Read Question First/ Consistency

7sagelsatstudent180

I am wildly inconsistent in reading comp. Some days I am -2 and others -10. I am thinking about reading the questions before I start reading the passage, similar to my approach with LR questions. Does anyone have personal feedback on this approach?

nicole.hopkins

Time waster! Pick up the LSAT Trainer for RC help; I've cracked open Manhattan RC as well and am hopeful that its reputation for usefulness in the 170+ range will pan out.

7sagelsatstudent180

I actually just received the LSAT Trainer last week but I don't know where to start. If I can gain consistency on RC then I am confident in my ability to perform well on the actual exam.

nicole.hopkins

Then start with RC in the Trainer

7sagelsatstudent180

HAHA. Thanks for the feedback.

VegMeg55

I definitely wouldn't recommend reading every question before you start the passage; however, I do recall J.Y. commenting under one of the RC explanations that it might be helpful to glance over the questions requiring you to refer to a specific line/paragraph and noting them on the passage. Say for instance you glance over the question stem and it says 'line 22' then maybe underline that line or make a tick mark next to it. This is definitely not part of J.Y.'s method for RC and for good reason: pre-reading the questions is a time sink. The above example of marking questions that refer back to a specific line/paragraph is the only way I can think reading the questions first can be beneficial. It'll be better to spend time improving your passage memory and comprehension. You'll get there!

emli1000

I wouldn't recommend reading every question before the passage but it may vary. There are some people in this forum that have shared their methods with RC and some have actually done it that way. It really depends on what works for you at the time and what you need to do while practicing to attain you goal. I would definitely suggest reading the Trainer for RC. Many others also pick up a copy of Manhattan for RC.

emli1000

Also, if you send me your email I can send you some RC study guides...

7sagelsatstudent180

Thanks everyone, I will utilize the feedback. Thanks for everything.

Quick Silver

Completely agree - reading questions first is a time sink. Only do it like @VegMeg55 says, to note specific lines to look out for.

One thing I really like about the Trainer is that it categorizes RC question types. I you master the question types, then you kinda know what to prepare for anyway. And when you see a question, you can quickly ID the type and then use the most effective strategies for that Q type to answer it.

nicole.hopkins

@"Quick Silver" love the RC categorizations in the Trainer. That was a very encouraging section for me. It was like ... there IS a way to make sense of it!

Quick Silver

@nicole.hopkins I couldn't agree more. I think because people are less familiar with LR and Games, that gets most of the attention and even the best LSAT instructors/courses focus more on techniques - I can't blame them. But I really think there's a lot more we can all do for technique on RC and we can't take it for granted.

nicole.hopkins

Word. It's kind strange that RC, which is IMO the hardest section (and my undergrad education consisted primarily of close reading of extremely dense theoretical/philosophical texts, so I read real good and stuff) gets the least amount of space in literally all materials I've seen. No sweat, I got that triple threat of 7sage, Trainer and Manhattan RC

Quick Silver

@nicole.hopkins out of curiosity - can you tell me about Manhattan RC. I've seen you and others mention it before. I bought the LSAT Trainer to supplement my work. But do you think Manhattan RC is also worth it? I don't mind buying another book to enhance my RC prep. Would love your thoughts either on this thread or PM

nicole.hopkins

@"Quick Silver" I do think it's worth it. It gives an additional and complementary framework for reading. I've only just started but it's heartily recommended by several top scorers whom I respect; what's more, it's a quick/short book compared to other LSAT tomes. In my mind, it's a nothing to lose/potentially substantive improvement to gain scenario.

DumbHollywoodActor

Just be careful @"Quick Silver” . You’ll find that Manhattan uses examples from PTs 36-45 in the book. I actually had to put my book down because I was skipping entire sections to avoid reading a passage that I was destined to take at a later date. I didn’t want to skew my scores. If you’re past that point in your prep, though, it shouldn’t be a problem.

nicole.hopkins

Yeah I don't worry about that. You're not going to use 36-45 to diagnose anything (in the same way later tests are used). Loss is minimal to null.

Quick Silver

Thanks @nicole.hopkins I may just get it. And thanks @DumbHollywoodActor - I appreciate the heads up but I'm past those PTs for testing - thanks anyway.