Have you received a 100% in RC?

K-Magnet

If you have received a 100% (or very nearly 100%) correct in RC, then I am seeking your help!

What is your approach for 'marking' the passage? Any underlining? Boxing? Comments?
Have you developed any useful habits?
What do you believe led to your success in this section?

Background: I recently noticed that I have never received 100% in RC. I hadn't even realized I was always dropping at least 1 Q! I keep switching my approach -- sometimes marking & sometimes not.

Please let me know your (7)sage wisdom. Thank you!

SoCal Japorean

If you are concerned about missing 1 and not getting 100% in RC; then maybe you should be the one telling us:

What your approach for 'marking' the passage? Any underlining? Boxing? Comments?
Have you developed any useful habits?
You believe led to your success in this section?

mjjohns6

WE NEED YOUR HELP! lol

Quick Silver

I've gotten -0 before.

I definitely recommend focusing on the main point for every paragraph and marking any time you see a hint of the author's Point of View.

And this is very important - you don't need to leave the passage with everything - just a basic framework of the main point for every paragraph (and POV wherever you find it).

The litmus test for me is this: Can I create a bullet point outline of the main point of every paragraph? (Obviously you don't want to create such a thing because you need to answer the questions, but if you understand the MP of each paragraph enough, you're on the right track).

Also - buy PT 70 from 7Sage. It's worth it for the bonus of JY doing the RC passage under simulated conditions.

K-Magnet

Thank you so much @QuickSilver !

As to the other comments, the problem is that I don't have a consistent approach! I keep varying the way I mark the passages. So my advice would be a jumble of different things that sometimes work & sometimes do not -- and that wouldn't be very helpful!

We need better guides, like @QuickSilver, who can tell us what particular approach has worked best for them.

LSATisland

Here's some stuff that worked for me:

1. I first tried a lot of marking. I eventually settled with very minimal underlining/marking etc.. It may have helped force me to focus on absorbing the main points as I was reading instead of feeling a false sense of security from circling and underlining.

2. Develop an interest in what you are reading. Engage the content. Analyze what you are reading. This will lead you to focus on the content and structure of the arguments you are reading.

3. Get used to the type of questions that will be asked. Review your answers well. Like LR, focus on why the right answer is correct and why the others are wrong. The traps repeat themselves. Familiarize yourself with them.

That's all I've got right now. I hope it helps. Feel free to PM me for more help.

Quick Silver

Thanks for your kind words @K-Magnet

I want to add 3 things:

1) What I shared works for me. I think it would work for you, but after a process of trial and error only you can determine that.

2) The process you are in now of trying different things is good. I figured out what I swear by now because I experimented. Even if you find stuff that works for you, it's still good to be open and experiment with new things.

3) The point @LSATIsland made about question types is really critical. I would take it a step further and suggest MASTERING Question types. It saves a tremendous amount of time to be able to quickly think "oh that's a ___ question so they want ____." Instead of reading through the question and processing each one individually when there really is a pattern to question types.

K-Magnet

Thanks again @QuickSilver and thank you for your reply @LSATisland -- helpful suggestions!

aidan123

I've gotten 100% a few times. I think the key is that marking up is a tool for me to help remember what I thought was important. I do mark up main points, causation, concessions, exceptions etc. But I almost never refer back to them. I think connecting mental skills (memory) to motor skills (underlining/circling) helps to stick the important stuff in your memory for when you encounter the questions.

In the end, it should still be MINIMAL underling/marking. This method wouldn't work if you underlined the entire passage.

Also, make sure to really hone in on question types you consistently get wrong. I notice that I have a particular problem with "the role x plays in the passage is..." so I consciously focus on that as a result. You may have other challenges and you should enter the passage with that in mind.

lbalestrieri

I find that marking the structure of the passage works best for me - because most of the questions are structure related, not content related. I understand that there are certain elements in each passage: the author's view/opinion, main points, support for and against, application, and context/background material. I'm finding that if I can identify these elements before going into the questions it is very helpful. Something that helps while I am identifying these points is constantly thinking "why did the author write this?" - and then putting it into those categories mentioned above.

K-Magnet

Thank you @aidan123 and @lbalestrieri !

James Ray

Hi K-Magnet
Here is what I recommend
1. READ!- read an article from the New Yorker, Scientific American, The Economist, and any law review journal every day. This will help you work on comprehension and build your understanding and familiarity with diverse subject matter. This helps you slam those sections
2. Mark the following:
a. any names, titles, dates, etc.
b. conclusions within the passage
c. Section off opposing views
d. note any analogies
e. mark any words conveying powerful emotion or opinion i.e. ludicrous, irrefutable, etc.

This is how I tackle the passages. Questions are something else, but in truth, I do not spend a lot of time developing strategies for the questions. The only strategy I have with regard to questions is 1 basic rule:
1. If you don't know the answer, eliminate obvious wrong answers and skip them. Come back later. This serves 2 purposes.
a. Sometimes you just need to take your eyes off it. It will come together once you take break from the question.
b. it removes the stress! When you have finished the entire section, you will have all the remaining time to tackle those questions you skipped. this means your brain won't be overtaxed from this one question when encountering the rest AND you will not feel under the gun to finish it.

dudelsat99

-0 in RC was the only good thing I did on September's LSAT. Haha. I was taught the underline stuff method, but I only underline things if they seem super important. I usually just thoroughly read the passage and then destroy the questions. I do read a disgusting amount for my English major, so that could definitely be why I'm pretty decent at this section, but be careful not to spend too much time underlining and boxing stuff in the passage. You might look down at your time piece and realize you just spent ten minutes on the passage alone.

Spencer C.

I almost always do -0 or -1, but I barely mark anything. I stop at the end of every paragraph and make sure I understand what it's saying and how it relates to what came before, and I may make a very brief note in the margin (two or three words) noting what function that paragraph is serving. And if the passage states something like "There are two main reasons for this." I'll underline the indicators for the two reasons (e.g., "First of all," or "The second reason is") so I can find them again quickly. Otherwise, I find that thinking about what to mark up takes time away from thinking about what the passage is saying.

K-Magnet

Thanks for the additional help -- @JamesRay , @dudelsat99 , & @spencercross !