Looking to drill RC

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• 3 Likes

  amatthews304 Alum Member

  May 2018 edited May 2018 215 karma

  I'm not an ultimate+ user, so not sure about being able to find a packet. I have all of the "Actual, Official" books so I've just been working my way through those.

  Not sure if I have specific tips, but I'll give you my experience. RC used to be my worst (and thus least confident) section. I DREADED it. Was averaging around -10 trying different timing strategies until I decided to dedicate a couple weeks to RC. I started off practicing the memory method totally untimed. I wouldn't "dissect" each paragraph but I would make sure to come up with a low resolution summary for each one. Eventually I found that lowest resolution works best for me. i.e. P1: Background Info P2: Introduction of issue P3: First viewpoint / 2nd viewpoint P4: Author's Reaction or something along those lines. Then I'd make sure I wrote out what I thought the main point was, flip it over and rewrite all the summaries and the main point.

  I did that for just a few PTs worth of sections and then I started timing myself with a stopwatch (just to see where I stood) and I was pleased to see I could do all of this in under 40 minutes. From there I started practicing passages just writing the low-res summaries and taking a second at the end of a passage to formulate a MP in my head before going into the questions. I go around -2 a section now. For me the biggest few things have been: 1. writing low-res summaries that focus on the structure rather than the content (I think this also helps direct you to the right place in a passage when you need to return to it during questions and 2. Knowing when I'm sinking too much time into one question, skipping it and moving on. I'll come back to it at the end of the passage, give it another read and if I can't figure it out, circle an answer and move on.

  I think just getting a number of passages under your belt to practice the low res summaries helps you see "patterns" and I generally use the same buzzwords for my summaries passage to passage.

  If I'm not working on RC one night, I'll still do one passage untimed and write everything out to hammer in that way of approaching passages. I also read a few articles in The Economist before bed and have an app (Vocabulary Builder i think?) to learn new and unfamiliar words.

  Good luck!

  EDIT: Forgot to mention that I also watched J.Y.'s explanation videos for all passages in the beginning and now just passages/questions that I struggle with.
• 2 Likes

  LSATisJustLikeDarkSouls Alum Member

  May 2018 edited May 2018 439 karma

  I think it can be really beneficial to read any kind of dense text, doesn't have to be LSAT material. Past threads have suggested reading old philosophical texts from Plato to Nietzsche. Also 19th century authors like Herman Melville, you know actually anything pre-20th century is probably good. Point is you want to be reading dense material, preferably something you are not interested in, and you want to practice reading at a fast pace that still allows you "unpack" what you're reading. Wouldn't hurt to stop every for 5 seconds after every paragraph to recap and speculate where the author might be going.

  FEIGN INTEREST! I've gotten like +2 just because I say to myself "oh wow how interesting" when reading about the average aerial velocity of swallows or whatever. Pretend like the material is a cute boy/girl you're crushing on; it's very important that you pay attention when they talk so later you can reference stuff they've said and show them just how much you remembered.
• ATLsat_2019 Member

  May 2018 edited May 2018 455 karma

  @"gerth.brooks" said:
  Pretend like the material is a cute boy/girl you're crushing on; it's very important that you pay attention when they talk so later you can reference stuff they've said and show them just how much you remembered.

  LOL amazing suggestion
• studyingandrestudying Core Member

  May 2018 5254 karma

  Have you done the CC RC Problem Sets yet? As for your question, I think you could go to "1-35 Drilling Materials" and just print the RCs, probably not all at once, though, just out of sympathy for the printer.
• 1 Like

  lady macbeth Alum Member

  May 2018 894 karma

  @amatthews304 going from -10 to -2 is amazing. congrats! i hope to reach that level soon. RC is the only thing that's keeping me from getting a 180.
• lady macbeth Alum Member

  May 2018 894 karma

  @lsatplaylist said:
  Have you done the CC RC Problem Sets yet? As for your question, I think you could go to "1-35 Drilling Materials" and just print the RCs, probably not all at once, though, just out of sympathy for the printer.

  i finished them all a year ago. so i was hoping to there would be a packet for like 1-16 since those PTs are relatively clean for me. but you have a good idea. haha i'm going to do that tonight.