LNAT Timing Strategy for Section A

The arithmetic, and its limits

Section A gives you 95 minutes for 42 questions spread across 12 argumentative passages. Divided flat, that is a little over two minutes per question, and it is tempting to turn this into a rule: two minutes each, no exceptions. It is a poor rule, because the questions are not independent. They come in groups of three or four attached to a passage you must read once, so the real unit of time is the passage set, not the question.

Budgeting by passage

Twelve passage sets in 95 minutes works out at roughly 7 to 8 minutes per set, including reading the passage. A practical division within that is something like 2 to 3 minutes reading and 4 to 5 minutes answering, with the balance shifting according to how dense the passage is.

• Think in sets: finishing a set slightly early buys time for the next difficult one.
• Expect variation. A statistics-heavy passage with four questions will cost more than a short one with three.
• Use rough checkpoints rather than constant clock-watching: around 48 minutes gone by the halfway point is a reasonable marker.
• Leave a small reserve, ideally 5 to 8 minutes, for flagged questions and final checks.

Reading order within a set

There is no single correct approach, and it is worth testing two or three in practice before settling. What matters is consistency, because an improvised approach on test day costs time in decisions rather than in reading.

Read the passage first, then the questions

Suits strong, fast readers. You build a picture of the argument, including where the author concedes and where the conclusion lands, and then answer with fewer returns to the text.

Skim the stems first, then read

Suits candidates who lose time re-reading. Knowing that one question concerns tone and another the function of a paragraph directs attention while you read, at the cost of a slightly slower first pass.

Either way, answer the questions in the order given unless one is clearly the hardest, and expect to return to specific lines rather than relying on memory. The mechanics of the section are covered in the Section A guide.

Handling a question that stalls

Refusing to leave a question you have nearly cracked is a costly trade to make. Marks are equal, so two minutes spent rescuing one hard question at the cost of two straightforward ones later leaves you worse off.

1. 1Give yourself one deliberate re-read of the relevant lines rather than several vague ones.
2. 2Eliminate what you can and record why, so a later return is quick.
3. 3Choose the best remaining option and answer it, since an unanswered question cannot score.
4. 4Flag it, move on, and do not carry the frustration into the next passage.

Flags and the review pass

You are allowed to revisit and change answers within the 95 minutes, but once Section B begins, Section A is closed, so a review pass has to be planned rather than hoped for. Flags are only useful if they stay scarce: a list of twenty is not a review, it is a second sitting you do not have time for.

• Aim to flag no more than four or five questions across the whole paper.
• Always leave an answer selected before flagging.
• In the review pass, change an answer only if you can articulate a reason. I recommend leaving an unexplained second thought alone.
• Prioritise flags where you eliminated down to two options, since a reasoned re-read is most likely to change something there.

Final checks

• Confirm that every question has an answer recorded.
• Re-read the stems of any NOT or EXCEPT questions, which is where hurried candidates lose marks.
• Resist reopening settled answers in the last minute purely out of anxiety.

Practising pace

Pace is trained in stages: single passage sets against a target, then half papers, then full 95 minute papers. Track where in the paper your own timing slipped rather than only whether you finished. Timing pressure and concentration are personal, so use your own timed papers to find the point at which your pace starts to drift, and plan the second half of the paper around that.

Full timed papers with a 95:00 clock, a passage navigator and flagging are available in the LNAT Prepper practice tests, and the free diagnostic paper is a reasonable place to establish your current baseline. Once you have a score, read What is a good LNAT score? before drawing conclusions from it.