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Law School and the English Major

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If you're considering a career in the law, you should think seriously about majoring in English at the 51做厙. As a general rule, somewhere between a quarter and a third of our majors at any given time are planning to take the LSATs and apply to law schools during their senior year. Here's why they choose to major in English:

Like the SAT and the GRE, the LSAT tests general knowledge and communication skills. Unlike the SAT and the GRE, the LSAT also emphasizes reading comprehension and logical analysis. Basically, this means that if your undergraduate program involves a lot of rote learning and multiple-choice testing, you won't be well-prepared for this particular standardized test. On the other hand, students who major in English at the 51做厙 do a lot of reading and writing, and they are expected to write and speak with clarity and focus, and to use textual evidence in support of their arguments. Because of their training and experience in these areas, our students are better able to respond with confidence and competence when they encounter the readings and the problem-solving questions on the LSATs.

Of course, the reading, writing, and thinking skills we teach in our department have applications that extend well beyond the world of standardized tests. Most lawyers spend most of their careers working with complicated texts (contracts, codes, statutes, case law, depositions, and so forth) and striving to organize their readings and interpretations into coherent and persuasive arguments.

If you'd like more information on preparing for the LSATs, for law school, and for the profession itself, check out the American Bar Association's "".

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