high school and I have always been a great student. The LSAT is unlike anything I've ever done. First tip: DON'T BURN OUT. I started studying March of 2026 for 3 hours a day and had to pause studying for a month because I was so sick of it. I'm now registered to take it August 8th, but I feel like I need to cram to make up for lost time. My diagnostic (prior to opening a prep book) was 139. Now I'm at a 160! I started paying for 7Sage 3 weeks ago and jumped 6 points instantly. I don't believe in plateaus. As long as you slowly continue studying and working at it, the sky is the limit! I have 150% time through accommodations and that has really helped. I've never done it traditionally, like they recommend, but find your groove and rhythm, and it'll be great! Work on beefing up your softs too!