Checked 25 October 2026. Format checked against LNAT's Test format and Hints and tips pages on 25 October 2026. The practice passage and questions are our own.
Section A of the LNAT gives you 12 argumentative passages and 42 multiple-choice questions in 95 minutes, and your mark out of 42 is your LNAT score. The questions do not test what you know: they test how closely you read an argument. This guide sets out the kinds of question in our practice mocks, a way of reading a passage that follows LNAT's own advice, and three practice questions on one original passage, each with the reasoning behind the answer. ProSyllabus is an independent study site, not part of LNAT (the LNAT Consortium) or Pearson VUE. The facts here are taken from LNAT's own pages, listed under Sources; check LNAT's pages and each university's own guidance before relying on a rule or deadline.
LNAT, Test format and Hints and tips, read 25 October 2026.
FreeTests: Main conclusion · Reasoning and structure · Inference
LNAT Practice Test · Free sample (3 questions on one passage): free sample
Answer 3 questions against the clock, like the real exam. You then see the right answer, the reason and your time on each. About 7 minutes · free · no sign-in.
3 questions to answer
Start nowabout 7 minThis one is free · no sign-in needed
Your result shows how long each question took you.
Start with LNAT's own practice tests
LNAT offers an online sample test that can be opened in a browser, runs on any computer and can be taken as often as you like; LNAT describes it as a simulation of the real LNAT exactly as it will appear on screen at the test centre, and suggests looking at its tutorial first. It also has two practice papers to download and print, with a commentary and a marking scheme. They are LNAT's own practice material, so take at least one early, under the real 95-minute clock, to see where you stand (our suggestion). LNAT also suggests that, beyond its own tests, similar multiple-choice items in the United States LSAT practise the same skills, though their passages are usually shorter.
The kinds of question in our practice mocks
The grouping below is ours, not LNAT's: it is how our practice tests label questions so that you can see where you lose marks. Each of our practice questions asks one of these things about the passage:
| Kind of question (our grouping) | What it asks | The usual wrong answer |
|---|---|---|
| Main conclusion | What the whole passage argues for | A reason or example from the passage, or a claim stronger than the author makes |
| Assumption | The unstated step the argument needs | Something the author would agree with but the argument does not need |
| Inference | What follows from the passage | A statement that goes one step further than the text |
| Strengthen or weaken | Which new fact most helps or most damages a claim | A fact on the right topic that does not touch the reasoning |
| The author's view | What the writer accepts, rejects or concedes | A view the author reports from someone else |
| Reasoning and structure | What a sentence, example or paragraph is doing | An accurate summary of the sentence that misses its role |
| Meaning in context | What a phrase means where it is used | The phrase's everyday or literal meaning |
Our own mocks, not LNAT's.
FreeTests: Main conclusion · Reasoning and structure · Inference
LNAT Practice Test · Free sample (3 questions on one passage): free sample
Answer 3 questions against the clock, like the real exam. You then see the right answer, the reason and your time on each. About 7 minutes · free · no sign-in.
3 questions to answer
Start nowabout 7 minThis one is free · no sign-in needed
Your result shows how long each question took you.
A way of reading a Section A passage
LNAT's hints page suggests skim-reading a passage first, then going back to read it slowly and deliberately, thinking about the exact meaning of every sentence; you may note key words on your whiteboard. The steps below build on that advice. They are our suggestions, not LNAT's.
Five steps for each passage (our suggestions)
- Skim it once and find the conclusion: the sentence the rest of the passage is there to support. It is often near the end, after "so", "then" or "therefore", but not always.
- Read it again slowly. Mark where the author concedes a point ("admittedly", "there is truth in this") and where the author turns ("but", "however"): many questions sit on those turns.
- Watch the qualifiers. "Some", "most", "may" and "all" change what a sentence claims, and an option that drops or adds one is often the almost-right answer.
- Answer from the passage alone. LNAT says to take everything at face value and never rely on outside knowledge, even where you know a claim to be false.
- Eliminate before you choose. Rule out options that are too strong, too narrow, outside the passage or the reverse of what it says, then compare the two that remain against the text.
| If the passage says | Then this follows | This does not follow |
|---|---|---|
| Most schools that tried a ban saw calmer corridors | Some schools that tried a ban saw calmer corridors | Every school that tries a ban will see calmer corridors |
| The policy may help | The author does not rule out that the policy helps | The author thinks the policy works |
| X is one reason for Y | X contributes to Y | X is the main or only reason for Y |
Try three practice questions
Here is one original passage of the kind Section A uses, with three questions on it: a main conclusion question, a question about how the author argues, and an inference question. Read the passage, answer all three, then open the answers. At the real pace, a passage with three questions is worth about seven minutes.
Practice passage · Phones at school
Several schools have now banned pupils from using mobile phones during the school day, and the results, according to their head teachers, have been encouraging. Corridors are louder in the good sense: pupils talk to each other at break instead of looking at screens. Teachers report fewer arguments that began online and spilled into lessons. It is tempting to conclude that every school should follow.
That conclusion would be premature. The schools that have introduced bans are, for the most part, schools that chose to do so, and a school that chooses a strict policy is likely to have a head teacher willing to enforce it and parents willing to support it. Those same conditions might produce calmer corridors whatever the policy on phones. A school where the policy is imposed from outside, and resented, may see none of the same benefits.
There is also a question about what pupils are being prepared for. Adults live with phones, and much of the harm that phones do comes from habits formed outside school hours. A ban that removes the phone for seven hours a day does nothing to teach a pupil how to manage it for the other seventeen. Some schools have tried a different approach, teaching pupils to switch off notifications, to notice how long they spend on an app, and to recognise when online conversations are turning hostile. These lessons are harder to evaluate than a ban, but they address the habit rather than the hours.
The honest position is that a ban may well help in many schools, and that schools considering one should try it. But it should be judged as an experiment, not adopted as a cure. A school that bans phones and then stops thinking about them has done the easy part and skipped the important one.
An original ProSyllabus practice passage, not an LNAT passage.
Question 1 · main conclusion
Which of the following best expresses the main conclusion of the passage?
- A. Every school should ban mobile phones during the school day.
- B. Schools should replace phone bans with lessons that teach pupils how to manage their phones outside school hours.
- C. Schools considering a phone ban should try one, but treat it as an experiment rather than a cure.
- D. Phone bans do not produce calmer schools once outside factors such as strong leadership are taken into account.
Show the answer and why
Answer: C.
The final paragraph gives the author's position: schools considering a ban "should try it", but it "should be judged as an experiment, not adopted as a cure." The option about replacing bans with lessons goes too far: the author describes such lessons with interest but still says schools considering a ban should try one.
Question 2 · reasoning and structure
In paragraph 2, the author questions the evidence from schools that have banned phones mainly by suggesting that:
- A. the improvements reported in those schools have not lasted beyond the first year in which the ban was in force.
- B. the improvements reported could be caused by features of those schools rather than by the ban itself.
- C. pupils at those schools use their phones more after school to make up for the ban.
- D. head teachers may have exaggerated the improvements in their schools in order to justify a policy they had chosen.
Show the answer and why
Answer: B.
Paragraph 2 notes that schools choosing a ban probably have a head willing to enforce it and supportive parents: "Those same conditions might produce calmer corridors whatever the policy on phones." That is an alternative cause. The option about exaggeration is wrong: the author never doubts that the head teachers' reports are honest.
Question 3 · inference
Which of the following can most reliably be inferred from paragraph 3?
- A. The author thinks lessons on phone habits work better than bans, as the schools that tried them found.
- B. The author thinks phones cause more harm outside school hours than during them.
- C. The author thinks pupils should be free to use phones in class.
- D. The author thinks a ban alone does not teach pupils to manage their phones outside school.
Show the answer and why
Answer: D.
Paragraph 3 says a ban "does nothing to teach a pupil how to manage it for the other seventeen" hours. The option saying lessons on phone habits work better than bans goes beyond the passage, which calls such lessons "harder to evaluate than a ban" and nowhere says they work better.
Notice what made the wrong options tempting. In the first question, one option takes a point the author discusses with interest and promotes it to the conclusion. In the second, one option accuses the head teachers of exaggerating, which the author never does. In the third, one option claims that lessons on phone habits work better than bans, which the passage never says. All three traps here are of two kinds: a real detail given the wrong role, or a claim one step beyond the text.
FreeTests: Main conclusion · Reasoning and structure · Inference
LNAT Practice Test · Free sample (3 questions on one passage): free sample
Answer 3 questions against the clock, like the real exam. You then see the right answer, the reason and your time on each. About 7 minutes · free · no sign-in.
3 questions to answer
Start nowabout 7 minThis one is free · no sign-in needed
Your result shows how long each question took you.
Pace, and reviewing a practice test
| Checkpoint | Time used at an even pace (ours) |
|---|---|
| After 3 passages | about 24 minutes |
| After 6 passages | about 48 minutes |
| After 9 passages | about 71 minutes |
| After 12 passages | 95 minutes |
LNAT says the test does not put great emphasis on speed, and that pacing yourself correctly is one of the main things practice tests teach. If you are behind at a checkpoint, give each remaining question your best answer and flag it for review rather than leaving it, since a wrong answer costs nothing.
After each practice test, the score matters less than the pattern of your mistakes. For every question you got wrong, or got right by guessing, ask which kind of question it was and which trap caught you. If most of your errors are of one kind, such as assumptions or inferences, practise that kind deliberately before your next full test. ProSyllabus has an independent LNAT practice test with three full Section A mocks of 12 original passages and 42 questions each, timed at 95 minutes, which reports your score by kind of question and explains every answer; the three questions above are its free sample. For the format, scoring and 2027 deadlines, see our LNAT format and deadlines guide.
FreeTests: Main conclusion · Reasoning and structure · Inference
LNAT Practice Test · Free sample (3 questions on one passage): free sample
Answer 3 questions against the clock, like the real exam. You then see the right answer, the reason and your time on each. About 7 minutes · free · no sign-in.
3 questions to answer
Start nowabout 7 minThis one is free · no sign-in needed
Your result shows how long each question took you.
Frequently asked questions
Are there official LNAT practice questions?
Yes. LNAT offers an online sample test, which can be taken as often as you like, and two practice papers to print with a commentary and a marking scheme. Start with those.
How many questions are in LNAT Section A?
42 multiple-choice questions on 12 argumentative passages, with 3 or 4 questions on each passage, in 95 minutes.
Is there negative marking in the LNAT?
No. LNAT gives a point for each right answer and deducts none for wrong answers, so it advises against leaving blanks.
Do I need to know any law for the LNAT?
No. LNAT says the test does not test knowledge of law or any other subject, and that the multiple-choice questions are always about the passage itself.
How long should I spend on each LNAT passage?
About 8 minutes on average, by our arithmetic (95 minutes for 12 passages): a little more for a passage with four questions and a little less for one with three.
Are these real LNAT questions?
No. The passage and the three questions on this page are original ProSyllabus practice material, not LNAT items.
More in this series
Sources
- official — LNAT — Test format (2 1/4 hours; Section A: 42 multiple-choice questions on 12 argumentative passages, 3 or 4 on each, 95 minutes; Section B: one of three essay questions, 40 minutes)
- official — LNAT — What is LNAT? (aptitude, not law knowledge; Section A marked by computer, a mark out of 42 = the LNAT score; Section B not marked by the test centre; Pearson VUE delivers the test)
- official — LNAT — Hints and tips (multiple-choice and essay advice; a point for each right answer, none deducted for wrong answers; ideal essay 500-600 words)
- official — LNAT — Practice tests (online sample test and tutorial; two paper practice tests with a commentary and marking scheme; recommended essay maximum 750 words)
- official — LNAT — online sample test, opening screen ("National Admissions Test for Law (LNAT) Sample Test"; Section A 42 questions in 95 minutes; Section B three essay questions, 40 minutes)
official = a document published by the conducting body. reported = a news or coaching site we could not check against an original. Where sources disagree this page says so rather than picking one.
