Why do people spend 15+ mins on the writing sample? Forum

[Eyetalian]

Do they realize it doesn't count? I see people spending 25-30 minutes writing and I just don't get it...

[djjf39]

Because it is a crucial aspect of you app.

[2Serious4Numbers]

what does it matter, it could be any number of reasons (actually caring, slow writer, making sure their shit is legible)...

[sundance95]

Because some people, when told they have to do something, believe they may as well do it as well as they possibly can.

So crazy I know LOLOL!!!!1!one! Don't they know they can cynically adopt an unjustified sense of superiority and bomb it with no consequences?

[bartleby]

Because some people, when told they have to do something, believe they may as well do it as well as they possibly can.

So crazy I know LOLOL!!!!1!one! Don't they know they can cynically adopt an unjustified sense of superiority and bomb it with no consequences?

lol +1

[joebloe]

Because why the hell not? You're there, you know how to write, you know how to argue... Why not use the time you're given just in case the guy who reviews your app wants to shake up the paradigm by reviewing the LSAT essay?

[bartleby]

Haha, and what are you going to do for the next 20 minutes anyway? Sit there and put your head down? I'm not saying you have to get written up for going over the time limit on the writing sample but to put a 15 min ceiling on it is kinda ridiculous.

[2014]

I definitely put less time into this one than October's, but honestly if I am working on something that an I have literally no other options that are more fulfilling for that 30 minutes of my life since we are held hostage, there is no reason NOT to try unless you have a phobia of writing.

[DukeCornell]

Because why the hell not? You're there, you know how to write, you know how to argue... Why not use the time you're given just in case the guy who reviews your app wants to shake up the paradigm by reviewing the LSAT essay?

+1 I was thinking (right before I started writing), all things being equal, what if this is the only way to separate myself from applicant #2...

[confusedlawyer]

I was done in 7 which included a 3 minute bathroom break.

[kwais]

douchiest thread of all time. (the OP, not the responses). There were a bunch of twats at my testing center walking around after like "did you actually do the writing sample?"
I almost want to become an adcomm so I can summarily reject asshats who blow off the easiest and most straightforward part of the process.

[beachbum]

I don't understand why people around here are so eager to blow off the writing section. True, it's unlikely to affect your app one way or the other- but why risk it? Particularly when applying to the top schools in a time when more people are applying than ever before, I can't understand the rationale in purposely allowing part (even a very small part) of your application to dip in quality. I'm not saying you have to write a novel, but at least put forth a competent argument.

[Anomaly]

I wrote into the last minute. u mad op?

[DoubleChecks]

I don't understand why people around here are so eager to blow off the writing section. True, it's unlikely to affect your app one way or the other- but why risk it? Particularly when applying to the top schools in a time when more people are applying than ever before, I can't understand the rationale in purposely allowing part (even a very small part) of your application to dip in quality. I'm not saying you have to write a novel, but at least put forth a competent argument.

lol seriously...i dont know why its worth the risk (no matter how small). its not that unpleasant answering the writing prompt...and tbh, i dont have something better to do for those 35min since i cant just get up and leave the testing center early. sure finishing in 10min just so i can sit there and look smug sounds fun, but i dont know how that'd feel like in practice -- OP, care to share?

[cartman44]

.

[Eyetalian]

I'm not talking about just drawing a smiley face and walking away, but after spending 3+ hours pouring over taxing shit, why knock yourself out writing a detailed essay that isn't going to count.

[094320]

..

[gens1tb]

I spent the entire time writing because I had to be in that room for the full 35 minutes anyway, might as well occupy my time.

[confusedlawyer]

I don't understand why people around here are so eager to blow off the writing section. True, it's unlikely to affect your app one way or the other- but why risk it? Particularly when applying to the top schools in a time when more people are applying than ever before, I can't understand the rationale in purposely allowing part (even a very small part) of your application to dip in quality. I'm not saying you have to write a novel, but at least put forth a competent argument.

lol seriously...i dont know why its worth the risk (no matter how small). its not that unpleasant answering the writing prompt...and tbh, i dont have something better to do for those 35min since i cant just get up and leave the testing center early. sure finishing in 10min just so i can sit there and look smug sounds fun, but i dont know how that'd feel like in practice -- OP, care to share?

Well I wrote the LSAT 3 times, the first time I wrote a beautiful argument, took me 25 minutes, the second time I wrote a really good argument, 20 minutes. After getting brain-raped for 4 hours, I didn't feel like spending the remaining brain power I had writing a useless argument I had already done well twice before. If they want to get an accurate guage of my writing they can view my first writing sample. But I do understand your point regarding first-time LSAT takers.

[SchopenhauerFTW]

.

[HowdyYall]

I'm not talking about just drawing a smiley face and walking away, but after spending 3+ hours pouring over taxing shit, why knock yourself out writing a detailed essay that isn't going to count.

why spend 3 hours taking a test and risk the 5% chance that a school youre applying to actually reads the thing and rejects you bc of it

[Sandro]

there is no reward for blowing off the writing sample. You just took a 4 hour test, is staring blankly really worth putting nothing down? I can see not furiously writing an amazing essay but it takes me ~15-20 minutes to put something down especially with my hand cramping from taking the test...

[well-hello-there]

Dean Asha has stated explicitly in her Yale admissions blog that some professors have told her that they look at it when making their decision on whether to admit it. Admissions at the very top schools isn't just clear-cut numbers and they're looking for reasons to reject you to winnow down the ones they like---an indication that you blew off because it "didn't count" isn't likely to help you out.

I'm sure that's true at Yale but I know somebody who wrote the most piss-poor personal statement and just got accepted into NYU because of a 177 lsat. So at least as far as NYU is concerned, writing skills don't matter if your lsat is high enough.
That said, I spent the majority of the 35 minutes writing because I know I'M not getting a 177 and I don't want to give a school any opportunity to think negatively about me. Also, I write slow and typically consider three or four different ways to write a sentence in my head before I actually put it down on paper.

[fosterp]

The kind of questions they give don't exactly leave room for the most elaborate arguments (unless I am just wildly uncreative).

Plus figure you just spent 6 hours going through the testing process, and now your sitting here thinking about how well you did, where you fucked up, what score your going to get, etc, and they want you to write an essay. I doubt anyone is really gonna put forth their best work in that situation.

I don't know why they bother having it.

[Sandro]

I don't know why they bother having it.

To make sure you can write coherently. To have another sample of your handwriting for security concerns. To give idiots a chance to blow it off and draw smilies and get rejected. So that the proctors have time to get their shit together before you bolt.

lol