LNAT essay structure: how to plan an argument
Spend the first of your minutes on a five-line plan. LNAT's ideal is to words, and its recommended maximum is .
The clock
| Time | Job |
|---|---|
| - | Read all three prompts and pick one |
| - | Write the five-line plan |
| - | Draft |
| - | Check it answers the prompt and cut repetition |
The five lines
- Definition: what does the key term mean here?
- Thesis: your answer, and how far it reaches.
- Reason: why it follows.
- Objection and reply: the best case against you, and what survives.
- Judgement: the condition in your final sentence.
A reason is a claim, not a topic. 'Freedom' is a topic. 'Letting people refuse a service protects freedom when no one else is harmed' is a reason.
Test the plan
| Failure | Repair |
|---|---|
| Drifts from the prompt | Copy the key verb into the plan |
| Two versions of one reason | Replace one with a different reason |
| Weak objection | Attack your strongest premise |
| Empty balance | Say what the reply changes |
Worked example A plan that changes after the objection
Prompt: Public authorities should require everyone to vote. Discuss.
- Require means a legal duty with a penalty.
- Reject the penalty, but allow a ballot option that records abstention.
- A forced, uninformed mark is not considered support.
- Objection: a small civic duty protects a shared institution. Reply: not enough to punish a lawful refusal.
- Make voting easy. Do not punish declining.
Why this works: The objection narrows the answer to a line between access and punishment.
Why the tempting route fails: One benefit, one harm and 'both have a point' decides nothing.