First look at RCQuestions with line references, then mark those line references, THEN read passage?

youbbyun

hey all

so i've heard of some ppl who do this but just wanted to get everyone's broader feedback. i know many ppl disagree with looking at the questions first before reading the RC passage.

but how is this strategy?

1. first briefly scan the questions, see which questions have specific line references, and then go back to the passage and just note (draw a star/squiggly or something) next to those line references.

2. then read the passage, but when you come across a part of the passage that you previously noted (and that will be tested on a question), read that part a little bit more carefully/intentionally.

that way you'll be a little more prepared when you see that question after you finish reading the passage.

what do ppl think of this strategy? and advice or thoughts? thanks.

keets993

Interesting, so you would treat it like an argument part question? I personally prefer to read the entire passage and focus on structure because that's what helps me. As with everything, I think it's better to try this strategy out yourself to see if it works for you or not. I don't think it would work for me but it might for you.

youbbyun

@keets993

i don't think so.

all this is is you just put a star/squiggly next to specific lines references that are listed in the questions.

you then just read the entire passage and focus on structure as you normally do, except that when you come across a part of the passage that has a star/squiggly, you just pay a little more attention to that part because you know a question will ask about it.

any thoughts?

youbbyun

@"samantha.ashley92"

i think you mentioned doing something similar to this. any thoughts?

_oshun1_

That sounds like a waste of time. It would take less time to just re-read that one line reference when you get to the question. You have to know the context around the one line, and also understand more generally how it relates to the bigger picture. You might not know the main point of the passage by the time you get to the line in question, so just focusing in while you read it won't necessarily help. You might get bogged down on that line while you're going through the passage and spend too much time on it and miss other important details. By the time you get to the question, you might forget what the line was about, or the question might ask about some aspect of the line that you didnt focus on so you still have to re-read it anyways.
The question might ask -- how does this line relate to the 3rd paragraph of the second passage -- so you have a few more paragraphs to go until you can even answer the question. You'd have to keep in mind the exact phrasing of each of the questions while reading through the passage(s), along with the line itself, and the context of the line, and anything it asks you to compare the line to.
Reading through the questions twice is also a time suck.

akistotle

I agree with @"surfy surf". But I think you can try it by taking a section using that strategy. Maybe it will work for you.

For me, it would be a time suck.

Ohnoeshalpme

I agree, sounds like a waste of time to me.

Laurazh3

I remember doing that for the SATs reading section. Granted, they're not the same test, but I found that it actually helped me a lot. Overall it was a net positive so I did it. I would try it out for yourself a couple of times and see how you feel about it!

samantha.ashley92

Yeah, so I'll put a little mark near a line number that is mentioned in a question. It's helpful for me because I tend to get lost for about 3 sentences in every difficult passage. Knowing this information ahead of time, if I'm feeling lost around a marked line number, I'll spend the extra time to slow down and reread that part of the passage.

AngusMcGillis

JY does this technique in his live commentary for 78.

https://7sage.com/lsat_explanations/lsat-78-section-4-passage-2-passage/

It took him 15 seconds to mark the line cites for two questions