Updated 24.10.2026• 8 min read• Comparison

Best LNAT preparation books for 2027 entry

A comparison of the three main LNAT preparation books, what each contains, and what to check about editions and the four-option format before you buy.

Jurica Research

LNAT preparation

In general, a good LNAT book gives you realistic passages, an explanation for every answer and enough guidance on Section B for you to practise both parts of the test. This guide compares three books: The Complete LNAT Guide by Leslie Ho and Kian Yang Ng (Routledge, 2023), Mastering the National Admissions Test for Law by Mark Shepherd (Routledge, second edition) and The Ultimate LNAT Guide (UniAdmissions). Of these, we would start with The Complete LNAT Guide, because it teaches both sections and has five full practice papers. However, both Routledge books were published before autumn 2024, when the LNAT Consortium said that the test now has four answer options per question, and the UniAdmissions page does not say which edition it sells. Whichever book you choose, we therefore recommend using it alongside the official practice material, which is free.

Which LNAT book should I buy?

For most candidates, the best choice is The Complete LNAT Guide. The table below sets out what each publisher says its book contains, and the main point to check before you rely on it.

Contents and dates come from each publisher’s own page, read on 24 October 2026. Jurica has no affiliate relationship with the publishers or authors listed here.

There are two things to notice in the table:

1. Each book has a good deal of practice material. The two Routledge books have five full papers each, and The Ultimate LNAT Guide has 400 questions. Routledge does not say how many questions each of its papers contains, however, so the totals cannot be compared exactly.
2. None of the three publishers’ pages says that its current book uses four answer options. The only edition described that way is the second edition of The Complete LNAT Guide, which has not yet been published.

What does The Complete LNAT Guide contain?

According to Routledge, The Complete LNAT Guide: An Expert Guide to Success covers the role of the LNAT in admissions, how to prepare, and both sections of the test, followed by five full practice papers and an answer key with detailed explanations. It is the more recent of the two Routledge books, published in March 2023.

It is a good first book because the teaching and the practice are in the same place. For example, you can read the chapter on Section A, try its method on a full paper and then check your reasoning against the answer key, without moving between different sources.

Because the first edition came out before autumn 2024, its questions may have five answer options, where the current test has four. Routledge lists a second edition for February 2027, which it describes as updated for the latest format, with four-option questions, new material and current statistics. This is after 25 January 2027, the last on-time date for sitting the LNAT for 2027 entry, so the new edition will help only late applicants (who can sit the test until 31 July 2027) and candidates applying in later years. If you are applying for 2027 entry, we recommend using the first edition for its methods and papers, and the Consortium’s online practice test to see how the current test looks on screen.

Is Mastering the National Admissions Test for Law still useful?

Yes, it is still useful for method, although parts of it are out of date. Mark Shepherd’s second edition explains how to approach both sections and includes five practice tests with complete answers and explanations, together with sample essays and essay plans.

Its chapters run from applying to study law, through verbal reasoning and essay writing, to the practice tests and sample essays. Routledge says it also analyses previous test results and explains how the test is sat and how results are calculated and used. This edition went on sale in July 2013 (its copyright date is 2014), so these administrative chapters describe the test as it was then. Having said that, the shape of Section A (42 questions on 12 passages in 95 minutes) has not changed since the 2010-11 testing year, so the book was written for the same number of questions and the same timing as today’s test. It is therefore best used to study reasoning and essay writing, and you should check dates, fees and the number of answer options on lnat.ac.uk.

What does The Ultimate LNAT Guide offer?

It is mainly a source of extra questions. UniAdmissions describes it as containing 400 practice questions with fully worked solutions, time-saving techniques and 15 annotated essays.

The book is published by Infinity Books, the publishing division of Infinity Education, which also runs the UniAdmissions tuition business. The shop page does not give an author, an edition or a year. A University of Cambridge library catalogue records a 2024 edition by William Antony and Rohan Agarwal (copyright 2021), but we cannot tell whether that is the edition the shop sells, or whether its questions have four or five options.

Before you rely on the book, we suggest counting its answer options and comparing its passages and questions with the official practice papers. If the two feel noticeably different, use the book for reasoning practice only, because your scores on it may not predict your LNAT result. The official papers themselves date from 2010 and have five options, so use them to judge the difficulty of the passages.

Should I use the official material before buying a book?

Yes, you should work through at least part of the official material before you spend any money. The LNAT Consortium publishes a preparation guide, two practice papers and an online practice test free of charge.

The official material shows what the test is trying to assess, and your first score on it gives you a baseline. You can then use that score to judge whether a book is improving your LNAT performance or only giving you general comprehension practice. The Consortium does not endorse any commercial preparation material, including the books on this page, and it does not recommend paying for coaching. Our free LNAT resources guide explains how to use the official set.

How should I choose between LNAT books?

There are three things to check before you buy, if possible by looking at a sample of the book first:

1. Check how the answers are explained. A useful explanation points to the words in the passage that support the correct answer and shows why each tempting alternative is too broad, too narrow or not supported. With an answer key that gives only the correct options, you cannot tell whether you reasoned your way to the answer or guessed it.
2. Check whether the book teaches you how to argue in Section B. Sample essays help only when the book also explains how to take a position, organise the essay and deal with the strongest objection, because it is hard to learn from a polished model essay without that explanation.
3. Check the format against the current test. Section A has 42 questions on 12 passages, to be answered in 95 minutes, and the Consortium said from autumn 2024 that each question has four possible answers. In Section B you have 40 minutes to answer one of three essay questions.

Are there other books that help with the LNAT?

General books on critical thinking can help, although they contain no LNAT practice papers. They are most useful if you find it difficult to identify assumptions, separate reasons from conclusions or judge whether evidence supports a claim.

The Consortium’s sample essays page suggests four such books, among them Alec Fisher’s Critical Thinking: An Introduction and Nigel Warburton’s Thinking from A to Z. We suggest using one of them to work on a particular weakness in your reasoning while you keep up your timed practice on LNAT-style questions.

How should I study from one book?

In general, it is best to work through one book slowly and review every mistake, in the following order:

1. Sit part of an official practice paper first, and note the kinds of error you make and any weaknesses in your essay. This tells you which chapters of the book you need.
2. Read the chapters that deal with those weaknesses, and try each technique on a few questions without timing yourself.
3. Work through the book’s papers in stages: first untimed, then timed passage by passage (95 minutes for 12 passages is just under eight minutes a passage). Keep at least two papers back for full 95-minute sittings.
4. Keep a written log of your errors. For each mistake, read the explanation, write one sentence on what went wrong and note the rule you will apply next time.
5. Finish with an official paper, to check that the method you have learned also works on the Consortium’s own questions.

When is a book not enough?

A book is usually not enough when you need someone to read your essays, or when you need a record of your results over time.

A book cannot comment on your essay, notice that you keep running out of time on the same kind of passage, or tell you whether your explanation of a wrong answer is convincing. If feedback on your essays is what you most need, a teacher or tutor may be a better use of your time than a second book. If you need your results tracked and a schedule to keep to, a self-paced online platform may suit you better. Jurica, which publishes this guide, is a platform of this kind: it has analytics and a study plan, but it does not mark or score essays. We compare these options in our LNAT preparation options guide.

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