LNAT Practice Tests 2010 Commentary - General Strategy

Sep 18, 2026

LNAT Practice Tests 2010 Commentary provides guidance for approaching multiple-choice reading questions across varied passages and topics. It explains that correct options do not follow a predictable pattern and that background knowledge is not required because all needed information is within each passage. The commentary recommends skimming first to understand the passage structure, using alternative answer strategies (predicting before checking, or eliminating options), and tracking argument stages, context, and relevance to each question.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages10

Reading Time25 min

AccessFree to download

General comments

Strategies for answering multiple-choice questions

Selecting options and eliminating wrong answers

Tracking argument structure and context

Close reading and relevance across questions

Top Civil Servants

Question 1

LNAT PRACTICE TESTS 2010 COMMENTARY General comments When approaching the passages and questions in the test, you should bear in mind that there will be a range of material of different lengths, covering a variety of topics. The correct answers do not form a pattern so you should not assume that there is an equal proportion of a) to e) . Nor must you assume that familiarity with the topic will be an advantage. All the information you need to select the right answer is within the passage itself. You may, however, be asked to apply the understanding you have gained from reading one passage to another example, unrelated by subject to the original material. There is no set sequence of questions, and you must expect a variety of approaches. There are two alternative strategies which can be used when answering multiple-choice questions. Some people prefer to read the text first and then look at the questions and possible answers; other people prefer to look at the questions first and then bear them in mind as they read the text. Since answering the questions used in this test depends on your understanding of the whole passage, or a substantial named part of it, it will usually be best to start by at least skim reading each passage first. Whether you then choose to read the text again more thoroughly before looking at the questions, or prefer to look at the questions at this stage and then try to bear them in mind when re-reading the passage, will probably depend on how much you understand each passage. When it comes to selecting one of the possible options as an answer to each question, there are again, essentially, two possible strategies. The first is simply to try to answer the question without looking at the given options. Once you have decided what you think the answer is, you can then see if it (or something similar) is listed among the options provided. If it is there, then your answer has been validated. If it isnot there, you have at least started to think about the meaning of the passage and formed some preliminary views. The second strategy is to take each option in turn and see whether it‘fits’, or whether it can be eliminated. Eliminating wrong answers can often work very well in a multiple-choice test since, once all the wrong answers have been eliminated, whatever is left must be correct. This process is used several times in the commentaries which follow, often with a confirmatory check of the last option against the question and the passage. For all the questions it is useful to follow the progress of the main argument and its structure as it goes through various stages, noting how points follow on from one another and how they are linked. The way the writer uses paragraphs is one clear example. A writer might also, as it were, pause in the presentation of an argument to provide illustrative material such as analogies, metaphors, similes or any kind of comparison, as well as giving specific examples in order to convince, persuade or clarify. You will find the ability to identify the stages or steps of an argument a useful skill. It is also helpful to be able to identify where a writer moves from the specific to the general, or vice versa, and to distinguish between a statement of fact and an assertion of opinion. You should also be alert, in every question, to the significance of the context of the passage. You may be asked about the writer’s purposes within a particular passage by a question which begins for example, with ‘because’ followed by a series of statements. You will need to look closely at the part each statement plays in the argument of the piece, not their absolute truth or otherwise. It is also important that you are selective, not only in the sense of choosing the right option and discarding the wrong ones quickly, but also in discarding sections of the passage which are not relevant to that particular question. You may find, however, that answering one question helps you answer the next

FAQs

Do the correct answers follow a predictable pattern in LNAT practice questions?

No. The commentary states that correct answers do not form a pattern, so you should not assume an even distribution across the options.

What initial reading approach is recommended before tackling the questions?

It is usually best to skim each passage first so you can understand the whole passage or a substantial named part and pick up key wording.

How can eliminating wrong options help when answering multiple-choice questions?

The commentary explains that you can test each option to see whether it fits or can be eliminated; once wrong answers are removed, whatever remains must be correct, a process used in later commentaries.

Sep 18, 2026

Uploaded by Oliver Hayes