October might be the month of eerie chills and ghostly thrills, but fear not, for the LSAT doesn’t have to send shivers down your spine. We’re here to be your trusty ghostbusters, ready to demystify what awaits and arm you with some spine-tingling tips to conquer the October LSAT!

What Will Be on the October LSAT?

Logical Reasoning

Logical Reasoning has been relatively consistent on past tests, with the majority of questions focusing on flawed arguments. When approaching flaws, you want to find the gap between the premises and conclusions or the reason the conclusion is not fully guaranteed and then do something to that gap. For example, on weaken questions, you want to show why the premises could lead you away from the conclusion rather than toward it.

You’ll also get exactly one parallel and one parallel flaw question on test day — two question types people generally dislike. The good news is that the LSAT has only thrown one of each at test takers consistently over the last decade or so, so if you find these questions time-consuming or difficult, you can always skip them and come back later.

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Reading Comprehension

Substantively, you can expect a mix of different subjects for your LSAT Reading Comprehension passages. I’d go into the test expecting one science passage, one arts passage, one law passage, and one social science/history passage. While your natural inclination might be to skip your least favorite subjects and leave them to the end (I’m looking at you, science passages), remember to factor difficulty into that decision as well. 

Generally speaking, reading comprehension passages (as well as the other two sections) get harder as they go. While passage three might occasionally be tougher than passage four, or passage two might be tougher than three, you can generally bank on passage one being relatively easy and passage four being relatively tough. So, if passage one is science-related , it’s probably easier than the typical science passage.

That said, difficulty is ultimately subjective, so I would first scan all the passages’ content to get a lay of the land, which could inform which order you tackle the passages and how much time you devote to each one. 

Logic Games

In recent LSAT logic games, the name of the game is to expect the unexpected. The LSAT loves adding twists or wrinkles to test your ability to stay composed and translate the rules or restrictions into something you’re more familiar with.

Keep in mind that there won’t be anything brand new on the test, even if it looks that way. If a game seems truly novel, try bringing it back to an ordering or grouping relationship you’re more comfortable working with. 

I’d expect a grouping game, a tiered ordering game, a combo game, and an underbooked ordering game, as these have been flavors of the month (or the last few years) in recent tests. While the LSAT has occasionally thrown neither games into the mix as well, these are relatively infrequent and unlikely to show up. If they do, they are again testing your ability to stay composed and work through the game methodically.

Read the setup carefully and pay attention to what the game tells you is important, based on its focus. These unorthodox games are usually fairly direct with how you should set them up and what will be at play via the intro language and nature of the rules. 

Final Thoughts

In addition to these three sections, you’ll also get an experimental, non-scored section. Unscored sections can be any type and show up anywhere on the test, so take all four sections seriously, even if one is ultimately unscored.

The LSAT is a momentum-based test in that if you can keep active and stay positive, your score will reflect that mindset. Don’t get stuck. If you find yourself lost or spinning your wheels, take an educated guess and come back, time permitting. Remember, you’ve done the work and all the LSAT prep you can. Be confident, stay positive, and get ready to slay the vampire the LSAT!