I’m a very slow reader, especially on LSAT Reading Comprehension. When I take my time on a passage, my accuracy is quite high. But when I feel rushed or try to read faster to finish all four passages, my accuracy drops significantly.
Given this, would it be better for me to intentionally prioritize only three passages and essentially give up on the fourth, so I can read the first three carefully and maximize accuracy? Or should I continue trying to complete all four passages, even if that means reading faster and risking a substantial drop in accuracy?
In other words, for someone whose main problem is speed more than comprehension, is a “3 passages done well + strategic guessing on the 4th” strategy better than attempting all four with lower accuracy?
3 comments
yeah if I were you, that's what I'd do on the test. it's worth trying to see how it feels and if it affects your score. reading in my spare time really helped me improve my speed and accuracy with RC, I definitely recommend doing that too.
For now, yes, there is even language in the core curriculum that addresses people who are 100%ing three passages and guessing on the fourth.
However, you should understand that the point of the test is that the speed is difficult.
A drill that may help you is choosing 4 articles from "The Economist" and trying to read them at LSAT-like speeds, since their writing style is shockingly close at times (even down to the author indicating an explicit opinion/tone toward a subject that is not addressed in the headline).
I can't help you define your risk tolerance, but I can suggest that you start reading more. Make yourself drill a passage when you're tired. Drill a passage when you first wake up and aren't alert yet. If you're knocking them out of the park with accuracy, then your next focal point is speed, and speed comes with conditioning practice. Make yourself as invulnerable as possible.
Sure - Slow is smooth and smooth is fast - but an ideal scenario has your "slow" at a point where your "fast" doesn't have you guessing on an entire passage.
But - again - this all folds back into your risk tolerance. If you're cool with guessing on a passage if you know you've given yourself a solid opportunity to knock out the other three passages accurately, then boom. There's absolutely nothing wrong with trading stress for accuracy.