How to Restart my RC preparation?

dennisgerrard

I didn't spend much time on RC in previously preparation. I'm aiming at June LSAT. I commonly get incorrect 2-3 per passage. I wonder if I need to do each passage under 8 minutes from the early PTs and timed RC section from PT30. Any advice would be appreciated.

BenjaminSF

I ended up totally switching the way I do RC in the last 2 weeks before my test this Saturday. I had previously not used any notation, and I remember not really connecting with the style in JY's video.

RC is a section can really benefit from simple notation that can improve your memory of the passage, as well as make referring to the passage much easier. By marking important names, dates, locations, and transitions in the author's argument, you can parcel the text into manageable chunks.

Here is a workshop on notation that I think is really good:

I used a modified version of this system from ilovethelsat.com. I think RC can be really personalized because this test section is not as cut and dry as LR or LG. There is a lot of extraneous information to cut through to find the fundamental arguments and information in each passage. Find what works for you, but I think you can reuse RC sections and try this style without having too much of an issue with exposure biasing your score.

At first it does take more time to notate (and it will take practice to get it to where notation is automatic), but as you speed up it makes the whole RC process so much less time consuming.

JustDoIt

Hi!

Firstly, I would make sure you are reading for structure. Have you taken a look at the trainer? Mike Kim is responsible for my RC boost so I recommend at least reading through the RC chapters. You can see for yourself here!

http://www.thelsattrainer.com/assets/4-lsat-reading-comp-basics-sample-chapter.pdf

I would do every passage timed, but don't worry about your time off the bat. Work toward that 8 minute goal. It's okay to allow yourself 10 mins on a tough passage early on because you will be using new strategies and those take time to implement.

RC isn't really about knowing everything that's going on. It's about having just enough of a conceptual understanding that you can explain it. So take time to get the gist of what's going on. This will build with experience because every single passage is just like every other.

There are things and passages that you don't need to know, you just need to know where they are. For example, dates and experimental results are rarely relevant. But if you can just find a notation strategy that works for you (see Nicole Hopkins's webinar), this will speed things up quite a lot.

Hope this helps!

Full disclosure: I'm no RC guru or aficionado. These are just some tips that have helped me improve.

stgl1230

RC is where I struggle most, too. I did every passage from 1-35 to supplement my studying. I did each of those passages untimed - I would take note of how long it took me to complete each passage though.

I think that early on in my studies I didn't value enough how important it is to read for structure. I would set aside some of those old RC passages, the ones from 1-17, and go through them really slowly. Write down why each paragraph matters, and how they contribute to the argument.

However, like everyone else said, it's kind of an individualized process. But that's what helped me a bit.

Cant Get Right

I definitely encourage untimed drills to start with. Keep track of time and hope to finish under, but it's fine to just see where you're at. That will give you a good baseline to know where you need to work back from. Make sure you're not returning to the passage too frequently to confirm answers you have reasonable confidence on. RC is all about retention and to finish in time, you've got to trust yourself in those situations.

If you can take footage of a take, that will really help you to see how you're distributing your time. From there, you can identify specific changes you need to make in your general section strategy.