Important 2024 Changes to the LSAT

August 1, 2025

The Law School Admission Council (LSAC) shook up the LSAT in 2024, making permanent revisions to the exam's content for the first time in decades. The Analytical Reasoning section, commonly known as Logic Games, was dropped from the test more than 40 years after it debuted. A second Logical Reasoning section was added to take its place, joining the Reading Comprehension and Variable multiple-choice sections. The LSAT Writing assessment, which had also been part of the law school admission test for four decades, was reworked. Now called LSAT Argumentative Writing, it was redesigned to better evaluate test takers' writing ability and argumentative writing skills. 

These major changes to the LSAT naturally brought adjustments to how students prepare for it. Study areas were de-emphasized or newly introduced, and strategies shifted to align with the updated exam. Read on to learn more about the changes, why LSAC made them, and what they mean for test takers, as well as what the LSAT looks like now. Also find out about a potential scoring change that could make the writing assessment scored for the first time.

The End of Logic Games

Since being introduced as part of the LSAT in 1982, the Analytical Reasoning section, commonly called Logic Games, tested analytical and deductive reasoning skills. Students read short passages that laid out a list of items, like Persons A through E, and conditions, such as Person A is older than Person B, Person C is younger than Person D, etc. Test takers then answered several questions about each passage using inferential logic. 

LSAC removed Logic Games from the exam as of August 2024 following a settlement five years earlier with two blind test takers who said the section violated the Americans with Disabilities Act. The two claimed visually-impaired people were at a disadvantage because they couldn't draw diagrams to help find the solutions, which was a frequently-used technique. 

It's not definitive one way or the other if getting rid of Logic Games is a net positive for students taking the LSAT. On one hand, it was considered by many test takers to be the hardest part of the exam, so it being dropped could be viewed as beneficial for students, who no longer have to study the specific strategies and techniques for that section. But at the same time, once test takers understood those techniques, many could do well on Logic Games and boost their score. 

LSAC said when it announced the change that research that looked at hundreds of thousands of test takers found that Logic Games' elimination and replacement with a second Logical Reasoning section, which is what they did, "had virtually no impact on overall scoring."

LSAT Gets Another Logical Reasoning Section

When LSAC did away with Logic Games, it replaced it with a second Logical Reasoning section. That established the current LSAT format of two Logical Reasoning sections, one Reading Comprehension section, and one Variable, which will be either another Logical Reasoning or another Reading Comprehension. Logical Reasoning, which as of 2025 has been part of the LSAT for 50 years, measures test takers' ability to examine, analyze and critically evaluate arguments. 

LSAC has said that it considered different possibilities to replace Logic Games, but concluded another Logical Reasoning section was the best option. It pointed out that the "deductive reasoning skills that were the focus" of Logic Games are part of the reasoning abilities assessed by Logical Reasoning.

Since students planning to take the LSAT already study for Logical Reasoning, adding a second section of it to replace Logic Games means there isn't a new section of the exam for which they must prepare. While almost certainly welcome, test takers now have to be ready for double the number of Logical Reasoning questions—or even more. If their Variable section is also Logical Reasoning, it will make up 75% of their exam. 

LSAT Writing Becomes Argumentative Writing

LSAC also revamped LSAT Writing, the unscored writing task that had been a required staple of the exam since 1982, renaming it LSAT Argumentative Writing. LSAT Writing was narrowly focused on logical reasoning in the context of argumentative writing. It was remade to be more about the writing itself and demonstrating argumentative writing skills, with LSAC saying its purpose is to "assess a test taker's ability to construct a cogent argument based on a variety of evidentiary sources." The change was made in response to LSAC hearing from law schools and others in the legal profession that a better approach was needed to assess applicants' writing skills and argumentative writing abilities before they get to law school. 

Test takers are shown an essay prompt about a debatable issue, along with three to four perspectives on it that provide additional insight. They are expected to refer to and address some of the competing arguments in a concise and well-organized argumentative essay that takes a stance on the topic. Previously, LSAT Writing presented test takers with just two positions on an issue with advantages and disadvantages for each, and they wrote an essay argument that choose one of the two and used the provided information. 

Since the new version of the writing task has more perspectives for test takers to read and digest, the time allowed was increased from 35 minutes to 50 minutes. It now includes a 15-minute prewriting period for test takers to read the prompt, organize their thoughts using guided questions, and take notes on a digital notepad. The 35-minute writing period follows. 

Students preparing for Argumentative Writing will practice writing more complex argumentative essays that incorporate more perspectives than test takers who studied for LSAT Writing. But practice still has the same value of becoming familiar with writing an essay within a strict time limit. 

Review of LSAT Format

Following the 2024 revisions, the LSAT currently has four multiple-choice sections: two scored Logical Reasoning sections, one scored Reading Comprehension section, and one unscored Variable (or experimental) section that will be either another Logical Reasoning or another Reading Comprehension section. An unscored Argumentative Writing task is also required that's taken separately and remotely. Below is a breakdown of the LSAT's format now: 

LSAT SECTION	# of Questions	Amount of Time	Skills Assessed
Logical Reasoning (2 sections)	24-26	35 minutes	Ability to analyze, critically evaluate, and complete arguments.
Reading Comprehension	26-28	35 minutes	Ability to analyze long and short passages as it relates to reading comprehension.
Variable  (Unscored)	24-28	35 minutes	Can be either Logical Reasoning or Reading Comprehension.
Argumentative Writing (Unscored & administered separately)	One essay prompt	50 minutes	Ability to construct a written argument based on various evidentiary sources.

Will Argumentative Writing Become Scored?

While the LSAT's writing task was significantly changed in 2024 when it became LSAT Argumentative Writing, one thing that didn't change is it remained unscored. But that may not be true for long.

Students are increasingly using AI-assisted programs to write personal statements and complete other parts of their law school applications, which can make it challenging for admissions officers to evaluate applicants' writing abilities. Because of this, law schools are treating the LSAT writing samples as a more important component of student applications than they have perhaps ever been.

Amid these circumstances, there has been talk and a growing possibility that the writing task will eventually be scored, backed up by comments made by LSAC itself. LSAC has stated that it would be assessing validity and reliability data about the new Argumentative Writing prompt over the 2024-2025 testing cycle "with a long-term goal of providing a scored LSAT Writing assessment."

The Takeaway: 2024 Brings LSAT's First Content Changes in Decades

The LSAT has undergone some big changes in recent years. It transitioned from a paper exam to an in-person digital format in 2019, and the LSAT Writing task began being administered separately and remotely that same year. The entire test went online during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, and taking it online remained a permanent option after the return of test center administration in 2023. After those major changes in how the test was administered, 2024 brought the LSAT's first content changes in decades, other than the temporary elimination of the unscored Variable section from the Covid pandemic-era LSAT Flex. 

The 2024 revisions dropped Logic Games from the exam, added a second Logical Reasoning section in its place, and overhauled the argumentative writing task. There were different reasons behind each of these changes made by LSAC. However, they resulted in an updated LSAT that's even more focused on the skills and abilities that are essential for success in law school and a future legal career, including reasoning skills, the ability to analyze, evaluate, and construct arguments, and argumentative writing abilities. As the LSAT continues to evolve to meet the needs of students, law schools, and the legal profession, making Argumentative Writing a scored part of the exam may be the next change to come.