As we do for every LSAT, we’re here today to give an instant reaction to the September LSAT. We’ll do a deeper dive into the exam once LSAC publishes it, but for now, we’re giving a brief recap based on the whispers we’ve been hearing. If you took the exam this Saturday, hopefully this will allow you to reflect on the exam you just took and provide some measure of consolation that many others also found certain parts of the exam difficult. If you didn’t take the exam yesterday, but are studying for December or beyond, hopefully this discussion will give you insight into the LSAT trends we’re seeing.

On Saturday, what will almost certainly be the largest collection of law school hopefuls to assemble this year woke up to chase their proverbial paper boat of law school dreams down the street, leading them to a storm drain testing center. These law school hopefuls could have lost that paper boat down the storm drain, taken hostage by an evil, shape-shifting clown called the LSIT. Or they could have safely retrieved the boat before it washed down the drain, instead encountering a familiar, less scary, and predictable entity called the LSAT.

So was the September exam more LSIT or LSAT? Let’s take a look, section by section …

Logical Reasoning

Fortunately, we’re hearing a lot of reports that this was a straightforward Logical Reasoning section. Nothing too crazy, out of the ordinary, or unfairly difficult, according to many. Among the notable trends that our little birdies are reporting involve some difficult diagrammable questions; a glut of Resolve, Explain, and Disagree questions; and the usual splattering of Strengthen questions.

Every exam has an LR question or two that haunts test takers, like the terrifying visage of Pennywise the Clown. On my LSAT, taken roughly 100 years ago today, it was a question about bear migration in a nature preserve. For this exam, we’ve heard many reports of an oddly-phrased Strengthen EXCEPT question (introduced by asking which answer choice would “LEAST strengthen” the argument) about whether Shakespeare’s A Winter’s Tale was a rip-off of an ancient Greek play. There have also been numerous reports about a somewhat hilarious sounding question about dive-bombing crows being observed by caveman mask-wearing researchers (?). Even with these strange questions, most students reports aren’t that these questions were especially evil or onerous — just a little strange and off-kilter.

So in all, it seems like the psychometricians who write this exam made a relatively straightforward and manageable set of Logical Reasoning section. So, in asking whether this section was LSIT or LSAT …

Verdict: LSAT

Reading Comprehension

If Logical Reasoning was predictably straightforward, Reading Comprehension was predictably brutal. Basically everyone said that this set of passages was especially tough, with the comparative passage taking a figurative bite out of every test taker’s arm.

That said, the passages covered tried and true Reading Comprehension topics, such as environmentalism, Native American cultural identity, a judge’s role in jurisprudence, and grand philosophical theories and -isms. It sounds like the first passage was all about the economics of foresting, the second on radio and the internet’s impact on learning Native American language, the third a set comparative passages on “judicial candor” and judge’s beliefs, and the fourth on Marxism and Freudianism’s historical determination. All of which sound like a rollicking good time.

So yeah, if you’re studying for a later LSAT, don’t neglect Reading Comprehension. Make sure you develop a good system for reading and understanding these passages. Because, like a clown that has sensed fear in the hearts of children, the terror inflicted by this section shows no sign of relenting.

Verdict: LSIT

Logic Games

Unusual logic games are very similar to Pennywise the Clown. Like Pennywise, they show up approximately once every 27 years to feast on young people’s fears. They can take wild configurations, like a game involving the transmission of computer viruses. Or a game involving the trading of various buildings. And, also like Pennywise, they prefer to feed on the fearful and unprepared.

But, also like Pennywise [SPOILER ALERT … SORT OF], an unusual game won’t hurt you if you don’t abjectly fear it. If you enter a Logic Games section without fear or trepidation, you can complete any game the test writers can devise.

And it seems like an army of Bill Denbroughs and Beverly Marshes entered this Logic Games section without fear, and were rewarded with what many are referring to as one the easiest games sections they’ve seen in a long time.

Every game involved ordering or grouping principles, so there were no strange curveballs in this section. It sounds like there were a couple 1:1 ordering games — one on food specials and the other on films. It seems like there was a tiered ordering game about witnesses and interviewers. And finally, an unstable grouping game that asked you to assign presentations to students. Reports seem to indicate that scenarios helped a lot on these, giving students a quick way to roll through the questions.

Verdict: LSAT

What Now?

So in all, this seemed like a manageable LSAT, a very difficult Reading Comprehension section notwithstanding. Hopefully you feel like you did great! If so, take a well-deserved victory lap.

If you’re not sure if you got the score you desired and are considering canceling it, try watching this video first before making your decision.

The LSAC’s official cancelation policy can be read here. According to LSAC, you have until 11:59 pm Eastern on the sixth day after the exam to cancel using your LSAC account. Which is a confusing way to say that your deadline to cancel is Friday. So you still have some time to think it through. Sleep on it. Consider whether the section you blew was the likely experimental section.

If you have any additional thoughts, feelings, or concerns about the exam, please drop a comment below!