Self-study
Hello! I've been doing drills and PrepTests for the past few weeks and I've noticed one of my biggest struggles when it comes to RC is finding the main point of a question. This eventually leads into me not fully understanding questions later on in a RC section since my understanding of the main point is rather weak. Does anyone have advice to finding out the best ways to find the Main Point in an RC passage?
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4 comments
Hey! Not a tutor, but I had/have a similar struggle. One thing that has been helpful for me is getting better at identifying the passage style, since that usually gives you a "genre" of main point answer choice to look for (e.g. critique and debate is typically something about the author's thoughts about the perspectives, spotlight is typically something about why the author is spotlighting the thing, etc.).
One fascinating aspect of being a long-time LSAT tutor is that I'm still learning as I go. No matter how much I feel like I've already picked up over the years, I still consistently notice something new that helps me frame how I approach helping students!
One of the newest 'discoveries' for me is how often the correcy answer on RC Main Point questions pulls in the author's final position, recommendation, qualification, or conclusion. That's one reason I pay much closer attention to how the author exits the passage than I used to, especially as I evaluate MP answer choices.
I hope that helps!
Hi! I'm Sydney, a tutor with 7Sage.
Totally understandable!
One thing that helps is to stop thinking of the main point as just a summary of the topic. It’s usually not “this passage is about jazz history” or “this passage is about a scientific theory.” Instead, ask: What is the author trying to get me to understand, accept, or reconsider?
After each paragraph, I’d pause for a second and ask what role that paragraph played. For example:
Paragraph 1: introduces an old view/problem
Paragraph 2: presents a new theory or complication
Paragraph 3: gives support/examples
Paragraph 4: explains the author’s final takeaway
Then before going to the questions, force yourself to say the passage’s main point in a simple sentence. Something like: “The author argues that X theory is promising but incomplete,” or “The author explains why a traditional interpretation of X should be revised.” It doesn't need to be perfect or fancy!
The correct answer will usually do these things:
Cover the passage as a whole, not just one paragraph or example.
Reflect the author’s actual opinion or purpose.
Stay specific enough that it could only describe this passage.
Most wrong answers are usually wrong because they are too narrow, too broad, or they distort the author’s attitude. So if an answer only mentions one detail, it’s probably not the main point. If it sounds like a vague encyclopedia entry on the topic, it’s probably too broad. And if it makes the author sound more certain, skeptical, enthusiastic, or critical than they really were, be careful.
For practice, I’d recommend doing a few passages untimed and writing or saying out loud a main point prediction before looking at the questions. Then compare that prediction to the correct answer.
@SydneyGriffith Just to add one tip to Sydney's very thorough response. After completing an RC section, I'd do a detailed review of all the main point questions. Focus not just on exactly where in the text the right answer was supported, but also where each wrong answer went wrong. If you can start picking up on where the wrong answers overstep or are inaccurate, you'll form an intuitive sense of what correct answer entail. As you said, main point questions are worth spending the detailed time on, since confidence in the main point question can push you in the right direction on the rest of the questions.