Reading Comprehension Scores Variable

gerard.emilym

I am finding that my Reading Comp scores are super variable - sometimes I get 100% on the section, and sometimes I miss 7-8 questions. I am still working through the CC and PowerScore Bibles. I guess I am just curious - does anyone else have this issue? Any clue what might cause this variability? I am getting pretty damn near consistent with the rest of my sections and know what my problem areas are...I just can't figure it out with RC because my tests are all over the place.

Better every day

@"gerard.emilym" said:
I am finding that my Reading Comp scores are super variable - sometimes I get 100% on the section, and sometimes I miss 7-8 questions. I am still working through the CC and PowerScore Bibles. I guess I am just curious - does anyone else have this issue? Any clue what might cause this variability? I am getting pretty damn near consistent with the rest of my sections and know what my problem areas are...I just can't figure it out with RC because my tests are all over the place.

I don’t experience as much variance as you, but this is the section of the test where I experience it the most. I typically go between -3 to -7 and this pretty much determines if I hit a 170 or not every time. I am almost always -0,-1 on LG and -5 to -7 on LR. The fact that one section of RC varies more than both sections of LR for me is incredibly frustrating. I have not been able to master this section at all, even when I do well I don’t usually feel confident about it. I am familiar with the Powerscore bible and 7sage’s memory method. I personally think the Bible is pretty much useless unless you are scoring very low and just want a way to organize passages. I also haven’t foun 7 sage’s method incredibly helpful either, but I might just need to keep practicing it. I have been told by some high scorers that you just need to fully immerse yourself in RC and plow through passage after passage. I would love to hear from others who have actually learned to crush RC.

Victoria.

Try the Trainer. RC is a beast to master and it's hard for a lot of people. If other methods haven't worked for you, some people recommend picking up the Trainer and working with that. It helped me with RC - I never finished a section on time but I was finally able to after. Although take my advice with a grain of salt. I feel as if RC success is very personal and I only started finishing on time after doing countless passages, trying countless methods, trying the trainer, THEN creating a simple process that I could follow combining everything I had learned. Good luck!

parkeuny

I'm kind of in the same situation. When I started studying, I was getting exactly 7 wrong every time, and now (a couple months into studying) my range is -1 to -8. So sometimes I'm doing much better, but it's still super inconsistent. And the one RC section has been the biggest factor in whether I get a full-PT score in the 160s or 170s.

I've definitely noticed that certain types of passages are easier for me (e.g., the law-related ones, and ones whose topics I'm familiar with my virtue of my own academic background). Even when I do very poorly on a section, my mistakes are clumped into one or two passages and I'll do well on the others (well being somewhere between -0 and -2). So I've been trying to read different genres of non-fiction books as my "study without studying" method. Also, my friend, who did well on the LSAT, sent me this link (below). I haven't gotten around to exploring it yet, but will soon. So it might be worth taking a look. I wonder if you've noticed any patterns like I have, and whether that might dictate some potential study strategies?

https://global.oup.com/academic/content/series/v/very-short-introductions-vsi/?cc=us&lang=en&;