BY ANDREW J. McCLURG

Every lawyer remembers the LSAT®. But how many people remember how incredibly hard it was, especially the analytical reasoning section? In writing an instructional guide to law school, I had occasion to revisit the LSAT®, and came away believing it’s a miracle I ever got a single question right. Check out these sample questions:

Instructions. The following questions test your ability to understand relational structures. Carefully select your answer, then close your eyes and randomly blacken a space on the score sheet. Good luck! Ha, ha.

Question 1. Analyze the relationship structure among the following dots. Place them in order from most important to least important:

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Questions 2-5. Assume exactly six of the dots are representatives at a national punctuation conference. Six chairs are evenly spaced around a table. The chairs are numbered 1 through 6, with successively numbered chairs next to each other and chair number 1 next to chair number 6. Each chair is occupied by one of the dots. The following conditions apply:

. must sit next to .

. must sit next to ., ., or both

. can sit anywhere except in front of the coat rack because it makes him look like ! and he is already sensitive about his shrill temperament

. must be seated at the end of this sentence to make it grammatically correct.

2. Which of the following seating arrangements does not violate the stated conditions?

a) . . . . . .

b) . . . . . .

c) . . . . . .

d) . . . . . .

3. Assume . sits next to ., . sits next to ., . sits next to . and . sits next to . Assume further that their table is in the smoking section. Which of the following best describes the resulting seating arrangement?

a) ??????

b) ??????

c) ??????

d) ??????

4. Assume each dot sits in its proper seat, except ., who sits on ., with the resulting seating arrangement of . . : . . Which of the following is most likely to result?

a) A violation of the stated conditions.

b) A game of musical chairs.

c) A broken pelvis.

d) A sexual harassment suit.

5. Assume the dots, feeling slighted as the only ones in the universe not asserting their intellectual property rights, hire an agent. The agent will seat the dots as follows:

a) .® .® .® .® .® .®

b) .© .© .© .© .© .©

c) .com .com .com .com .com .com

d) All of the above.

Fortunately, the good folks behind the LSAT® publish several helpful test aids: the Official LSAT PrepTest®, the Official TriplePrep®, the Offical TriplePrep Plus with Explanations®, and the all new Official® QuadraPrep® PremiumUltraPlus® with Explanations As To Why You Should Plan on Taking the LSAT® Several Times® (last one is made up).