Top 200 Vocabulary Word List for the LNAT | Must Know Words for Common Examination Instructions

The 200-word examination instruction list

LNAT instructions ask you to choose a conclusion supported by a passage or write a reasoned response to a question. In Section A, distinguish the author’s view from a view they report. In Section B, choose one essay and make clear how your reasons support your position.

The numbered bank combines question directions, response formats and supporting terms. Check the official instructions for the exact item and version you are taking.

Exam requirements · Worked examples · Fencing Method

LNAT format and multiple-choice reading

No.	Instruction or term	What it asks you to do
1	Section A	Use the supplied passages to answer the multiple-choice questions.
2	Section B	Choose one essay question and develop a reasoned response.
3	Passage-based multiple choice	Choose the answer most consistent with the supplied text and stem.
4	Choose one of three essays	Select one available question and keep your response focused on it.
5	LNAT score	Read the multiple-choice result out of 42 separately from the essay.
6	Timed essay	Plan, write and review within the available writing time.
7	Read the exact question	Identify the scope, issue and action before making a plan.
8	Author’s central claim	Find the main assertion the author wants the reader to accept.
9	Explicit statement	Identify a proposition directly stated in the passage.
10	Implicit assumption	Identify a premise the reasoning uses without stating it directly.
11	Warranted inference	Choose an inference that has adequate support in the text.
12	Overstatement	Identify wording that extends further than the evidence supports.
13	Least supported	Choose the option with the weakest support under the stated criterion.
14	Except	Identify the choice that fails the stated rule while the others meet it.
15	Closest in meaning	Match the expression’s meaning in the passage rather than its most familiar sense.
16	Best captures the passage	Choose the option that represents the main point at the right scope.
17	Function of the example	Explain which general idea the example develops, illustrates or limits.
18	Role of a paragraph	Identify how the paragraph contributes to the passage’s overall reasoning.
19	Writer’s attitude	Infer the author’s position from emphasis, tone and qualification.
20	View reported by the author	Attribute the view to the source the author identifies.

Essay instructions, reasoning and argument

No.	Instruction or term	What it asks you to do
21	Argument structure	Identify the relationship between reasons, objections and conclusions.
22	Line of reasoning	Connect each major claim to the reason or evidence that supports it.
23	Distinguish fact and judgment	Separate what is reported to have happened from how it is assessed.
24	Evidence and conclusion	Check whether the evidence actually establishes the conclusion offered.
25	Evaluate a claim	Use relevant criteria and explain the strengths or limits of the reasoning.
26	Justify a view	Give a reason that supports the specific position you take.
27	Defensible position	Present a view you can support with relevant reasoning and examples.
28	Extent of agreement	Say how far you agree and explain where the position needs qualification.
29	Consider a counterargument	Address a plausible objection to the position you intend to defend.
30	Respond to an objection	Explain why the objection changes or leaves your conclusion intact.
31	Concede a point	Accept a limited part of another position while explaining the overall judgment.
32	Policy proposal	State an action and reason about its consequences or feasibility.
33	Competing values	Identify priorities that pull the decision in different directions.
34	Fair comparison	Judge alternatives on the same relevant criteria.
35	Contextual meaning	Use the surrounding text to decide which interpretation fits.
36	Relevant example	Give an example that demonstrates the reason rather than only mentioning the topic.
37	Paragraph focus	Make each paragraph develop a particular part of the answer.
38	Opening position	Give the reader a clear answer to the issue at the start.
39	Conclusion follows	Check that the final judgment is supported by what precedes it.
40	Scope of a term	Check which cases the word or expression includes.
41	Unstated exception	Test whether the passage supports limiting the claim to particular cases.
42	Specific objection	Name the exact reasoning or claim you are challenging.
43	Practice interface	Use the official simulator to learn navigation and answer entry.
44	One best answer	Choose the option most fully supported by the question and passage.

Passage evidence and evaluation

No.	Instruction or term	What it asks you to do
45	Circular reasoning	Recognise when the reason effectively assumes the conclusion.
46	Author’s attitude	Infer the writer’s stance from wording, emphasis and qualification.
47	Perspective supplied	Use the position in the writing materials to develop or test your own reasoning.
48	Quantifier scope	Check exactly which people, cases or claims are covered by all, some or none.
49	Mutually exclusive cases	Check whether the two outcomes can both occur under the rule.
50	Inference from silence	Identify a conclusion drawn only because the passage leaves a matter unstated.
51	Comparison group	Ask which group would provide a fair test of the claimed difference.
52	Normative claim	Recognise a claim about what ought to happen.
53	Descriptive claim	Recognise a claim about what happens or has happened.
54	Main conclusion	Identify the claim that the rest of the reasoning ultimately supports.
55	Intermediate conclusion	Identify a claim that receives support and then helps support a further claim.
56	Support gap	Find the step that is assumed between the premises and conclusion.
57	Complete the argument	Choose the conclusion or missing proposition that follows from the stated reasoning.
58	Consider both positions	Check what each speaker claims about the same proposition.
59	Countercase	Find a permitted example that changes or disproves the claimed result.
60	Position on an issue	State what you think about the exact claim in the prompt.
61	Reason and example	Show how the example demonstrates the point made by the reason.
62	Reasoning flaw	Locate the exact step where the evidence fails to support the conclusion.
63	Author’s assumption	Identify a premise the argument relies on without stating directly.
64	Strength of support	Judge how directly a detail bears on the exact claim.
65	Most logically completes	Choose the ending that follows from the text or notes.
66	Main purpose	Identify what the text as a whole is trying to accomplish.
67	Most directly supports	Pick the evidence with the clearest connection to the named claim.
68	Author’s claim	Find what the named author argues or asserts.
69	Point of agreement	Find what both sources would endorse based on the evidence.
70	Cause and effect	Choose a link that shows one event producing or explaining the other.
71	Textual evidence	Choose a detail from the source that supports the precise claim.
72	Scope	Check the population, time frame or range covered by the claim.
73	Logical relationship	Identify whether adjacent ideas add, contrast, explain or exemplify.
74	Author’s reservation	Identify a stated hesitation, exception or limit on the main claim.
75	Point of view	Identify the standpoint influencing how the source presents events.
76	Scope of the claim	Match the answer to the people, period or cases the passage actually discusses.
77	Contrast	Show how the items differ on a shared point of comparison.
78	Interpret	Say what a statement, result or display means in context.
79	Infer	Use clues to reach a conclusion the material implies.
80	Evaluate	Weigh relevant evidence or criteria before reaching a judgment.
81	Support	Supply evidence that helps establish the claim.
82	Best supported	Prefer the conclusion backed most directly by the evidence.
83	Relevant	Connected to the specific question or criterion.
84	Explicit	Stated directly in the source.
85	Implicit	Suggested by the source and recoverable from clues.
86	Evidence	A fact, detail or observation that supports a claim.
87	Claim	An assertion that can be tested against evidence or reasoning.
88	Reason	The basis for a statement, choice or result.
89	Conclusion	The result reached after considering the reasoning or evidence.
90	Assumption	A premise taken as given for the purpose of the question.
91	Context	The surrounding information that helps determine meaning.
92	Support the claim	Give evidence that bears on the exact claim in the question.
93	Specific passage detail	Use a concrete detail that directly supports the proposed interpretation.
94	Qualification	Limit or refine a claim where the evidence supports a more precise position.
95	Counterargument	Present and address a plausible competing interpretation.
96	Support an argument	Connect the example or document to a reason for accepting the claim.
97	Deductive reasoning	Show how a conclusion follows from premises or prior results.
98	Counterclaim	Present a plausible position that challenges the claim.
99	Purpose	Identify why a text, study or source was produced.
100	Perspective	Explain the viewpoint from which a claim or event is presented.
101	Role of the named passage detail	Decide whether the part illustrates, supports or limits a claim.
102	Text 1	Keep the first text’s position separate when comparing sources.
103	Text 2	Identify the second text’s response to the precise claim being compared.
104	Overlap between claims	Identify what both positions assert before considering where they disagree.
105	Unqualified claim	Recognise a claim stated without a relevant exception or limiting condition.
106	Compare and contrast	Address similarities and differences for the named items.
107	Explicit reference	Name the particular feature of the source on which a point depends.
108	Discuss the extent	Explain how far you agree or disagree and where your judgment changes.
109	Develop a position	Add specific reasons and examples that make your judgment clear.
110	Words in context	Choose the sense or expression that fits the local wording and purpose.
111	Cross-text connections	Compare how two texts address the same point.
112	Rhetorical purpose	Identify the job a detail does in the author’s argument.
113	Competing interpretation	Consider another reading that the text can reasonably support.
114	Unstated implication	Identify a conclusion that follows from the passage without being stated directly.
115	Justify	Give evidence or reasoning that supports your answer.

Reading checks and essay development

No.	Instruction or term	What it asks you to do
116	Discuss	Develop a structured response that considers the relevant issues.
117	In context	Use the meaning that fits this passage or situation.
118	Passage	A stretch of text provided for reading and answering questions.
119	Reference within the text	Resolve a reference by locating the word or idea it points back to.
120	Issue in dispute	Identify the precise question about which the positions differ.
121	Author’s main purpose	Decide what the author wants the passage as a whole to accomplish.
122	Author’s method	Identify how the passage develops its point, such as by comparison or criticism.
123	Attitude to the proposal	Identify the author’s stance towards the specific proposal rather than the general topic.
124	Provisional judgment	Recognise a conclusion held subject to further information or conditions.
125	Qualification in the text	Retain wording that restricts the force, scope or circumstances of the claim.
126	Reported speech	Identify whose statement the passage presents.
127	Quoted opinion	Keep the quoted person’s opinion separate from the author’s.
128	First paragraph	Use its role in introducing the issue when the question asks about structure.
129	Final paragraph	Check whether it concludes, qualifies or shifts the argument.
130	Illustrative case	Find what the particular example is intended to demonstrate.
131	Evidence omitted	Identify information needed to assess an argument that the passage does not supply.
132	Factual premise	Identify a stated fact the argument uses as support.
133	Value judgment	Recognise an evaluation based on a standard or priority.
134	Prescriptive claim	Identify a statement about what someone should do.
135	Empirical claim	Identify a statement that can be tested against observation or data.
136	Strength of language	Notice whether the wording signals certainty, probability or mere possibility.
137	Ambiguity	Identify which meaning the context supports where a term has more than one.
138	Connotation	Consider the associations a word carries in addition to its direct meaning.
139	Irony	Recognise a gap between literal wording and intended meaning when the passage supports it.
140	Sceptical tone	Identify wording that shows doubt about the claim or explanation.
141	Tentative tone	Recognise wording that signals a provisional rather than final judgment.
142	Neutral tone	Recognise wording that presents information without strongly favouring a side.
143	Dismissive tone	Identify language that treats a claim as unworthy of serious consideration.
144	Contrasting example	Find a case that illustrates the difference the author is drawing.
145	Scope of comparison	Use the same group, period or criterion for the alternatives.
146	Most plausible reading	Choose the interpretation that best fits the wording and context.
147	Least consistent option	Find the choice that fits the stated evidence least well.
148	Exclusion word	Notice wording such as except that changes which option to choose.
149	Limiting phrase	Keep the condition introduced by words such as only or unless.
150	Necessary qualification	Add the limit required for the conclusion to remain supported.
151	Unsupported extension	Reject an option that applies the conclusion beyond its evidence.
152	Representative example	Check whether the example is typical enough to support the claim.
153	Illustrates but does not establish	Distinguish making a point clear from proving that it is generally true.
154	General principle	Identify the broader idea used to justify a specific conclusion.
155	Consistency	Check whether the positions can hold together without conflict.
156	Contradictory claims	Identify propositions that cannot both be true in the same respect.
157	Alternative account	Consider another explanation for the same observation.
158	Argument by analogy	Assess whether the comparison preserves the features relevant to the conclusion.
159	Cause versus association	Distinguish evidence that things vary together from evidence that one produces the other.
160	Unintended consequence	Consider a result of the policy that its supporters may not have aimed to produce.
161	Likely consequence	Explain an outcome that could reasonably follow from the stated proposal.
162	Feasibility	Judge whether the suggested action can work under the stated constraints.
163	Practical trade-off	Explain how improving one outcome may affect another.
164	Competing interpretation of the evidence	Compare plausible readings and explain what makes one stronger.
165	Objection to the premise	Question whether the supporting fact or assumption is sound.
166	Objection to the conclusion	Question whether the stated judgment follows or is too broad.
167	Partial concession	Accept a specific point while retaining the distinction that matters to your conclusion.
168	Reasoned rebuttal	Respond to an objection using evidence or a clear explanation.
169	Qualified conclusion	Give a judgment that accounts for the exceptions discussed.
170	Policy criterion	Name the standard used to choose between possible actions.
171	Scope of the essay	Keep the discussion within the issue and cases named in the question.
172	Define the issue	Explain what the question is asking where its central term could be read in different ways.
173	Address the question directly	State the position that answers the prompt before developing reasons.
174	Develop one point	Explain the point and connect supporting detail to it.
175	Comparative judgment	Say which alternative is stronger under a stated criterion and why.
176	Relative importance	Explain why one consideration should carry more weight in the decision.
177	Balance competing interests	Show how the proposal affects the different groups or objectives named.
178	Generalisation from an example	Check whether the example justifies a conclusion about a wider group.
179	Clear thesis	Make the answer to the essay question easy to identify.
180	Topic sentence	Use the first or guiding sentence to make the paragraph’s purpose clear.
181	Paragraph transition	Connect the new point to the previous one through a meaningful relationship.
182	Example supports the point	Explain exactly what the example shows about the claim.
183	Counterargument matters	Choose an objection that could actually change or qualify the conclusion.
184	Return to the question	Check that the final judgment uses the same issue and scope as the prompt.
185	Efficient expression	Use enough words to explain the point while avoiding repetition.
186	Review the chosen option	Check the stem and passage evidence again before confirming a choice.
187	Read across the passage	Use more than one paragraph where the question asks about the text as a whole.
188	Source of an assertion	Identify which speaker, author or group makes the claim.
189	Internal logic	Check whether the stated reasons fit together and support the conclusion.
190	Difference in emphasis	Recognise that two views may share a claim while stressing different aspects.
191	Comparable alternative	Judge an option against another that addresses the same problem.
192	Evidence of agreement	Find an assertion both positions affirm rather than assuming agreement from silence.
193	Inference beyond the passage	Check whether the option needs outside facts that the passage does not establish.
194	Reasonable implication	Choose the idea that follows without assuming more than the evidence gives.
195	Conclusion of an argument	Identify the result the writer draws from the reasons.
196	Test the objection	Ask whether the objection challenges the evidence, reasoning or proposed outcome.
197	Limit the claim	Restrict the conclusion to the cases the reasoning actually covers.
198	Signal a contrast	Use the contrast marker to notice where the author changes direction.
199	Reasoned conclusion	End with a judgment supported by the reasons developed in the essay.
200	No relevant evidence	Recognise when a passage gives too little support for the suggested answer.

What the examination requires

Two sections in two hours and 15 minutes

The LNAT Consortium lists 42 multiple-choice questions based on 12 argumentative passages in 95 minutes. Section B gives 40 minutes to answer one of three essay questions. Use the official simulator and sample materials to practise the transition between sections.

Finish and review Section A within its time

The Consortium says you can review multiple-choice answers during Section A. After you begin Section B, you cannot go back to Section A. Review the response options against the passage and the exact stem before moving on.

Use the wording of your chosen essay question

The essay gives universities a sample of how you develop an argument and reach a conclusion. Read the limits of the question before making an outline. Give reasons, consider a relevant objection where it helps and reach a judgment that follows from the discussion.

Separate the multiple-choice score and the essay

The LNAT score is the multiple-choice mark out of 42. The Consortium makes that score and the essay available to participating universities. Check each course’s application instructions to see whether it requires the LNAT and how it uses the results.

• Identify the action before deciding on an answer.
• Check the source, situation or condition the instruction refers to.
• Use the requested form and respect any limits.

Worked examples of common examination instructions

These original examples show how a change in the instruction changes what belongs in the answer.

Identify whose claim the passage reports

An invented passage says some residents argue that a new cycle route will reduce congestion, then says the author considers the effect uncertain. The residents make the prediction. An answer that attributes the prediction to the author misreads the passage’s structure.

Keep the condition in the answer

Suppose an author argues that digital consultation helps when residents can use the platform easily. A choice saying digital consultation always helps removes the condition. Choose the option that preserves the author’s scope.

Choose an inference supported by the text

A practice passage says an evening service ended before many workers finished their shifts. An inference that the timetable could limit access is supported. An inference that nobody used the service goes further than the information permits.

Use a specific objection in an essay

An invented essay prompt asks whether local parks should remain open later. A response could support later access at some sites while considering lighting and maintenance. Explain the criterion for deciding which sites qualify. The objection helps refine the policy rather than appearing as a disconnected paragraph.

Use the Fencing Method to practise instructions

Start with an accurate short answer. Add one specific detail and then the relationship, evidence or explanation the task asks for. Use the same instruction in a fresh example.

1. The author supports later opening.
2. The author supports later opening at well-lit sites.
3. The author supports later opening at well-lit sites because access after work can improve without the same practical constraints at every site.
4. Try a new passage. State the position, retain its limit and identify the evidence or reason.

Read the eduKate Fencing Method for Vocabulary.

Practise and check your answers

Review each choice against the stem

After an official practice set, identify why the best answer meets the stem and where one plausible alternative fails. Look for a changed quantifier, an attributed view or a detail that answers a different question. Keep a short note of the evidence that decides each close choice.

Give every essay paragraph a job

Write a clear position and two reasons. Add a serious objection and decide whether it changes your judgment. In review, read the first sentence of each paragraph and see whether the sequence still answers the exact question. Remove a paragraph only when it does no work for that answer.

Practice 1. A stem asks for the best supported conclusion. What matters most?

Choose the conclusion the passage supports at the correct scope.

Practice 2. A passage names a critic before rejecting their argument. How should you report it?

Attribute the argument to the critic and keep the author’s response separate.

Practice 3. Your essay asks whether a proposal should always apply. What should your plan consider?

Identify whether there are relevant exceptions and explain how they affect the final position.

Practice 4. Can you return to Section A after starting Section B?

The Consortium says Section A review ends when you begin Section B.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to learn legal cases for the LNAT?

The Consortium describes the assessment as a test of intellectual skills rather than knowledge of a specific subject.

Do all three essay questions need answers?

Choose one of the three and answer it within the time allowed.

Is the essay part of the numerical score out of 42?

The mark out of 42 comes from Section A. The essay is sent separately to participating universities.

Official sources and next reading

• LNAT Consortium test format
• LNAT overview and scoring
• LNAT preparation and sample materials

Related guide in this series · LSAT examination instructions

Read eduKateSG’s 200-word vocabulary guide for more ways to group and practise vocabulary.

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