How to improve speed on RC - HELP!!

keepgoing.

Anything helps. I feel incredibly slow. sometimes I read sentences twice because I feel like i missed something or because I could not focus the first time... What is going on?!

sheridjw

So i recently read the loophole by ellen cassidy and reached out to her regarding reading comprehension and how the translation drills can help with reading comprehension as well as LR. She replied back to me with this drill to do on reading comp passages and i have been using it lately and it has really helped me. Hope this can help somewhat for you!

1. Read paragraph 1, cover it up, translate it just like LR.
2. Read paragraph 2, cover it up, translate it just like LR.
3. Keep everything covered and recite the translations of paragraphs 1 + 2 back to back.
4. Read paragraph 3, cover it up, translate it just like LR.
5. Keep everything covered and recite the translations of paragraphs 1 + 2 + 3 back to back.
6. Repeat pattern for all remaining paragraphs.

EveryCookCanGovern

Are you sure that the issue is with reading speed? How long do you find yourself taking to answer each question? I ask because reading slower may actually be a strength and not a weakness. I too read slow and reread sentences I don't understand, and generally spend a minimum of 3-4 minutes per passage, maybe 5 if its exceptionally difficult. This is without the low-res method either. RC is my strongest section and have been averaging -1 lately in the 80s. I like to emphasize the comprehension in reading comprehension. There are a lot of threads which people have experienced improvements with increasing their reading speed and some have seen success, others however have also seen no improvement. To quote @Pacifico from an RC thread with a similar question (https://7sage.com/discussion/#/discussion/3418):

"[reading faster won't] makes a big difference for RC because the passages aren't long enough for differences in reading speed to make a huge difference. Speed reading a novel might help you finish several minutes or even hours before a slower reader, but RC passages are like the 40 yard dash, they're really isn't that much of a difference between a 4.4 and a 4.7 and the difference there exists is totally blown out of proportion. Subvocalization probably costs you far less time than you think it does, especially in such short passages. RC is what it is and there aren't really any shortcuts, if you're reading the passage in 2-3 minutes with decent comprehension then you're way ahead of the game. You don't need to speed up, you need to deepen comprehension and retention."

So I think you should burn some older RC sections and experiment to see what works for you. If you read slow, that means you have to go through the questions fast and trust your intuition in what you read. Investing more time in a passage reinforces this trust because you have a greater comprehension than you would if you read faster. Frankly the slow up front approach just makes more sense for me. I'd rather do that then having to end up going back into the passage to find something I could of just understood on round 1. But everyone is different, that's why experimentation is important.

FindingSage

I don't think your issue is actually speed, but rather the fact that what you are reading isn't tangible to you and you are reading and re reading the same lines but likely not getting more out of what you are reading even on subsequent reads. Long before I started studying for the LSAT I used to love to read. I was surprised honestly to struggle on RC. I have realized that some of what I was doing differently was that when I read previously, I tried to picture what I was reading and also if I read something more acadmic I would try to translate what I was reading into simple English that I could understand easily. Even though I can infer the meaning of a word or two that I don't know in a sentence, if you are reading dense complex language you really need to break it down into simple English if you actually want to be able to understand what you are reading.

I also completed The Loophole book, like the other poster indicated above, and decided to start translating some of the reading comp passages into a way that made more sense to me. I am still working on doing this mentally while reading a passage in a timed environment but it is helping alot. If you take more time up front, think about and actually process what you are reading you will more activley engage in the passage. You should find yourself asking questions and even predicting what what comes next as well as how what you are reading connects to what you have already read.

For example, if I am reading a science passage I am expecting to read a phenomenon and then a hypothesis. Once I read the hypothesis I like to guess if the author is going to immediatley tell me it is wrong or they are going to provide more detail and maybe then introduce another hypothesis or two. I am reading skeptically asking questions like do you really think that theory best supports that phenomeneon or you have shown three hypothesis are you going to give me your view point on which one you think is best? Do like a combination of them? Or maybe you are just going to say all these hypothesis are wrong and a credible one hasn't been found yet. Asking questions of what you reading, thinking about what the author thinks will help you not only be able to become an "active" reader but will help you be able to answer questions like tone, main point, purpose ect easily.

Reading the passage slowly, and really taking the time to comprehend what you are reading will help you understand and be able to answer the questions more confidently and faster. When you are answering questions, that is the time to try to keep a good momentum going and try to answer global questions and come back to the line reference questions where you may need to spend time hunting through the passage.

Also, most people ( myself included until recently) simply don't practice RC enough. I joined a group the completes a RC passage together every morning. The first one I completed with them as a group actually took us 3 sections to complete ( it was a really difficult passage, but still), anyway I see a large difference already in just a breif time of the group working together. If you may be testing with FLEX RC became a whole lot more important so I am trying to devote extra time to RC.

Allison_24

@FindingSage I’d love to join this group, where can I find it? thanks in advance!

The Great White Shark

In my experience, a lack of focus could be due to testing anxiety. Do you think this could be contributing to your trouble with RC?

Here are some tips I found helpful in dealing with such situations:

-Make sure you are doing adequate untimed work so that you have a strong foundation. Nothing can replaces this. Your timed score will suffer if you aren't practicing the basic RC strategies untimed. To give some context, when I first started studying RC I would take sometimes 15 minutes to go through a passage and its questions while practicing good reading. Over time, good habits become intuitive and getting through a passage and its questions won't take as long. I can now finish an RC section in the 35 minutes allowed. Like @FindingSage said above, people just don't practice RC enough. It's important to routinely practicing RC. Consistency is key.

-Rereading sentences over and over will only cause more anxiety if you still aren't comprehending. Try parsing the sentence out and linking it back to previous concepts. Use your imagination to picture what the sentence is describing.

-When timed, check your breathing. When humans get nervous about the tasks they are undertaking it is common for their breathing to become shallow. This can actually lead to a panic attack in some cases. But at the least, our thought processes won't be as good as they would be if we are taking in adequate oxygen. So check your breathing.

mlhinkle

How can I join this group?

goku1994

Would love to join this group / start a new group if the existing one is at capacity!

FindingSage

Group studying is a great idea!

keepgoing.

@FindingSage @EveryCookCanGovern @sheridjw @TheGreatWhiteShark

Thanks so much to all of you for your thoughtful advice- I am taking notes (literally) and going to practice the tips you gave. You opened my eyes to all the other things I could be doing to improve my RC - I was feeling very stuck and frustrated but your suggestions are pushing me to think differently about it