Comp. Passages - Do last or do first?

ThePaperChase

Hi everyone, do you do comp. passages last or first or just in the order they appear?

Context: My goal is a 173. I will be taking the September LSAT. RC was usually my forte, and I never had to worry about it, but ever since hitting the modern tests (60+), something has not been clicking, and on my last two p-tests, I got 6 wrong in each RC section. Minus 6!! My goal is to get -1 or -2 on each section, and LR and LG have (slowly) been shaping up to this standard or exceeding it. So RC is definitely now my Achilles heel.

I think it's because I suck at comparative passages or because the questions just seem harder on modern tests (or both). Not sure. I was wondering if it would help to do comp. passages in a certain order.

Near the end of my RC sections, with 5 minutes left, I panic a lot and it blinds my intuition. If I'm between two answer choices, you best believe I end up choosing the wrong one in those 5 minutes because I'm not thinking clearly.

If I do comp passages first, I get the hardest thing out of the way and I have a peace of mind for the rest. The danger is that I spend way too much time in the beginning and then panic because I don't have time and miss questions on easy passages.

If I do comp passages last, I get the easiest/easier passages down first, but totally bomb the comp passages because they are harder to solve in general, but add in the fact that I'm also panicking!

Aghhh. Any suggestions/help/anecdotes regarding RC are super welcome!

It's just frustrating because once I think I've got a certain section down, another pops its head up! Like fighting a hydra.

Alex

@ThePaperChase said:
Hi everyone, do you do comp. passages last or first or just in the order they appear?

As they appear. You want to get the easiest ones out of the way to make sure you absolutely get the points.... Low hanging fruit! Every point counts the same and you don't get more for the harder questions.