Howdy, Stranger!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Categories
- 32.1K All Categories
- 27.1K LSAT
- 16.5K General
- 5K Logical Reasoning
- 1.3K Reading Comprehension
- 1.7K Logic Games
- 72 Podcasts
- 193 Webinars
- 9 Scholarships
- 193 Test Center Reviews
- 2K Study Groups
- 108 Study Guides/Cheat Sheets
- 2.4K Specific LSAT Dates
- 4 June 2024 LSAT
- 1 April 2024 LSAT
- 11 February 2024 LSAT
- 23 January 2024 LSAT
- 37 November 2023 LSAT
- 41 October 2023 LSAT
- 12 September 2023 LSAT
- 38 August 2023 LSAT
- 27 June 2023 LSAT
- 1 August 2024 LSAT
- 30 Sage Advice
- 4.8K Not LSAT
- 3.9K Law School Admissions
- 11 Law School Explained
- 9 Forum Rules
- 574 Technical Problems
- 275 Off-topic
Related Discussions
Reading Comprehension Strategy
LindsMitch
Alum Member
Hello all!
I purchased 7sage last summer with the intention of taking the September LSAT. I had a 158 diagnostic, BR of 174. Ending up kind of half-assing my way through the CC, never truly focusing on any particular strategy for any of the three sections or forcing myself to make sure I truly understood the logic. When September rolled around, I knew I wasn't ready but decided to take anyway (I made this big post about whether or not I should, I had to take it abroad in Paris) with the plan on taking again in September. I scored a 163, which was pretty much what I expected.
I continued studying through September/October and made incremental improvements - took three more PTs and got a 164, 166, and 167, with BRs from 175-177. I then came to the realization that December was not enough time to reach my potential. So I decided to postpone the whole cycle and now I'm shooting for June and I'm pretty pumped about this choice! Woo!
I've been re-doing the CC more meticulously this time. I am currently in the midst of fool proofing the LG bundle...I've made it to game 12 and for the last 5 games I've gotten 2-3 wrong the first time through timed. So I feel like I am on track for that section and am comfortable enough to do it alongside the CC, since some of the material is review.
For LR, the CC + the few PT's I've done have helped me identify weak areas, as there are definitely patterns in the questions I am missing. Particularly SA, NA, and Parallel Flaw questions. I seem to be on average missing 5 or so per section. My hope is that through question type drilling and returning to the CC I will be able to get this down to a consistent 2 or less over the next 4.5 months.
Reading comprehension is where I am a bit lost because I don't feel like I really know where to begin in terms of practicing. I miss around 4/5 per section ... but that has been as high as 7 and as low as 1. I think I'm a little bewildered as to how to approach this section due as I've always been very strong in RC in other standardized tests, but obviously LSAT RC is a whole different beast... I know some people do a lot of marking, underlining, etc. on the passage while others do none at all. Just curious about how y'all have approached the RC section from the get-go/how you figured out what strategy worked for you.
Just for some more details, if I got score of 174 I would be pretty thrilled. I realize I still have plenty of work ahead and just want to make an effective use of my time, as I'm sure we all do. I can devote 20-25 hours per week to the LSAT, I'm just working part-time. My undergrad GPA is a 3.76 with a degree in global policy and a couple random minors in biology and French for a small LA school. By the time I attend law school, I'll have been out of school for 4 years, 2 of which I spent teaching English in France and 2 spent in Iceland getting a MA in International Affairs (free tuition wooo!). I would love love love to go to Columbia or NYU, as I'm quite interested in International law but will definitely apply to a slew of schools.
Any input on RC would be much appreciated, as well as general feedback regarding how realistic my goal is. Thank you thank you !
Comments
I honestly have no helpful advice, I'm in a similar predicament. I've always done really well with verbal/reading type tests too and for some reason, RC is a beast that I just cannot conquer.
I'm mostly here to say... oh my GOSH you are living the dream!! 2 years in France and 2 years in Iceland?? Seriously. That is my dream life. Haha. I did an Iceland stopover last year and was only there about 48 hours but it is mindblowing.
I'm super jealous of you. That's all. haha
@LindsMitch RC by far is my worst section. When I think I'm improving I'm hit with another -7 or something. I would honestly be ok with a consistent -3 or -4. One of my biggest issues was not being able to retain anything I've read so I was having to continue to reread when I hit the questions. I know we're not supposed to necessarily understand or retain everything but sometimes I'd finish the passage and only be able to remember one or two things about the passage. I do notate and it helps but I was still not where I wanted to be. I read an article about reading and rereading in certain time intervals. This helped a lot for retaining info and it cut down on a lot of rereading and also helped me to locate things quicker if I had to go back to the passage. I basically read a sentence or two, depending on the length of the sentence and then reread it. Then I'll write a few words re each paragraph after I've read it. I take more time now reading the passage but I also take less time answering the questions so I think it's worth it. I also pay close attention to how the paragraph ends and how the next paragraph begins to hone in on the structure of the passage. This kinda helps understand the passage if you can predict what the next passage is going to be about according to how the previous passage ended. It also helps me stay with the passage so that I do not drift off. Active reading. Do you pay attention to the structure of the passage? That'll help you locate answers when you hit the questions if you were lost or didn't really understand what was going on. Ironically I've scored the best on passages that I didn't understand just by following the structure of the passage and keeping up with who said what and why, or who opposes this or that, or does the author agree with this or that and why or why not.
What has worked for me is simultaneously reading the information in the passage & relating it to something in my life so that I can make the passage more concrete/real (rather than abstract).
i.e. in PT 71 on the RC about mirrors, it was the most ridiculous passage but I went -0 on it because I read the passage while thinking about learning about mirrors when I was in middle school and attached the passage to that memory. Same with PT71's RC about innate ability vs extensive training in prodigies; I was simultaneously thinking about talented people that I know who trained hard (they were not born with it) and I attached the passage to those people and pretended like the passage was somehow related to them.
It might be weird at first but it has immensely helped with memorizing the content in the passage, so much so that I haven't ever had to look back at passages when going through questions and I still remember what most of the passages are about days later. It makes the passage more real and relatable, and removes it from the weird abstract LSAT world that makes it so hard to approach sometimes.
Focus like a motherfucker. Honestly, i've found intense concentration to be the key in RC.
More specifically, though, here's my process:
After each paragraph, take a few seconds to summarize the main focus of that paragraph. I write that summary down next to each paragraph (never longer than three words).
Take another second to push that summary against the previous summaries. What is each paragraph doing in relation to the preceding paragraphs? Always be reading for structure over content.
After the final paragraph, take a second to conceptualize the structure of the entire passage. Think of a single sentence (or less) summary for the whole thing. This will serve as a pre-phrasing for Main Point questions.
General tips:
As you're reading, make sure you keep track of which opinion belongs to which person. Difficult passages are often difficult because they densely intertwine the author's opinion with that of other writers.
Know which kinds of questions require you to go back to the passage and which don't. If you have a solid (albeit broad) concept map of the passage in your mind before you start the questions, you shouldn't need to return to the passage for most of the questions. Know the questions for which you should return.
On questions asking why a word or phrase was used, choose the answer choice that interprets the word in the most narrow sense it can. The author may write about how terrible some pineapples are as part of a general argument that fruit is always awesome, BUT the phrase in question says that pineapples are gross. Choose the answer that says pineapples are gross.
Almost all (I think maybe all) correct AC should be expressly stated in the passage somewhere. Go back and find that reference in the text to confirm your answer, time allowing.
A/B passages, read A then answer all A specific questions. Eliminate all answer choices from Qs that touch on both A/B by looking at the A portion of the answer choices first. Repeat with B.
I've just started studying so I can't offer you too many tips, but I just wanted to say that your resume is so awesome and I have so many of the same interests as you! I am studying abroad in Paris this semester as a junior in college getting my degree in Political Science with a certificate in IR. I want to take a year off to teach as well, and MA in Iceland? Girl. Sorry, again not so helpful for your actual question, just stopping in to say you rock
Oh and Columbia is my dream school too!
Haha yes I have been quite lucky to find such cool opportunities. Really glad I gave myself permission to take the time off...my first year out of undergrad I felt a bit stressed that I wasn't immediately beginning law school but the more that time has passed the more I am so thankful I didn't start immediately. @the180life The MA in at the University of Iceland is a new thing too...I originally was just going to spend one semester there getting a graduate diploma in small state studies, but around the same time that I decided to postpose this application cycle, the school announced it would begin offering the MA program in English, so I was super pumped. @"Leah M B" Yes Iceland really is the coolest place, so cool you got to see it even if only for a little bit! I definitely would recommend it to anyone, especially if you have the time to travel around the country. So so lovely, so many nice people. Very dark in the winter though haha.
Thanks for the tips @username @tanes256 @kshutes13
Those are all good ideas. I do find myself struggling to retain the information on the first read, I like this idea of trying to make it more relatable to my own life...and the small paragraph summaries. I attended one of the big calls they did here about RC strategy, but I just find it so challenging to keep track of a strategy while I'm being time. I know that just means I need to practice it more untimed I think..
I like doing a combination of JY's Memory Method and Powerscore's VIEWSTAMP, while also making sure to devote as much time as needed to reading the passage (this ranges from 2:30 - 4 minutes reading depending on the difficulty and/or density of the passage). So after each paragraph I do 2-3 word summaries, and I also notate for viewpoint, structure, tone, main point, etc. Recommend checking out both! But really investing the time upfront is key for me.