Self-study
Hi! This is my second time going through the LSAT, and I realized one of my biggest issues on the RC is that when I read through, even if I highlight or take notes, I don't grasp the information and have to waste time by going back into the passage while answering questions. I find that I am subconsciously substituting note-taking for understanding, and even though I can summarize the main points into a quick note, that understanding does not get engrained into my head and I find myself needing to go back into the passage to answer the questions, thus wasting time. Furthermore, the act of note-taking itself wastes time, so I am not sure what the best approach is to efficiently read through the passage without having to go back into the passage to answer most/every question.
I would really appreciate any advice!
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4 comments
Hi Michelle,
Not knowing how to properly read the RC passages is probably the most common RC problem that I see. And it sends students in the wrong direction in a number of different ways. You already see that it's causing you to substitute note-taking for understanding.
Your primary objective when reading should be much narrower and much more precise: Read for the Big Picture.
And the Big Picture is not “everything important in the passage.” It’s specifically:
the thesis/main point of the passage (usually a single sentence), and
the general supporting reasons that directly develop that thesis (usually 2-3 sentences).
That’s the structure you actually want to follow while reading sentence by sentence.
Once you understand that, RC becomes much more manageable because you stop trying to memorize details, track every idea, or annotate excessively. Instead, you’re reading with a very specific purpose: “What role is this sentence playing? Is it one of the Big Picture sentences or not?”
Ironically, this usually improves timing significantly because the passage starts organizing itself naturally in your head. You know where information lives because you understood the structure the first time through.
And this is also why excessive note-taking often backfires. It creates the feeling of engagement without creating actual structural understanding.
The details still matter, of course. But the details are there to support our tracking of the big picture, not compete with it. We navigate through the details as we pursue the big picture, and zoom in on them when questions requires us to.
In my experience, strong RC performance is much more about proper reading technique than intelligence or memory. Students who learn how to properly build the Big Picture while reading almost always become more accurate and more efficient.
Scott
@SCOTT_LEBO Hi, thank you so much for such an amazing advice! I really find these helpful and will start implementing them right away! As I was reading your comment, I had some questions come up. So, I have been able to recognize the main idea and answer questions that directly points to the passage. However, I have some difficulties with most strongly supported, analogy, and inference questions. Is the approach to these questions different or is it similar to identifying the big picture and choosing the answer that aligns with it the most?
Thank you so much for your time!
@j_w180 Your very welcome and thanks for the kind words. Those other question types all tend to be much more 'detail' oriented. Well, really any of them COULD be directed at the Big Picture, but probably more likely they wouldn't be. So, we have to dive into the depths of the passage at that point to find our proof for the correct answer. That's ok because as we read for the Big Picture, we are "wading through" the details. That's not enough to remember the details clearly, but it is enough to remember where they were located and where we need to dive into for that closer look. Hope that helps!
@SCOTT_LEBO Thank you so much for your time with writing these advices! I have been paying too much attention to the details which made me feel lost throughout the passage. I feel like I could make some good improvements with your advice!