Many students I meet struggle with reading on the LSAT. The way we need to approach each stimulus and passage is very different from the way we read passages in our everyday lives. We normally read closely for content and the details of the story. But the task of a Reading Comprehension passage presents something different. We often don’t have enough time to understand every detail of the passage while also answering every question. So we need to focus on the passage components that best remind us what the passage is about. We can do this by focusing on structure.
By the structure of the passage, I am referring to the purpose each sentence plays within the grand scheme of the article. A sentence could introduce a new idea, argue against an old idea, offer examples, or perform countless roles in the structure of the argument. Identifying each sentence as one which makes a new argument or one that contributes evidence can help us know what to focus on when answering questions. Reading for structure allows us to not get lost in the details of the passage while taking away only the most important information. We don’t necessarily know 100% of the details will be tested in the questions—so why should we stress ourselves with perfectly understanding each one of those details?
In short, we should not. We don’t need to understand every detail in the passage. We need the idea of the general structure of the passage to give us a general outline of where evidence and argument occur in the text. The next time you are experimenting with reading strategies, try focusing on structure. This form of passage analysis then maximizes the time we have to go back to the passage and confirm the details of questionable answer choices.
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