Chapter 2 of 5
The daily reading habit
The official preparation method is one opinion piece a day, interrogated properly. Here is the routine and the eleven publications to draw from.
One opinion piece a day
The official method is a habit, not a syllabus: read one opinion piece every day and interrogate it before you move on. Ask the same three questions of every piece:
- 1
What is the writer assuming?
Every argument rests on claims the writer never states. Naming them is the core Section A skill.
- 2
Does the evidence actually reach the conclusion?
Follow the chain from evidence to conclusion and find the link that snaps under weight.
- 3
What is the strongest counterargument?
Not the easiest objection — the one the writer should be most afraid of. This is essay training too.
The official reading list
Draw your daily piece from the eleven publications the LNAT consortium itself recommends. Rotate — an argument on a topic you know nothing about is the closest thing to a real LNAT passage.
The Economist
Weekly leaders that argue a full case in a few hundred dense words — ideal training for assumption-spotting under time pressure.
Read the opinion section
Financial Times
Opinion columns that build arguments from evidence — pay attention to how carefully the conclusions are hedged.
Read the opinion section
The Guardian
Several strongly argued opinion pieces a day, free to read — practise finding the main conclusion fast.
Read the opinion section
The Independent
The Voices section is compact and combative — good for tracing evidence to conclusion in a single read.
Read the opinion section
The Irish Times
Measured opinion writing with a non-UK vantage on familiar questions — useful for noticing your own assumptions.
Read the opinion section
The New York Times
Long-form op-eds and structured debate pieces — the closest match in length and density to LNAT passages.
Read the opinion section
The Scotsman
A Scottish perspective on UK-wide policy arguments — a daily reminder that the 'obvious' framing of an issue is a choice.
Read the opinion section
The Sydney Morning Herald
Australian opinion pages: the same argumentative forms in an unfamiliar context — perfect for reading arguments you hold no prior views about.
Read the opinion section
The Daily Telegraph
Assertive comment writing — practise framing the strongest counterargument the writer does not address.
Read the opinion section
The Times
Daily comment and leader columns — read one, close it, and reconstruct the argument's skeleton from memory.
Read the opinion section
The Washington Post
US politics and policy op-eds — builds the stamina to follow sustained arguments on topics you know little about.
Read the opinion section