Reading Comprehension Tips

cdemers2931

Hi, just wondering if anyone has any tips for RC (aside from getting reps in) that really improved their score and confidence in each answer?
Also, I'm not finding blind review to be as useful for RC as it is with LR and LG, any suggestions/tweaks to the review process for RC? I understand it may just be the nature of the section compared to the other two.

Matt Sorr

It’s hard for me to give a lot of advice without knowing how you’re doing in RC, but one tweak I made early in my studies that helped a ton was spending more time on the passage. Originally, I’d always try to get through passages as quickly as possible so I’d have more time on the questions. This typically led to me missing the “bigger picture” (tone of the author, purpose of paragraphs, implications of certain words, etc) of the passage, and it was nearly impossible for me to just return to the passage while working through the questions to find this bigger picture. Since RC generally likes to test the broader concepts, I missed a bunch of questions. When I started putting in effort to thoroughly grasp the passage up front, I started performing better. Some people are the opposite, though, so I’d just recommend experimenting and seeing what works for you.

RC can certainly feel tricky to BR, but I found that the more questions I reviewed, the more I started seeing trends. What I mean is I started noticing that certain concepts were tested frequently in RC, certain question stems repeated, and certain parts of the passage (like the “big picture” I referred to earlier) were constantly asked about. This led me to pay more attention to parts of the passage more likely to be questioned. To notice these trends, I’d advise you don’t simply “get the reps in,” but rather try to note when you see similar questions or similar concepts being tested. It may not be as obvious as LG or LR, but I promise trends are there.

Cant Get Right

One thing people often forget is how central a role active reading plays. It's the first lesson in the CC for RC for a reason, but it so frequently gets set aside. And active reading does not just mean to pay attention. I see that characterization of active reading constantly and it's so aggravating. You have to engage with the text. Talk to it like you're having a conversation with the author. If the author says something that doesn't make sense, stop and piece it together. If you come across a line that references something you're familiar with, connect it with your background knowledge. If you're overwhelmed by a sentence that presents an avalanche of information, pause to recap and summarize. If a new piece of information is surprising, ask questions. And allow yourself to wonder about the subject more broadly and to think about the further implications beyond the immediate scope of the passage. Try to visualize things: What does this artist's work look like? What would this global weather phenomenon look like on a weather map?

All of these are parts of reading actively. Watch JY's explanations and he'll do all of this and more. That isn't just him explaining the passage to you; it's his process of developing the meaning for himself. It's active reading. It's how we understand what we read, and it is crucial to comprehension. A lot of students I work on active reading with will merely tell me what a sentence's LSAT role is: "This introduces a phenomenon that they're probably going to explain." My response to something like that is: "Okay, but what is the phenomenon?" And they usually can't answer without returning to the text. It should just be self-evident how huge a problem this is. So make sure you're not approaching RC with a labeling-the-LSAT-role approach.

To review, get a good, active re-read of the passage and then use that read to approach the questions. Take your time. I think there's a couple different stages of review which may be most helpful depending on where you are in your studies. Initially, I recommend going back to the passage to find the support directly in the text. This type of exercise is more about developing your passage reading strategy by learning to recognize the types of details that may be important to recognize when you read passages. The second method of review is more about the questions and answers, and you should restrict your return to the passage to questions where you would return to the passage on a timed section. Often, you won't have time to return to the passage, won't know where to go in the passage, or simply won't find the text helpful to answer certain questions. It's important to study these situations to learn how to use your comprehension to successfully answer the questions without reliance on citation to the direct support in the text.

Hope this helps!

hendricks

• 1 on JY's method. He really makes a piece come alive.

I've also found that, when I score well on RC, I actually don't refer back to the passage much - if ever. I think that's product of concentration and good active listening.

philipmelki

One thing that I do that actually helps with retention and speed is I use the “finger method.” As I read a passage, I follow it with my finger. There are a handful of studies that show we don’t need to see the whole word to identify what word it is. I’ve been able to gain so much time and absorb so much more information by just tracking the passage with my finger. Each time there’s a paragraph break, I stop and write down my one sentence summary.