breaking these sections down by paragraph feels like it would take too long in a timed situation, how much time should i aim to spend breaking down the passage?
Hi @Kevin_Lin! Great analysis. I do have a question about the RC method however. In the videos, it seems like you are also analyzing after every sentence as well. Are we supposed to do a very low-level analysis of every sentence as well or only once we have reached the end of the first paragraph?
Read, Read, and Read. What I have been doing to help with my vocabulary and keep up with long passages is spending at 20-30 minutes reading an article from history, science, law, crime, health, etc.
Helps me get back into the process of reading long passages.
Every day before bed, I would pick a topic I wanted to read about.
Look online about that topic, and just read the article.
Really helps exercise my brain muscles when it comes to reading.
This seems tough without on paper test accommodations. Any advice on how to anotate/keep all this info straight when you can't write notes on the passage directly and only have scratch paper and digital highlighting?
@MichaelTye It's best to take short mental notes for each paragraph. And if you want to split a long paragraph into two separate chunks, sometimes people like to highlight just the first word of a new chunk to make it visually clear.
Question: How is everyone staying so focused while reading this stuff. Im a really good student in school and I find that if i don't take detailed notes i forget what I read but i don't have time to take detailed notes for those of you who are practising or have already switched what methods worked well for you?
@AidenG123 high key I've been reading out loud and it helps me to stay focused and then I nod my head when I read something that I think might be a main point, or a certain perspective shift. Probably gonna have to shift away from this to save more time but just something I've been doing that helps my ADHD rattled brain.
@EshaZaveri I have the accommodation already its more of a timing question in general if you could 2x ur timing (what im aloud to do) how to use the extra 6.5 min per passage
how are we supposed to make our own notes on the actual test if we cant annotate? i know we get scratch paper but how are we supposed to match each paragraph break including the ones we make, etc
Debate/Critique because differing perspectives are offered - B. Snell and Z. Barby. and Spotlight because the topic at hand is the debate around individual autonomy and the power of gods.
(2) make a low-resolution summary
There's debate around the influence of individual autonomy and god on Greek dramas. BS says uses A to argue that individual autonomy has more influence. ZB takes this interpretation and then drives it hoe that A is proof that the individual influence is IT.
(3) identify different perspectives and the author’s attitude
The other doesn't present their opinion just discuses that of the others.
(4) predict the direction of the next paragraph.
I think in the second paragraph the author might talk about the scholarly debate around the influence of God as she didn't explore that in this paragraph.
Reading memory is a skill we build up. For the vocab, do it the Henry Ewing way haha. He just googles its whenever he comes across a vocab word he doesnt understand. Then hopefully by test day, you have a bigger word bank when you cant Google the word
@Pinkie I have this same problem. Its quite literally a reading comprehension issue. I remember in the beginning of the core curriculum, there was a video that talked about making the passages you read interesting or read it as if it is the most profound information you have ever read. Sounds weird, but that has kinda helped me. "Tragic dramas written in Greece"- woah! I imagine how beautiful Greece is and its art. That kinda helps solidify boring info and helps you retain it. I hope that makes sense.
@Pinkie I keep a google doc of vocab words I've read somewhere, and didn't understand. I did this in my undergrad as well. It helps you to understand the words and also to use them in the future.
@PranjalChaudhary I would say no, because the purpose of the passage is not to bring a spotlight to that topic, it's to hold a debate over it. Thinking of this as a spotlight passage might warp your perspective on the passage and cause you to miss questions
@Sienna.K They're still there when the lesson involves a question. These just involve the passage. If you'd like to read the whole passage yourself first you can click ahead to one of the question lessons, then you'll see the whole thing.
you get scratch paper.... I dont reccommend diagraming tho, takes too much time I would just do footnotes... I didnt diagram on my test back in april and got a 153 and think it hurt me in the RC i will be doing it for the next one
In the videos I see you underline words that stick out. Do you recommend I use the underline function (or the highlight functions) to better parse out information? Or should I focus on reading and retaining the information only in my head?
I actually don't recemmend highlighting/underlining at all! Or, perhaps just highlighting the author's opinion lines, or lines that strike you as the one or two lines that strike you as the main point of the overall passage. In the videos I underline only for the purpose of keeping attention of viewers.
is it recommended that our low-res summary and predictions be literally written somewhere to complete the process? Or are these all guidelines to help us better formulate a proper thought process like Lawgic (while not intended to be used on test day)
I read the quick view of the entire passage and created my own LOR. Then, after going through this passage, I compared my LOR with one of the videos. It helped me understand better. And if my LOR is different than the one on the videos I reflect on it.
I dunno why but they layout of these questions (like the 7Sage layout not the LSAT layout) is really frustrating because I'm someone who just needs to work through the entire thing at once. Breaking it into paragraphs keeps me from being able to predict efficiently.
I recommend using the quickview button to try the entire passage on your own first, then. Another alternative is to create a drill of the passage -- you can see the PT, section and passage number at the top of the quickview after clicking.
Hi Kevin. Do you think, for those just starting off in improving their RC skillz, that you should get in the habit of jotting down physical notes and then transition to mental notes as it becomes second nature? Or do you think that one should practice mental notes entirely until it clicks? Thanks
The only other alternative is making use of the scratch paper we get. Some people like to jot down a short phrase for each paragraph. You'd have to do something like "P1: XXXX", "P2: XXXXX" and so on.
Very good explanation, I love being able to visibly break apart the paragraphs. How would you suggest we do this on a computer for the actual test? My thought would be to highlight the first word of a section break and then jot the summary down.
That's a great option -- over time you may want to practice just doing these summaries in your mind. But some people still end up liking to jot a few words down.
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71 comments
breaking these sections down by paragraph feels like it would take too long in a timed situation, how much time should i aim to spend breaking down the passage?
Hi @Kevin_Lin! Great analysis. I do have a question about the RC method however. In the videos, it seems like you are also analyzing after every sentence as well. Are we supposed to do a very low-level analysis of every sentence as well or only once we have reached the end of the first paragraph?
@MRod Yes, absolutely. To me, that's what reading is -- if you don't understand the sentence you just read, then it's important to stop and reread.
@Kevin_Lin Thank you!
Read, Read, and Read. What I have been doing to help with my vocabulary and keep up with long passages is spending at 20-30 minutes reading an article from history, science, law, crime, health, etc.
Helps me get back into the process of reading long passages.
Every day before bed, I would pick a topic I wanted to read about.
Look online about that topic, and just read the article.
Really helps exercise my brain muscles when it comes to reading.
This seems tough without on paper test accommodations. Any advice on how to anotate/keep all this info straight when you can't write notes on the passage directly and only have scratch paper and digital highlighting?
@MichaelTye It's best to take short mental notes for each paragraph. And if you want to split a long paragraph into two separate chunks, sometimes people like to highlight just the first word of a new chunk to make it visually clear.
Anyone else imagine B. Snell as Dodgers Pitcher Blake Snell?
@JoeSolana4 pitcher and now scholar
@JoeSolana4 came to the comments for this lol
@JoeSolana4 I imagined ex-Steelers runningback Benny Snell
Question: How is everyone staying so focused while reading this stuff. Im a really good student in school and I find that if i don't take detailed notes i forget what I read but i don't have time to take detailed notes for those of you who are practising or have already switched what methods worked well for you?
@AidenG123 high key I've been reading out loud and it helps me to stay focused and then I nod my head when I read something that I think might be a main point, or a certain perspective shift. Probably gonna have to shift away from this to save more time but just something I've been doing that helps my ADHD rattled brain.
@cwferrari are we aloud to read out loud on test day?
@AidenG123 I guess you can only do that if you request it for the test and submit an accommodation for it. Or if you're taking it from home.
@EshaZaveri I have the accommodation already its more of a timing question in general if you could 2x ur timing (what im aloud to do) how to use the extra 6.5 min per passage
how are we supposed to make our own notes on the actual test if we cant annotate? i know we get scratch paper but how are we supposed to match each paragraph break including the ones we make, etc
@ktacklesthelsat I use dashes:
Topic: debate about free will and the power of the gods in Greek dramas.
—
Snell and Barbu: see Aeschylus tragedies as related to free will and individual autonomy.
——— (longer to indicate end of paragraph as opposed to internal paragraph break)
@kk558 ah smart. thank you!
(1) predict the Passage Style
Debate/Critique because differing perspectives are offered - B. Snell and Z. Barby. and Spotlight because the topic at hand is the debate around individual autonomy and the power of gods.
(2) make a low-resolution summary
There's debate around the influence of individual autonomy and god on Greek dramas. BS says uses A to argue that individual autonomy has more influence. ZB takes this interpretation and then drives it hoe that A is proof that the individual influence is IT.
(3) identify different perspectives and the author’s attitude
The other doesn't present their opinion just discuses that of the others.
(4) predict the direction of the next paragraph.
I think in the second paragraph the author might talk about the scholarly debate around the influence of God as she didn't explore that in this paragraph.
I’m having a hard time remembering what I read and even understanding all the complicated vocabs in RC, any tips?
@Pinkie
Reading memory is a skill we build up. For the vocab, do it the Henry Ewing way haha. He just googles its whenever he comes across a vocab word he doesnt understand. Then hopefully by test day, you have a bigger word bank when you cant Google the word
@Pinkie I have this same problem. Its quite literally a reading comprehension issue. I remember in the beginning of the core curriculum, there was a video that talked about making the passages you read interesting or read it as if it is the most profound information you have ever read. Sounds weird, but that has kinda helped me. "Tragic dramas written in Greece"- woah! I imagine how beautiful Greece is and its art. That kinda helps solidify boring info and helps you retain it. I hope that makes sense.
@Pinkie I keep a google doc of vocab words I've read somewhere, and didn't understand. I did this in my undergrad as well. It helps you to understand the words and also to use them in the future.
Can this be interpreted as a spotlight passage style? SPOTLIGHT= GREEK DRAMAS
@PranjalChaudhary I would say no, because the purpose of the passage is not to bring a spotlight to that topic, it's to hold a debate over it. Thinking of this as a spotlight passage might warp your perspective on the passage and cause you to miss questions
I am so screwed. I read this and forget what I just read.
Did the quickview feature disappear on the new website? I want to do low res summaries on my own before watching the video.
@Sienna.K They're still there when the lesson involves a question. These just involve the passage. If you'd like to read the whole passage yourself first you can click ahead to one of the question lessons, then you'll see the whole thing.
@Kevin_Lin Oh I see, thanx!!!
So, unlike LR, I'm going to take a break from notes and I'm just going to let the teacher teach me in RC.
#feedback how are we supposed to diagram like this when take the exam online?
you get scratch paper.... I dont reccommend diagraming tho, takes too much time I would just do footnotes... I didnt diagram on my test back in april and got a 153 and think it hurt me in the RC i will be doing it for the next one
@erarabiameyer You dont recommend diagramming, but you didnt diagram and it hurt you??
Kevin, thank you for the explanation.
In the videos I see you underline words that stick out. Do you recommend I use the underline function (or the highlight functions) to better parse out information? Or should I focus on reading and retaining the information only in my head?
Seconding abdullahalkhafaji's question: why not highlight/underline? I have been doing it to give quick reference to multiple perspectives.
why dont you recommend highlighting?
I actually don't recemmend highlighting/underlining at all! Or, perhaps just highlighting the author's opinion lines, or lines that strike you as the one or two lines that strike you as the main point of the overall passage. In the videos I underline only for the purpose of keeping attention of viewers.
I think because it is too time consuming.
is it recommended that our low-res summary and predictions be literally written somewhere to complete the process? Or are these all guidelines to help us better formulate a proper thought process like Lawgic (while not intended to be used on test day)
No, ideally these are just short summaries you'd keep in your mind. Very few people will have enough time to write these out under timed conditions.
It's OK to write them out in the beginning when you're practicing, but the ultimate goal is to be able to do this all in your head.
I read the quick view of the entire passage and created my own LOR. Then, after going through this passage, I compared my LOR with one of the videos. It helped me understand better. And if my LOR is different than the one on the videos I reflect on it.
Hi! What do you mean LOR?
I dunno why but they layout of these questions (like the 7Sage layout not the LSAT layout) is really frustrating because I'm someone who just needs to work through the entire thing at once. Breaking it into paragraphs keeps me from being able to predict efficiently.
I recommend using the quickview button to try the entire passage on your own first, then. Another alternative is to create a drill of the passage -- you can see the PT, section and passage number at the top of the quickview after clicking.
I think RC is going to be my strong suit. Great explanation!
I miss JY
Kevin sounds like the nice dude who celebrates monthly anniversary
The length of these passages and verbosity is fucking bullshit.
They do that on purpose because for LSAT writers, through spite all things are possible
What do you think you would do for making a low res summary on an online test?
Ideally, we'd just do these in our head. It takes some practice, though.
is there another suggestion?
Hi Kevin. Do you think, for those just starting off in improving their RC skillz, that you should get in the habit of jotting down physical notes and then transition to mental notes as it becomes second nature? Or do you think that one should practice mental notes entirely until it clicks? Thanks
The only other alternative is making use of the scratch paper we get. Some people like to jot down a short phrase for each paragraph. You'd have to do something like "P1: XXXX", "P2: XXXXX" and so on.
great video!
Very good explanation, I love being able to visibly break apart the paragraphs. How would you suggest we do this on a computer for the actual test? My thought would be to highlight the first word of a section break and then jot the summary down.
That's a great option -- over time you may want to practice just doing these summaries in your mind. But some people still end up liking to jot a few words down.