January 2022 LSAT Recap

For all you January LSAT test-takers out there, welcome to your post-test self! In my January LSAT recap research, I’ve been hearing a lot of “Okay, some of these passages, games, arguments were EXACTLY what I was practicing and it was fine. And then, there was also that one in each section that was Y-U-C-K (Mali gold, anyone?).” 

If you haven’t come to terms with this yet, LSAC can throw some real zingers at you on test day. That’s why it’s important to (1) have a plan, (2) stay calm, (3) think your way through the chaos by organizing your work.

From a technical point of view, the January LSAT administration seemed relatively smooth. However, if you did have any trouble with your proctor, got disconnected midway through, or something else that you believe impacted your test in a significant way, you have the opportunity to contact LSAC within three calendar days after the date of your test. 

Warning: If you submit an official complaint, your LSAT score may be delayed in its reporting. However, submitting “feedback” is a less formal process and will not result in a hold on your file (i.e. no delay in the reporting of your LSAT score).

Since the return of the experimental section in August 2021, each LSAT administration rotates scored and experimental sections. LSAC does this for test security and it’s a normal part of testing. The order of the sections, as well as whether you saw two logical reasoning, logic games, or reading comprehension sections will vary. Friday tests were different from Saturday tests which were, again, different from Sunday tests. You get the point.

Okay, down to brass tacks. Logical Reasoning was heavy into the characterization family on this exam. That means less about the actual specifics of the stimulus or whether an answer choice might be true, but instead tested whether you could describe what the author was doing in the stimulus or what could be concluded. 

Main Point, Role, Describe, Flaw, and Parallel Flaw questions were all making a solid presence. And a special shout out to Weaken questions in the Operations family too. Weaken questions (not surprisingly) were also shown a lot of love this January. Keeping control of LR pacing turned out to be a vital part of many test takers’ strategies this month. (Note to self: never do a Parallel as question #1 in a section. That definitely qualifies as Y-U-C-K.)

Reading Comprehension seemed to be a mixed bag for January LSAT testers. Topics such as global climate change as a direct result of volcanic eruptions and how best to incentivize citizens to fill out those dang tax forms and pay their taxes on time were the most manageable within the given time constraints. 

Did you know that Ann Petry’s “The Street” – a classic story of a single mother’s struggle against poverty – was the first novel by a Black woman to sell a million copies? Anyway, the LSAT excerpt from this novel had a lot of secondary structures to track and implication questions. Doable, but probably took a bit more time. No one seemed to particularly love tackling the comparative passage on gold, especially if it was your first passage. Another Y-U-C-K.

Most reports about the Logic Games section had some serious mind-bending grouping games. Whether you were organizing park rangers or ocean ice according to season, there was a payoff to sticking with your pregame work long enough to find the hidden deductions. The more doable games could still get tricky with underbooked distributions or tiered scenarios. 

So, whether you jumped into the In/Out game with both feet or mapped out park areas to better define the spatial relationships between rangers, we guess that you were still pretty psyched not to have to deal with the dreaded Rule Substitution question type. There’s an upside to every LSAT section…take what you can get.

Overall, the 2022 January LSAT came across as your average LSAT Joe, but that didn’t make it any less difficult for many test takers. If you were among those who felt great about it, move on to the next resolution for 2022. My personal current obsession: Wordle. 

If you think you could’ve done better, then roll up your sleeves and start thinking about retaking the LSAT. What better way to start a new year than embracing the 70+ official LSAT tests available in LawHub, available to all Blueprint LSAT students through LawHub Advantage (formerly LSAT Prep Plus)?

Remember, you have six calendar days after your LSAT date to decide if you want to cancel your LSAT score. Canceling and retaking the LSAT is a huge decision, but we’re here to help you prep for an LSAT retake whenever you’re ready.

November 2021 LSAT Recap

That’s a wrap (mostly) on the November 2021 LSAT! For those of you who tested this past weekend, congratulations on your run through the gauntlet. It is a major accomplishment to get an official test completed. How was it for you? 

If you’re still thinking about organizing pillars, indigenous sovereignty, Whig history, or Marie Antoinette, the comment section is the place to let us know your two cents on the November exam. And yet, just as a reminder, nothing too specific. We are free to discuss how difficult certain parts of the test were, how your proctor and the quality of your online testing fared, and what were the topics of passages, games, and LR questions. We cannot discuss the answers to the LSAT questions or how to get them—that’s a big LSAC no-no. 

Back to the November LSAT. In all, it went relatively smoothly. But in an age of remote testing and outsourced proctors, that’s not to say it was without incident. 

We heard reports of pop-ups that blocked text and continued to reappear for entire sections, especially for testers using Google Chrome. Some testers experienced significant delays prior to testing or at the end of the break going through identification and room checks. Affected students were allowed to retest on November 23. 

The November LSAT had a healthy mix of the expected with the unexpected. Some slightly unusual Logic Game setups? Sure. Tough-to-wade-through passages? Definitely. Early-in-the-mix Logical Reasoning questions that were time suckers? Yup, that too. 

This test administration was tough, but hello! You’ve been studying for the LSAT with blood, sweat, and tears. It IS a tough exam. Period. By most accounts, this was a fairly “typical” LSAT (aka cue small celebratory dance when you can easily identify the game setup, followed by a whiplash bang-your-head against the wall Parallel question), so you should expect your score to be fairly consistent with recent practice LSAT exam scores.

Since the return of the experimental section in August, each LSAT administration rotates scored and experimental sections. LSAC does this for test security and it’s a normal part of testing. You can take the LSAT the same day as someone else and have very different testing experiences. So, in no particular order, here’s what some students experienced on the November LSAT.

The Logical Reason sections (real and experimental) on the November test seemed on par with what we’ve been seeing, especially since the advent of the digital exam back in 2019. Implication family questions (especially Must Be True) and Operation family questions were showing up right out of the gate, but not in unusually high numbers. A lot of Flaw, Necessary, and Strengthen questions; not too many Describe questions. Testing your knowledge of diamonds, fertile goats, and Marie Antoinette was all fair game this exam.

Most reports about the Logic Games section do not suggest it was especially difficult, but the order in which you attempted the games may have made a difference in your overall pacing plan. The luxury apartments game seemed to inspire the most grumbling. The pillars game might have seemed weird at first, but had useful deductions and an opportunity to make scenarios.

Reading Comprehension had your usual suspects for topics. Whether you were reading about Native American sovereignty, Whig history, theater in Scotland and South Africa, or copyright/trademark law, keeping your head down and identifying how many points of view were present, and tracking how those different viewpoints broke down on the issues were the keys to the kingdom. Also, for anyone still wondering, LSAC has confirmed multiple times now that use of CTRL-F is permitted while taking the LSAT—a handy tool when reading about virtually any topic.

Overall, there wasn’t anything particularly new on the November LSAT, but that didn’t make it any less difficult for many test takers. If you were among those who felt great about it, take a well-deserved victory lap. 

Thinking about canceling? You have six calendar days to decide. If you are a first-time test taker, use Score Preview—it is an incredibly useful tool. Canceling and retaking the LSAT is a huge decision, but we’re here to help you prep for an LSAT retake if you choose that route.

In any event, congratulations on making it through the November LSAT! You all deserve to have a little fun. Binge-watch a season of The Wire, start baking those pumpkin pies, or, my personal favorite, take a glorious afternoon nap.