What is wrong with me (suck at RC, losing hope)

wenxusunch

I just did a PT and looks like RC is really holding me back form breaking 160(LR-4,LG-1,RC-16), anyone have any advice as to how to improve RC in the coming weeks? I'm taking Nov LSAT, I know RC is hard to improve in short amount of time but I'm willing to work hard and can commit to study full time.
https://i.imgur.com/i4fWfqQ.png

mngldoohairtai

Are you having issues with timing? Are you unable to get through each passage and all the questions? Or are you just getting the answers wrong? If you are finishing all the questions, but getting the answers wrong, I would suggest slowing down a bit and making sure you understand what you are reading.

Answering all of the questions right that you answer, even if you don't get to the final reading passage, will still give you a much better score than -16 on RC.

There are maybe some better strategies out there that will help you complete the entire section, while also improving your accuracy, but if all else fails, I think this is a good option.

szilli

I found it REALLY helpful to do extended time drills! Once I figured out what to focus on when reading the passage when I went back to regular time I could read it quickly and get what I needed from it before going to the questions.

nanabillan

following..

daniel.ingram7513

I found myself having this same issue a few weeks ago. What I've realized has helped me is taking a 5-10 second break after every paragraph in the passage and actively reflecting on the paragraph I just read. This helps me better understand not only the paragraph itself but how the paragraph plays into the grand scheme of the passage. If your issue is answering all of the questions too quickly and then getting them wrong this might be a helpful tool to slow down and attack the questions with more accuracy.
P.S. sometimes reading passages in a voice different than my own helps me to read more actively.

Daniel Simonetti

Disclaimer: I am no RC god by any means, I am still improving as well because it is my weakness too.

I started to find solid improvement by:
1- REALLY FOCUSING on POVs (author/scholars/critics - ANY POVS),

2 - focusing on how the passages are structured (EX: p1 - phenomenon and critics POV/ p2 - critique of critic's POV (author pov?)/ p3 alternative hypothesis proposed (by author?).

3 - Combine 1 and 2. Your approach to every RC passage will be the exact same! DO NOT just read to get a general idea of what the passage said.

Another tip - spend MORE time reading the passage! Some people say to spend like 2:30 on passages, FUCK THAT! Maybe these people are Gods at reading (good for them), but I am certainly not. I spend on average 3:30 reading a passage to get a full understanding so it allows me to do the questions faster. However, this could lead you to reading through the questions too fast - don't fall for this trap. I have never run out of time by spending more time reading the passages, I promise I am not joking here.

I hope something helped! If this is all repeated information to you, then you really are NOT applying these methods properly. With this approach, you'll pick up on the patterns of RC a lot easier (Ex: if scholars/critics are mentioned in passage, there will most likely be questions related to them).

If a God of RC has better advice, by all means we are awaiting your wise words!!!

Tldr: focus on POVs and know where they are/focus on hypoths and know where they are/know the structure of the passage before tackling the questions.

Chris Nguyen

If you can make it, I’m having a free tutoring session on RC this Saturday. I really think you can gain some valuable insights there!

marina_r96

@szilli said:
I found it REALLY helpful to do extended time drills! Once I figured out what to focus on when reading the passage when I went back to regular time I could read it quickly and get what I needed from it before going to the questions.

Would you mind sharing what exactly do you focus on while reading the passage? I am also struggling with RC and at this point any tip or suggestion is helpful!

wenxusunch

@mngldoohairtai said:
Are you having issues with timing? Are you unable to get through each passage and all the questions? Or are you just getting the answers wrong? If you are finishing all the questions, but getting the answers wrong, I would suggest slowing down a bit and making sure you understand what you are reading.

Answering all of the questions right that you answer, even if you don't get to the final reading passage, will still give you a much better score than -16 on RC.

There are maybe some better strategies out there that will help you complete the entire section, while also improving your accuracy, but if all else fails, I think this is a good option.

Yeah timing is a big problem for me. For this particular PT, I tried to read carefully with the first paragraph and it took me like 11 mins to get through the passage and answering all the questions. So I kinda panicked and rush through the rest and that's the result I got lol. I normally do not do this bad (normally -10 to -14 but still very bad compared to the rest sections)

I don't think I am a particularly slow reader, I can always finish LR with at least 5 min to spare) So I guess long paragraph is just not my thing.

wenxusunch

@Christopherr said:
If you can make it, I’m having a free tutoring session on RC this Saturday. I really think you can gain some valuable insights there!

Yes I can and will be there for the Saturday night Tutoring Session. Looking forward to it!

wenxusunch

@"Daniel Simonetti" said:
Disclaimer: I am no RC god by any means, I am still improving as well because it is my weakness too.

I started to find solid improvement by:
1- REALLY FOCUSING on POVs (author/scholars/critics - ANY POVS),

2 - focusing on how the passages are structured (EX: p1 - phenomenon and critics POV/ p2 - critique of critic's POV (author pov?)/ p3 alternative hypothesis proposed (by author?).

3 - Combine 1 and 2. Your approach to every RC passage will be the exact same! DO NOT just read to get a general idea of what the passage said.

Another tip - spend MORE time reading the passage! Some people say to spend like 2:30 on passages, FUCK THAT! Maybe these people are Gods at reading (good for them), but I am certainly not. I spend on average 3:30 reading a passage to get a full understanding so it allows me to do the questions faster. However, this could lead you to reading through the questions too fast - don't fall for this trap. I have never run out of time by spending more time reading the passages, I promise I am not joking here.

I hope something helped! If this is all repeated information to you, then you really are NOT applying these methods properly. With this approach, you'll pick up on the patterns of RC a lot easier (Ex: if scholars/critics are mentioned in passage, there will most likely be questions related to them).

If a God of RC has better advice, by all means we are awaiting your wise words!!!

Tldr: focus on POVs and know where they are/focus on hypoths and know where they are/know the structure of the passage before tackling the questions.

Thanks for the tips, I will definitely try that on my next PT. One quick question tho, if you spend 3:30 on the reading, when you are doing the Qs are you still going back to the passage or do you find yourself memorizing all the necessary info?

I can finish the reading within 2:30 most of the time but my problem is I then read the Q stem and go back to the related passage and read them again to remind myself all the info, I then try to find the right answers. which is why even sometime I can finish reading within 2 mins but still end up with BIG time problems.

Daniel Simonetti

No problem! I would also advise you to do problem sets to practice the previously mentioned tips and then do a PT!

Yes and no. Some questions (maybe even most) you will already have a strong enough understanding to blow through them with memory alone. However, sometimes you do have to go back to the passage. The thing is, since you spent so much time reading and understanding the passage, if you forgot what the critics said about marxism, it doesn’t matter because you know they are mentioned in p1. Therefore, you can QUICKLY reread whatever you need since you know where that information appears and hopefully already have a general idea. Whereas if you zoomed through the passage in 2 minutes, you’re gonna think to yourself “when the hell were critics mention? This passage is about Marxism?!!?” Then spend 2 minutes on a question rereading for a wonky answer instead of spending 30 seconds for a concrete one (2 mins initial reading +2min for answer = 4 for iffy/maybe right answer VERSUS 3:30 min initial read +:30 = 4 for a solid answer). Those numbers were admittedly pulled out of my ass (for lack of a better term), but that is the method to my madness .

Btw the 3:30 time spent reading is just a general/average number. As you get more accustomed to this style of reading, you'll get faster and faster. Just start slowly with some problem sets to try and get the rhythm/muscle memory down. Please do not get discouraged if you don’t do amazing on your first couple of passages!! It will take a little bit of time for the muscle memory to develop! Good luck!