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Hey everyone! My name is Naga Nikhil (or Nikhil for short), and I am a 2024 HSC graduate currently studying my first year of a Law/Commerce double degree at the University of New South Wales. If you're also considering doing Law at UNSW, then the Law Admissions Test (LAT) is an intimidating challenge you must overcome.
Beyond the daunting nature of the test, many misconceptions surround it, misconceptions that I, unfortunately, fell for the first time I sat it. However, I broke these misconstructions down through a holistic understanding of the exam, ultimately achieving a 90th percentile rank on my second attempt.
This blog extends my knowledge so that you, too, can overcome the exam without making the same mistakes I did in year 11 or repeating them in year 12. It may sound like a tremendous effort, but hopefully, by the end of this blog, you'll understand straightforward key methods to avoid prevalent mistakes that others, including myself, and perhaps even yourself, may have made. Once you grasp the fundamental principles of the exam, preparing for the LAT will feel more manageable, even as you balance your senior school workload and extracurricular commitments.
Essential Insights I Wish I Had Before My Initial Attempt of the LAT Test
It is NOT like a HSC essay
One of the biggest mistakes when sitting the LAT exam is treating it as if it was a HSC Legal Studies or English Advanced essay, something I also fell for during my first attempt. The ACER website states, "(the LAT) assesses the types of aptitudes and skills that are critical to success in tertiary Law programs," meaning it requires a high level of argumentative-styled writing and a relatively unique approach to structure.
The problem with treating the LAT like an HSC essay is that HSC essays often don't allow that argumentative flair that LAT markers look for to come through in your writing and have relatively passive structures when conceptualising arguments. You need to understand to write in a VERY clear, straightforward manner, something that is fundamentally antithetical to the embellished language sought for in the HSC.
Pre-exam Planning is KEY & Quality > Quantity
During my first attempt at the LAT, the nerves got to me, and I dove straight into my essays, trying to write as much as possible, thinking that the more I wrote, the more fleshed out and broad my arguments would be, something my economics teacher called the 'spray and pray' method. While I wrote significantly more my first time, with approximately 1300 words in both essays, I received an honestly abysmal mark. Something I didn't realise then was the importance of taking 5-10 minutes at the start to write down and plan my arguments, which would save me having to 'pray' my end result was cohesive and logically sound.
However, during my latter attempt, I only had 1000-1100 words across both essays, as I made sure to collect myself and plan both my essays, such that despite having a few fewer arguments, the breadth and depth of the 3-4 that I wrote about were very cohesive, and insightful. The LAT examiners aren't worried about how much you write (given it's a serious and appropriate attempt/response) as long as it reflects a high degree of rhetorical cohesion and dexterity
Do NOT Believe People when they say, "The LAT is Something You Can't Prepare For."
Although recently, I feel like this myth has been somewhat debunked, during my first attempt at the exam, everyone from UNSW professors to the seniors at my school would tell me the infamous line, "The LAT is Something You Can't Prepare For". As such, I gave it a relatively low regard, only looking over the practice question provided by ACER a night or two before the exam. Please DO NOT fall for the same mistake I did. Later in the blog, I'll explain the key things I did to achieve top marks, but the key message here is not to treat the test lightly and start preparing as early as possible in year 11.
Side note: A tip that helped me in year 12 was to only prepare for the exam following trials, as your ATAR also plays a significant factor in getting into UNSW Law School. If you're in year 12, do not spend too much time on the LAT until your trials are over. I only kept up with the news until August, but following my trial exams, I applied various more key ways to prepare for the LAT, and as such, I achieved high marks in both the HSC and the LAT.
Use the Resources Around You
During my 'preparation' for the first time I did the LAT, I barely used the resources around me to their full potential. If I were in your shoes right now, use every possible resource around you. Try to get consistent feedback on your essays from your teachers, use the LAT Academy resources to their fullest extent, look through every guide on every website, blog post, and discussion thread you can find, and apply this consistently. After all, consistency is key when doing anything in life, whether it's preparing for the LAT or HSC, training at the gym, or even in the relationships around you.
My Key Ways of Preparing for the LAT Test
As I mentioned earlier, following the end of my trial block, I applied many key things before the LAT in my preparation. Ideally, you're reading this while you're still in year 11, meaning you can use these techniques for a more extended period, but don't worry if not, as I, too, only applied most of them for the two-odd months between trials and the LAT.
Keep Up With the News on a Daily Basis
This tip applies regardless of where you're at in senior school, as it's not very time-consuming. I did this throughout year 12, as I realised the questions posed in the LAT are extremely relevant to Australian issues prevalent in the present day. For example, my first LAT exam had a question examining the diacope over the recent (at the time) vape bans. If I had kept up to date with modern-day events, I would've been all the more equipped to talk about the issue and raise valid and insightful points. However, later in my second attempt, the question brought up issues surrounding the 'Streaming Wars' between subscription-based streaming platforms, which I was able to talk about effectively using economic principles learned through reading publications daily.
Key publishers/sources I used and recommend are:
ABC News
The AFR
The Daily Telegraph
Herald Sun
The Australian
To be honest, any large news corporation would be just as effective as long as their publications cover a broad range of prevalent issues. LAT Academy has more information on this on their Opinions Editorial blog.
The LAT Academy Masterclass
In all honesty, without the LAT Academy Premium Masterclass, I don’t think I could’ve gotten a 90th percentile mark. The comprehensive set of skills, tips, and advice I received over the two five hour lessons were pivotal in not only reinforcing existing knowledge, but also providing new insights into what the LAT demands. Utilising the personalised feedback given on my written expression, argumentative style/flair, and essay structures really helped me refine my work into something that ultimately helped me achieve a life long goal of studying law.
Consistently Write Practice LAT Essays and Ask for Feedback
Like any other essay-based subject, it is key that you consistently practise your essays and get consistent feedback. For feedback, I consistently drew upon the comprehensive remarks provided by the LAT Academy tutors, but I also frequently asked my English, Legal, and Economics teachers for help, submitting an essay every 3-4 days. Closer to the exam, this time gap shrunk to nearly every 1-2 days. If you can't find questions online, make sure to check out the questions provided by the LAT Academy, as I found them really helpful during my prep. Another helpful tip would be to search "lat practice paper" followed by any year before the current one, as on the ACER website, they only have the most recent copy of the practice paper. Using this trick, I could access papers all the way back from ever since 2016, expanding my arsenal of practice papers.
In the 2-4 weeks leading up to your exam, depending on how confident you are with your LAT preparation, I recommend reattempting questions from earlier on in your preparation and submitting them for feedback, WITHOUT first reading your initial attempt, as it can serve as an indicator of your overall progression. Think about it as logging your workouts at the gym; it gives you a clear idea of if you're plateauing or consistently improving.
Knowing and UNDERSTANDING Rhetorical Techniques
In the first half of your LAT exam, you must analyse someone else's writing, meaning you either critique or reaffirm their arguments. Having a key idea of rhetorical techniques is imperative; however, when I refer to these techniques, I'm not talking about the basic literary ones we all learn in HSC English, but rather the more advanced ones. More specifically, I'm referring to the advanced types, otherwise known as fallacies, that the LAT Academy comprehensively goes over, such as Ad hominem attacks, slippery slope, straw man, false dichotomy, appeal to authority, etc.
I used my LAT Academy resources and Chat-GPT to form a list of these during the initial phase of my preparation and spent a decent amount of time memorising them. However, a key difference in my preparation from that of my peers that helped me achieve significantly higher marks was that I not only ended my preparation by simply memorising them but also spent time applying them in my essays. It's okay to use the list you configure as you write essays initially, like an open-book exam, just as long as you're methodically applying the knowledge to your essays. With that being said, ideally, you have to eventually get comfortable enough doing this closed book if you're trying to maximise your potential mark
USING the Feedback Given with an OPEN MIND
Using all the techniques I have provided ultimately comes short of serving you well unless you actually improve in your written expression. As such, you have to make sure you're actively incorporating the feedback given to you every time you write an essay. It sounds relatively simple, but it's easier said than done to do this consistently as it becomes a meticulous effort to include EVERYTHING, especially when you have an exhaustive list, like the one provided by the LAT Academy. You know you've got it when your submitted essays don't receive the same feedback twice in a row or to the same extent as the previous attempt. You NEED to have an open mind to this to ensure you're doing it correctly, as many fall into the trap of thinking of it as demoralising rather than an opportunity to grow. Many of my friends who received feedback took it very negatively, bruising their egos and ultimately perpetuating their failure to realise their potential. As such, in the wise words of Kendrick Lamar, "Sit down, Be humble."
Start in Year 11
While this is pretty self-explanatory and may not apply to some, if not most of you, not properly studying in year 11 is probably my biggest LAT-related regret. Start as early as possible to equip yourself to the most significant extent without having to take away from necessary HSC study time later on. As I mentioned earlier, once your internal marks in year 12 start to matter, it's only best you start properly preparing following the end of your internal examinations (trials), meaning that you only have one and a half to two months to prepare, but now imagine you started in year 11 where things are a lot more relaxed. You'd have double, if not triple, the amount of preparation time.
On the Day of the LAT
"Dread it, run from it, the LAT arrives all the same" is what I'm 99% sure Thanos would be saying if he was sitting the LAT instead of collecting Infinity Stones. But let's be honest, even Thanos wouldn't be immune to the pressure that comes with an impending exam, especially one as important as the LAT. While it is easier said than done, please try and make sure you do not panic; treat it like any other exam you've done before and collect yourselves. Think about it pragmatically and use my tragic year 11 attempt as a moral; panicking would only serve a counterintuitive purpose.
Honestly, the best way to reduce, or even eliminate, the risk of panicking in any exam, not just the LAT, would be to ensure you've practised enough for the test. The way I saw it, I'd rather be over-prepared than underprepared, or in a more common expression, it's better to be safe than sorry. During my second attempt, another thing that helped me avoid panic while ideating my arguments during the initial planning stage was repeatedly drawing circles on the piece of paper they provided. It may sound weird or unrelated, but small, fidgety things like that have been proven to help reduce panic and anxiety. Another thing that better equipped me to not fumble on the day was the knowledge that I attended the LAT Academy, because I knew that my work had been refined by experienced tutors who knew what they were doing, empowering me with confidence in my own abilities.
Final Remarks
Success in the LAT doesn't come from luck but a consistent, focused effort. By dedicating yourself to meaningful preparation and embracing the challenge, you'll build the confidence necessary to tackle the test and excel at it. Remember, the journey is just as important as the destination, so ensure you're also taking care of your well-being along the way. Keep pushing forward, and I'm confident you'll achieve your goals.
Best of luck, and I hope to see you at UNSW Law School soon!