Hi all, I’ve been getting back into heavy LSAT studying before the September LSAT (after being super sick and also busy with personal matters for 1-2 months) and I’ve noticed that I’ve been feeling pretty inconsistent with RC sections (ranging from -0 to -6, even).
Would anyone be able to give me advice on how to be more consistent and how to improve on timing? I think timing has really affected me the most on my consistency because sometimes I do feel rushed on some questions or I spend too long on certain questions which ends up throwing me off (and sometimes I end up still getting the answer wrong along with others).
Thanks so much.
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4 comments
Where do you feel your gaps are?
Do you feel compelled to have to go back to the passage to scan for text to support an AC?
Do you feel like you're going back to the passage to get an idea of what the question is asking?
Do you feel like you're being tempted by answers that aren't descriptively correct, too specific, too broad?
Do you think you're spending enough time on the passage digesting it to ensure that you don't need to scan for information when hitting the questions?
Are you doing a good job of making sure that as you go through the passage that you're pausing to think about how things are interlocking together?
Are you tracking when different PoVs are chiming in and noting where it's clearly the author vs a characterization of another PoV?
Are you spending too much time trying to digest the passage so that you feel pressed for time on the questions?
@Adam I think I'm primarily struggling with these points:
Do you feel compelled to have to go back to the passage to scan for text to support an AC?
Are you spending too much time trying to digest the passage so that you feel pressed for time on the questions?
I spend a lot of time trying to understand the passages and how the viewpoints interlock with each other/finding main points/understanding paragraphs w/ one another, but I still find myself going back to scan the passage for a couple questions here and there which takes up time (and I notice this is also the case for the more trickier questions as I'm looking for specific evidence to eliminate or go for certain answer choices - I tend to overthink on some questions as well). I also feel rushed sometimes to read through the last passage and go through the questions as a result.
Have you tuned into any of the live sessions where one of the tutors walks you through how they digest a passage in pieces while pausing to think about how things interlock together and kind of label a paragraph or a section of one in their head or on their passage map? I'm assuming you have but if you haven't, either look up when the next sessions are or just look back at past recorded ones because I think they do a great job of breaking down how to try to approach the passages.
Spending 3-4 minutes and sometimes a little longer if it's a really dense passage is worth it so you can tackle most of the questions without needing to mine the text again. Likewise, if you feel like you want to practice doing this, you can pull up old RC passages you've done and drill the passage by practicing the process on a passage you've already done while trying to resist going back to the passage unless it's a specific reference.
Once you feel more confident with the approach, take a stab at a fresh RC passage and then multiple passages back to back as you progress.
@Adam Thank you for the advice. I haven’t joined any of the sessions but I’ll be on the lookout and also try your tips