Free LNAT guide, no signup, sources named and linked
How to plan an LNAT essay
Section B gives you minutes to choose one of three prompts and write an essay. The official ideal is - words. Plan the argument before you spend the clock on sentences.
Choose the prompt you can defend
The official task is one essay selected from three prompts. The test centre does not add the essay to your Section A mark. Universities receive it and apply their own approach, so a plan must make your judgement visible without pretending that the board supplies one universal numeric essay score.
| Time | Job | Leave the phase with |
|---|---|---|
| - min | Read all three prompts and reject two for a named reason | One prompt in your own words |
| - min | Define the disputed term and state a provisional judgement | A bounded thesis |
| - min | Write two distinct reasons, the strongest objection and your reply | A five-line argument spine |
| - min | Draft paragraphs that move that spine forward | A complete answer |
| - min | Check prompt fit, missing links and repetition | A qualified conclusion |
Write the five lines before the prose
- Definition: what does the key term mean in this essay?
- Thesis: what is your answer, and how far does it reach?
- Reason: what mechanism connects the first point to that answer?
- Objection and reply: what is the strongest case against you, and what survives it?
- Judgement: what condition or limit belongs in the final sentence?
A reason is not a topic label. 'Freedom' is a topic. 'A rule that lets people refuse a public service can protect freedom when the service is not needed to prevent direct harm' is a claim that can be tested. Use a hypothetical example when it makes the mechanism clearer. Do not dress an invented statistic as evidence.
Pressure-test the plan before you write
| Failure | Question to ask | Repair |
|---|---|---|
| Prompt drift | Does the thesis answer the exact wording? | Copy the key verb into the plan |
| Two versions of one reason | Would deleting one reason remove the same support? | Replace repetition with a different mechanism |
| Example as proof | Does the example show the claim or merely sit beside it? | State the link in one sentence |
| Weak objection | Would a thoughtful opponent really choose this? | Attack your strongest premise |
| Empty balance | What does the reply change? | State the final condition or decide the dispute |
Worked example A plan that changes after the objection
Prompt: Public authorities should require everyone to vote. Discuss.
Five-line plan
- Define require as a legal duty with a penalty, not encouragement.
- Reject a penalty for choosing not to vote, while allowing a response that records abstention.
- Participation may make government answer to more people, but a forced uninformed mark is not the same as considered support.
- The strongest objection is that a small civic duty protects a shared institution. Reply: that duty does not justify removing a lawful refusal when a non-punitive route records it.
- Accept a duty to make participation easy, not a punishment for declining it.
Why this works: The objection changes the final position from a broad rejection of pressure to a narrower distinction between access, response and punishment.
Why the tempting route fails: A plan that lists one benefit and one harm, then says both have a point, has not decided which principle controls the answer.
Sources
LNAT test format. One essay from three prompts in a separate -minute section. Check the formathttps://lnat.ac.uk/what-is-lnat/test-format/
LNAT hints and tips. The official advice on position, economy, assumptions and the - word ideal. Read the advicehttps://lnat.ac.uk/how-to-prepare/hints-and-tips/
LNAT sample essays. Official examples for studying selection, organisation and expression. Open the sampleshttps://lnat.ac.uk/how-to-prepare/sample-essays/
The timing split, five-line plan and worked prompt are study methods. Section B is not centrally scored by the test centre.