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Lara's LAT Success Story: What I Wish I Did To Prepare More Easily for the Law Admission Test
- Lara Carbonell
- Apr 27
- 11 min read
I thought being good at English was enough—until I sat the LAT.
Hi, I’m Lara, and I’m now in my second year studying Law/Arts at UNSW. But rewind a year, and I was deep in HSC stress, totally underestimating what the Law Admissions Test would actually be like. Spoiler alert: it’s nothing like your English exams.
If you're feeling overwhelmed, unsure of how to start preparing, or tempted to leave it to the last minute—you're not alone. I've been there, and I’m here to share exactly what I wish I’d known, so you don’t have to learn the hard way.
Overview
What to expect in this article:
Breakdown of the LAT structure and key persuasive writing techniques
Engaging with real-world issues and opinion pieces
Practicing with diverse stimuli (where to find practice resources!)
Biggest gatekept secret to LAT success
(1) Mastering persuasive writing-techniques
I underestimated how important it was to practice forming arguments quickly and persuasively under time pressure. Like many students who take the LAT each year, I was good at English in high school so I thought that would be enough to tackle the LAT. As a result, I overly relied on my existing essay-writing skills and didn’t take enough time to understand how to write persuasively to fit the LAT format. The consequence was experiencing panic and a lot of stress on exam day because I didn’t feel prepared. Let me help you avoid this.
As a preface, it is important to emphasise that your writing in the LAT will be assessed on the strength of your analysis, NOT the length of it (although you do need a reasonable amount of words to craft a strong analysis), so you should avoid repetition and aim to be as succinct as possible. But what is considered ‘strong’ writing? The simple answer is writing that is persuasive, clear, and consistent. It might seem obvious that structure and language are important to developing a strong writing style, but I definitely would’ve found it helpful to have clear guidance, so I will outline key strategies on how to achieve this.
The LAT is divided into two sections: Task A and Task B. Task A will require you to develop a critical analysis that discusses and evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of the arguments presented in an opinion piece. Task B will require you to respond to a piece of writing and develop recommendations to relevant issues raised by it, incorporating a range of stimuli. I have broken down persuasive techniques you can use to tackle both sections below.
Forget HSC English, use clear and succinct language
Quick heads up: the LAT is not your typical HSC English exam. You will be assessed on your ability to respond critically to the opinions/arguments presented, not on literary flair. This means writing in a succinct and clear manner. Many students who undertake the LAT fall into the English trap of using superfluous and verbose language. Consequently, their argument is difficult to understand and their key points get lost in the words.
In my first law class, my lecturer (who is a respected senior barrister) emphasised that we should not overly rely on adverbs to make an argument. Rather, the argument should be made from the content of our writing. Allow me to clarify this point through a comparison:
Example 1 (what not to do)
It is incredibly important, and perhaps even fundamentally essential, that students carefully select and employ language that is not only articulate and evocative, but also effective in clearly and persuasively conveying their intended message, thus facilitating a profound engagement with the reader.
Example 2 (the better approach)
Students should choose succinct language that clearly and persuasively conveys their intended message to the marker. Otherwise, it may be difficult for the marker to understand their argument, resulting in a lower mark.
Example 1 seems more impressive at a glance, but it clearly prioritises style over substance, something the LAT markers will definitely see through. In comparison, Example 2 uses simple language and is very direct. It doesn’t just stress the importance of using clear and succinct language, but goes further to establish why this is important.
In Samuel L Jackson's words, “language is the dress of thought”. Don’t dress what may be an excellent argument and analysis with complex and distracting language. That is just self-sabotage. Instead, make it easy for the marker to follow along: keep the language simple and let the content shine through.
How to Approach Task A: Critical Analysis
The most important persuasive technique I wish I truly understood before entering the LAT is critical analysis, which is relevant to answering Task A. In order to craft a “critical” analysis in the LAT context, you must weigh both sides of an argument before you reach a conclusion. This means evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of the arguments presented in the opinion piece. In doing so, you show the reader (in this case, the marker!) that you have engaged with both sides of an argument and have reached the most compelling conclusion. By debating both sides, the marker can see your critical thinking and is more likely to agree with your conclusion. Simply hammering in one perspective does not quite have the same persuasive effect!
It is also important to mention (because no one ever told me) that this kind of analysis is exactly what will be expected of you in law assignments. Law fact scenarios are practically always constructed in a way that expects you to weigh different sides of an argument to reach a convincing conclusion. Therefore, the markers will likely look for this.
Critical analysis in the LAT can be achieved in two ways. The first is dividing the strengths and weaknesses into different paragraphs, so that some paragraphs purely discuss strengths, and others discuss weaknesses. The second is weighing the strengths and weaknesses in every paragraph. When analysing strengths and weaknesses, you should extract relevant quotes from the text to back up your argument (similar to an English-style analysis).
Example of Strategy 1:
Point 1: The author’s analysis of exam techniques is highly convincing due to her use of high-modality language.
Evidence of strengths.
Point 2: The author’s argument about the importance of preparing for the LAT is strengthened by using empirical evidence that directly supports her claims.
Evidence of strengths.
Point 3: However, the author’s weak and unsupported claims about the health benefits of sleep are detrimental to her argument that students should get at least 8 hours of sleep to maximise their exam performance.
Evidence of weaknesses.
Point 4: The author’s article is highly unstructured and incoherent, harming the strength of her argument as it is difficult to follow along.
Evidence of weaknesses.
Conclusion: Weigh strengths and weaknesses of each point and reach a tentative conclusion as to whether the author’s argument is mostly persuasive or not.
Example of Strategy 2:
Point 1: The author analyses LAT preparation techniques so that students can go into the exam feeling well prepared.
Evidence of strengths, e.g high-modality language, empirical evidence.
Evidence of weaknesses, e.g. lack of high-modality language, not backed up by empirical evidence.
Tentative conclusion: whether overall the argument is mostly persuasive or not.
Point 2: The author argues it is imperative for examinees to prepare thoroughly for the LAT because otherwise, they will likely not perform to their full potential.
Evidence of strengths
Evidence of weaknesses
Tentative conclusion
Point 3: The author emphasises that it is crucial for LAT examinees to get at least 8 hours of sleep before the test day so they feel well rested and can perform to the best of their ability.
Evidence of strengths
Evidence of weaknesses
Tentative conclusion
Please note that these strategies are only suggestions based on my reflection of my LAT experience and are not exhaustive. That being said, I believe Strategy 1 is the most effective and might be the easiest to apply under time conditions, but I provide two strategies so you can clearly see that the most important elements of effective persuasive writing for the LAT are critical analysis (weighing both sides of an argument) and structure (it should be easy to follow along what you are saying). You should apply whatever structure makes the most sense to you. Keep in mind that even in practice, there is arguably no correct argument, only the most persuasive one.
How to Approach Task B: Developing Strong Recommendations
As I mentioned above, to answer Task A effectively it is important to weigh the strengths and weaknesses of the author’s argument in order to reach an informed, and therefore persuasive conclusion. But Task B requires a very different approach. Task B will require you to create your own argument (recommendations to address a particular issue) using the sources provided (a range of stimuli). Rather than evaluating an argument, you have to create an argument from the ground up.
Looking back at my LAT experience, I underestimated the importance of training my brain to consider the counter-arguments and flaws to my recommendations in Task B. If I could do it all over again, I would strengthen the persuasiveness of my argument by considering the fallacies in my points.
For example, “Although ATAR is already a comprehensive measure of students’ academic capability, it reflects academic performance in various subjects that are not necessarily relevant to law, such as mathematics and science. Hence, the LAT is an important and necessary part of UNSW’s admissions process because it provides a tailored evaluation of key skills relevant to legal practice, including critical and analytical thinking, and persuasive writing.”
As you can see, an argument can be strengthened by proposing a counter-argument, and then explaining why the argument still stands. As a general note, you don’t need to use all the stimuli to back up your arguments, but it is recommended because it shows your engagement with all key issues.
(2) Engaged more with real-world issues and opinion pieces
There are limited resources online, and it might be tempting to stick to the practice paper provided by ACER and just edit and improve your response. I did that, and I can tell you I wish I took a different approach. Let me stress that the LAT is not like HSC English. You cannot pre-prepare a thoroughly edited response and dump it on the page on test day with some minor tweaks to fit the question. The LAT is not an English test, so why would you prepare for it the same way?
That being said, I wish I’d spent more time reading opinion articles from newspapers and journals, and used them to practice timed responses to prepare for Task A. Doing so would have sharpened my reasoning and helped me generate ideas faster. A useful starting place is The Guardian opinion piece articles, as I find the authors tend to have a clear voice and opinion, which is similar to the opinion piece you will encounter in the LAT Task A.
(3) Practiced with diverse stimulus materials
The LAT isn’t just about writing, it’s about responding to different kinds of prompts like cartoons, quotes and graphs. The LAT stimuli are unpredictable, requiring adaptable and quick thinking. I went into the LAT almost blind on how to answer Task B. I had done the practice test provided by ACER, but the seemingly random stimuli made me feel like Task B wasn’t something I could really prepare for. The use of unconventional prompts caught me off guard, and I wish I’d trained my brain more thoroughly to interpret these stimuli quickly and link them to a central argument. It might seem difficult to practice under timed conditions beyond the ACER resources, but I have found two simple solutions: using Google image search and online reports/articles.
Google image search
The first method is simply searching any social issue into Google images, using the key words “graphs”, “infographics” and “images” (that way, search results will not be just pictures).
Online reports/articles
The second method is using online articles or reports with included images, graphs, and infographics to simulate Task B. I would recommend taking a look at the ACER practice paper to see the style of question you will be asked, coming up with your own question before you begin writing, and of course, timing your response.
Australian National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety (ANROWS)
ANROWS is a good place to start practicing for Task B because their “fact sheet” reports on key issues already have policy recommendations outlined inside. On the ANROWS website, you can access these reports under the “research” heading, then filter by resource type and select “fact sheet”. The fact sheets are essentially infographics with key statistics and graphs so it is very similar to Task B’s format. I have listed some below, (but I would encourage you to jump onto the website because it has a lot of useful materials to use for your practice timed responses!):
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW)
If you search up key issues concerning health (particularly regarding vulnerable populations) on Google, for example, “First Nations access to drug and alcohol services”, “a picture of overweight and obesity in Australia” or “young people’s use of vapes and e-cigarettes”, the AIHW will likely have online reports that include a summary of the issue and infographics, graphs, and other relevant statistics you can use to practice timed Task B responses. I will list some below for your convenience:
eSafety Commissioner
The eSafety Commissioner website has a web page titled “research” where you can access a collection of resources about online-safety related issues, for example, “Australians’ negative online experiences”, “children and social media”, and “digital lives of Aussie teens”. These topics are generally relevant to the LAT, which tends to focus on young people and social issues. As with the AIHW reports, some of the eSafety Commissioner pages contain infographics linked inside, which you can use to practice timed responses. Here are some links to get you started:
EXTRA TIP: Task B will typically include an extract from an article or quote as a written stimulus. Many of the resources I’ve listed above don’t include this, so search up a news article online about the topic and draw extracts from there (particularly opinion pieces, like those linked below).
(4) Biggest gatekept secret to LAT success: LAT Academy Masterclass
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Summary
Preparing for the LAT can be overwhelming, but with the right approach, you can set yourself up for success. By mastering persuasive writing techniques, engaging with real-world issues and opinion pieces, and practicing with diverse stimuli, you can thoroughly prepare for Task A and Task B (beyond just completing the ACER practice test). Now that you have a better understanding of how to tackle the LAT, start practicing – confidence starts with preparation. Best of luck, you’ve got this!
Sources
ABC News, Analysis and Opinion, accessed 13 April 2025, <https://www.abc.net.au/news/analysis-and-opinion>.
Australian Council for Educational Research 2023, Law Admissions Test, accessed 29 March 2025, <https://lat.acer.org/files/LAT_Sample_Papers_New.pdf>.
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2024, Access to alcohol and drug services, accessed 2 April 2025, <https://www.indigenoushpf.gov.au/measures/3-11-access-to-alcohol-and-drug-services>.
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2024, Young people’s use of vapes and e-cigarettes, accessed 2 April 2025, <https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/smoking/young-peoples-vapes-e-cigarettes#:~:text=People%20aged%2025%20to%2029,%E2%80%93%E2%80%8D2023%2C%20to%2028%25>.
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2017, A picture of overweight and obesity in Australia, accessed 2 April 2025,
Australian National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety 2024, “Who is going to be that voice?” What we know about parents killing their children in the context of domestic and family violence, accessed 4 April 2025, <https://www.anrows.org.au/resources/fact-sheet-what-we-know-about-parents-killing-their-children-in-the-context-of-domestic-and-family-violence/>.
Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety 2024, Perpetration of workplace technology-facilitated sexual harassment, accessed 4 April 2025, <https://www.anrows.org.au/resources/perpetration-of-workplace-technology-facilitated-sexual-harassment/>.
eSafety Commissioner 2024, Children and social media, Australian Government, accessed 3 April 2025, <https://www.esafety.gov.au/research/children-and-social-media>.
eSafety Commissioner 2022, Australians’ negative online experiences 2022, Australian Government, accessed 3 April 2025, <https://www.esafety.gov.au/research/australians-negative-online-experiences-2022>.
eSafety Commissioner 2020, Digital lives of Aussie teens, accessed 3 April 2025, <https://www.esafety.gov.au/research/digital-lives-of-aussie-teens>.
Michael Nguyen-Kim 2018, A guide to the law admissions test, accessed 29 March 2025, <https://pdfcoffee.com/a-guide-to-the-law-admissions-test-pdf-free.html>.
The Australia Institute, Analysis and Opinion, accessed 13 April 2025, <https://www.abc.net.au/news/analysis-and-opinion>.
The Guardian, Opinion, accessed 13 April 2025, <https://www.theguardian.com/uk/commentisfree>.
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