When the reading is boring...

Comments

• 2 Likes

  Louislepauvre Alum Member

  May 2018 750 karma

  What's more fun than plankton haha, I actually do think they're all mostly pretty fun. The ones that I don't like are the ones with arguments full of holes. In terms of staying engaged, I have a conversation about it in my head about the content. If it's stupid, I make fun of it.
• 8 Likes

  LSAT_Wrecker Member ⭐

  May 2018 4850 karma

  You could try thinking that someone is paying you tens of thousands of dollars to pay attention, since that is what good LSAT scores will get you in scholarships...
• 1 Like

  tams2018 Member

  May 2018 727 karma

  Parse the grammar of each sentence you read to understand what it is trying to tell you. Like a game. You will be interested.
• 9 Likes

  Seeking Perfection Alum Member

  May 2018 4428 karma

  Get used to it. Many legal documents you will hopefully one day read are not interesting in and of themselves. The interesting thing about them is that by reading them you gain an understanding of them and how you can use them to answer questions of pressing importance to you.

  As noted above these questions on the LSAT are worth more thousands of dollars each. Getting all hundered right may get you a full tuition scholarship at places you wouldn't have got into with twenty fewer questions right. That makes each question worth at least $150,000/20 on average or $7,500 per question on the real test. At that rate of pay anything should be interesting. The LSAT is a game to find the logical structure of each of the passages and use it to answer questions worth $7,500 a piece. Even if you don't think it's a particularly fun game that should keep you engaged.
• 1 Like

  samantha.ashley92 Alum Member

  May 2018 1777 karma

  @"Seeking Perfection" I like the way you think haha.
• 2 Likes

  Emmetropic Free Trial Member

  May 2018 edited May 2018 164 karma

  I prepare for this challenge when I am not and when I am doing an RC section.

  I generally try to read very difficult material throughout my week. I don't care about how long it's taking me when I read. For me, it's like any other physical workout: just like the pulldown machine makes my arms stronger, reading makes comprehension skills better. So, I read complex material actively (and often outloud) while noting my reactions to it, criticizing it, and predicting where the text is headed. I keep an online summary of the text beside me to make sure I understood the text correctly.

  During an RC section, I avoid thinking about things that are not directly related to the passage. I often find that worrying about the topics, the time, etc. a) take up real estate in your head and b) impact your performance because you're not focusing on reading. I honestly think every passage is doable: every sentence has a subject and a verb; if you're not getting a sentence, I recommend slowing down.

  P.S. They DON'T expect you to know anything about the topic: they are just presenting you with a game in which you have to find what you're looking for without getting lost in the forrest.
  it's also important to realize that the pressure is not squarely on your shoulders: if you are finding the passage very difficult, a lot of people are. Just do your best.
• 1 Like

  jyarmo Alum Member

  May 2018 350 karma

  When I notice my mind being drifty in RC or LR, I push myself to visualize the text. I know this sounds obvious and something that is repeated often, but it truly does help. Even something like economics or government, you can figure out some little mental picture to go with it. @Emmetropic - your reminder that everyone else is also finding it difficult is SO helpful to me. During the day, I also try to read like I'm testing, trying more carefully to retain and see the structure of something like a dense article in the New Yorker or NYT.