Someone please help!

ZaTabler

I am doing great on the other sections, but RC is killing my score. I am constantly missing 15+/- on RC.
I have tried underlining, making short summaries/ LSAT Trainer method... and nothing seems to be working.

What strategies do you use? I'm just not getting it.

bklsat05

Have you use JYs method?

Specifically after reading write 1 sentence about the para then try to do it from memory?

Essentially RC boils down to two things I found

1) Are you interested in this crap? I consistently get almost all wrong on ART passages but Science or Law are -1/-0.

2) Short-term memory. You really need to be able to draw a map in your mind that can guide you back. For example, if the passage is on Pencils and which is better you need to map "para 1 - history, para 2-hypothesis, para 3- evidence para 4- counterevidence & conclusion"

From each of those you need to ask yourself "ok what was the history, ok and why did we need to know the history, etc..." to lead you back to the information rather than trying to remember "ok in 1991 the first pencil was sold in the USA"

ZaTabler

yes, making short short summaries for each paragraph.

Alex

@ZaTabler said:
I am doing great on the other sections, but RC is killing my score. I am constantly missing 15+/- on RC.
I have tried underlining, making short summaries/ LSAT Trainer method... and nothing seems to be working.

What strategies do you use? I'm just not getting it.

I use a hybrid of 7Sage's Memory Method/ low-high resolution summaries and some strategies I read in Manhattan's RC book. I've read The LSAT Trainer and it's more or less the same as the MLSAT RC book as Mike Kim authored both.

If you're missing -15 I think worrying about which particular strategy to use is futile, at least right now. I think you need to practice just reading the passage first, and reading for structure. Get really good at pulling out the main point, the author's purpose, the viewpoints, and understanding what each paragraph talks about and how it all fits together. Focus on getting really, really good at this.

I would also suggest doing some untimed RC work. I think something that was incredibly helpful for me was doing RC passages untimed until I was only missing 1-2 per section.

vanessa fisher

I recommend reading a lot outside of the LSAT. I tend to think that a lot about doing well in RC is being well-read and being comfortable reading dense material. This is something that is harder to improve overnight, which is probably why it is the hardest section to increase your score on. But doing a lot of reading, especially in areas that aren't your expertise, on top of building strategies for effectively parsing the material, is something I'd recommend
Also, reading a ton of RC passages from past exams will also help you get comfortable with reading dense material.
Good luck!