The rollercoaster that is rc

ebalde1234

I’ve been using low res summaries , drilling timed and untimed . And developing an annotation strategy . My rc score keeps going up and down (I know this can depend on the passages ) . I seem to struggling the most with Law / science passages . How were y’all able to implement a consistent score with rc ? I’ve also been keeping track of reasoning errors. I know some people swear by reading material other then rc but I did some research it seems like a waste of time because rc passages are structured a certain way . Feel free to challenge that !

sandypants

I have been having RC fluctuation problem as well ): I’ll go from -6 to -1 then back down and up again, I don’t understand!! Its usually arts passages that get me though. I’ll be keeping an eye on this thread for advice as well!

ebalde1234

@sandypants said:
I have been having RC fluctuation problem as well ): I’ll go from -6 to -1 then back down and up again, I don’t understand!! Its usually arts passages that get me though. I’ll be keeping an eye on this thread for advice as well!

If you’ve identified that arts passage are harder uncover and br why they are giving you a hard time . Then figure out a strategy

ebalde1234

Side note how many passages : pts should I drill for rc to fool proof ?

LSATisland

I found reading external material helpful. I sensed weaker scores on passages relating to science and such, so I took up reading The Economist and Scientific American on my spare time. In general when I was studying for the LSAT, I tried maintaining a certain rigor even when not studying for the LSAT. I wasn't watching much entertainment, and when I did it was more scientific documentaries. All of this helped because these were relieving breaks from actual LSAT study and yet it maintained the discipline and sophistication while making these areas more familiar and comfortable for me. When studying for the LSAT, you can start feeling pressurized to maximize time doing actual LSAT work, so these are helpful and therefore guiltless reprieves.

ebalde1234

@LSATisland said:
I found reading external material helpful. I sensed weaker scores on passages relating to science and such, so I took up reading The Economist and Scientific American on my spare time. In general when I was studying for the LSAT, I tried maintaining a certain rigor even when not studying for the LSAT. I wasn't watching much entertainment, and when I did it was more scientific documentaries. All of this helped because these were relieving breaks from actual LSAT study and yet it maintained the discipline and sophistication while making these areas more familiar and comfortable for me. When studying for the LSAT, you can start feeling pressurized to maximize time doing actual LSAT work, so these are helpful and therefore guiltless reprieves.

Don’t you think the returns are slim if energy is going into reading/watching this kind of stuff ? How many points did you move up with this strategy

Ohnoeshalpme

@LSATisland said:
I found reading external material helpful. I sensed weaker scores on passages relating to science and such, so I took up reading The Economist and Scientific American on my spare time. In general when I was studying for the LSAT, I tried maintaining a certain rigor even when not studying for the LSAT. I wasn't watching much entertainment, and when I did it was more scientific documentaries. All of this helped because these were relieving breaks from actual LSAT study and yet it maintained the discipline and sophistication while making these areas more familiar and comfortable for me. When studying for the LSAT, you can start feeling pressurized to maximize time doing actual LSAT work, so these are helpful and therefore guiltless reprieves.

I definitely agree with this as long as it fulfills the need for a break. I think that meaningful study is not always possible for more than 4-5 hours a day, so breaks are necessary if we want to be effective. My concern with reading something challenging for 1-2ish hours a day, you're tiring out your brain instead of giving the rest that it needs to focus on real LSAT material. If reading the economist or watching demanding scientific documentaries is truly restful for you, then I think that it can be great reinforcement.

LSATisland

I don't recall the specific point increase @ebalde1234, and anyway I was likely employing other strategies concurrently so the correlation is unclear. But, as I mentioned and as @Ohnoeshalpme stressed, I found them helpful within the category of non-LSAT study for the reasons mentioned: they constituted a break, brought comfort to reading and processing scientific passages, and ensured that my mind was maintaining the level of active, sophisticated engagement that I needed for the LSAT.

The latter did not really feel like expending energy, but rather submerging myself and my mind in the mindset that I wanted to be in to operate sharpest and at my best. For sure, if you feel like this expends substantial energy which you could just as easily invest in an actual LSAT, then go ahead with another timed test or the like.

ebalde1234

@LSATisland said:
I don't recall the specific point increase @ebalde1234, and anyway I was likely employing other strategies concurrently so the correlation is unclear. But, as I mentioned and as @Ohnoeshalpme stressed, I found them helpful within the category of non-LSAT study for the reasons mentioned: they constituted a break, brought comfort to reading and processing scientific passages, and ensured that my mind was maintaining the level of active, sophisticated engagement that I needed for the LSAT.

The latter did not really feel like expending energy, but rather submerging myself and my mind in the mindset that I wanted to be in to operate sharpest and at my best. For sure, if you feel like this expends substantial energy which you could just as easily invest in an actual LSAT, then go ahead with another timed test or the like.

Fair enough thanks for the feedback