Hail Mary RC strategies

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• 1 Like

  thinkorswim Alum Member

  July 2018 433 karma

  Hey there ! I know a lot of people would dislike this strategy but I know that I suck at humanities passage and straight up skip it. When I did this I could get a -8 on reading comprehension but If I risk it and try to do 4 passages my variance actually goes up. Maybe you would benefit as well from this strategy If you know that you always miss questions from a particular "type" of passage.
• 2 Likes

  DEC Nuts Alum Member

  July 2018 111 karma

  Something I found helps is to write POV in the margin when you notice someone is speaking their point of view. If there are multiple people you can put POV A, B etc. or use their initials. Circle names so they are easily identifiable on a question if you get stuck. Finally, on comparative passages, if something is in passage B that A discusses, put a star next to it because you know they will probabaly ask a question on that.
• ebalde1234 Member

  July 2018 905 karma

  lol controversial but I skip the hardest - usually the science passage . Spend more time on the passage then the questions .. rc tends to go up and down
• ebalde1234 Member

  July 2018 905 karma

  I second good annotations
• 1 Like

  iamcardibri Alum Member

  July 2018 314 karma

  @VanishingTaxAct @ebalde1234
  Actually, thanks for reminding... I had better RC scores when I only focused on the three passages. Maybe I'll return to that strategy. Using the three passage strategy I would consistently get no more than -1/2 across the first three passages. Then on the last passage I would guess whatever letter choice appeared least in the other three passages, which would give me another couple of points. Usually with this method I would get -6/-7 but lately, now that I've been trying to rush through all four passages I've been getting -9 or more, with one or two wrong on EACH of the first three passages.

  Of course, I had hoped by now that I would have developed stronger RC skills and a better strategy but I think just focusing on 3 passages might be the way to go on Monday. I'm going to do one more timed RC section tomorrow morning just to make sure thanks for reminding me!

  Thanks @"DEC Nuts" lol I've heard time and time again how important it is to track POV since many of the questions focus on this. Also, a friend of mines today just reminded me how critical it is to ANTICIPATE the types of questions that will be asked and make a mental note or marking next to areas of the passage that are "cookie-cutter"-ish. Of course, when I'm rushing to finish 4 passages, I never do any of this I think if I slow down enough to anticipate and focus on totally nailing 3 passages, I'll be alright!
• hawaiihi Free Trial Member

  July 2018 973 karma

  I'd suggest, if you haven't already, going back to the questions that you missed or that are marked high priority and write out explanations for the correct answer, including referencing passage line numbers. It may help you to see which questions you're weaker at, which will allow you to recognize those when they show up on Monday.
• 1 Like

  Simple Man Alum Member

  July 2018 448 karma

  For comparative passages, I've started to look at the questions first. If there are questions that focus on a specific passage rather than both of them, I will read that passage first and answer those questions before reading the next passage. This technique has helped me to answer those specific questions accurately, and quickly as the passage is still fresh in my mind. Before I would have to refer back to what I had already read. Focusing on those questions has also helped me evaluate and understand that specific passage better, so when it comes time to compare it to the other passage I have a better foundation. I hope this helps for at least one quarter in your RC game!

  Other than that just take your time and really try to understand everything. Don't keep reading on unless you are sure you understood each sentence that you just read. A lot of the questions are just MBT questions in the end, the passage contains all the answers. So the better you understand everything, the questions become a lot easier. I'll be right there with you on July tossin' bombs down field, RC has been my weakest section as well. Good luck!
• 1 Like

  tams2018 Member

  July 2018 727 karma

  Think of reading comprehension as a longer logical reasoning question. The background information or opposing point may have more sentences, but the point and supporting information should be about that same (even if more fleshed out).
• 1 Like

  ebalde1234 Member

  July 2018 905 karma

  @iamcardibri said:
  @VanishingTaxAct @ebalde1234
  Actually, thanks for reminding... I had better RC scores when I only focused on the three passages. Maybe I'll return to that strategy. Using the three passage strategy I would consistently get no more than -1/2 across the first three passages. Then on the last passage I would guess whatever letter choice appeared least in the other three passages, which would give me another couple of points. Usually with this method I would get -6/-7 but lately, now that I've been trying to rush through all four passages I've been getting -9 or more, with one or two wrong on EACH of the first three passages.

  Of course, I had hoped by now that I would have developed stronger RC skills and a better strategy but I think just focusing on 3 passages might be the way to go on Monday. I'm going to do one more timed RC section tomorrow morning just to make sure thanks for reminding me!

  Thanks @"DEC Nuts" lol I've heard time and time again how important it is to track POV since many of the questions focus on this. Also, a friend of mines today just reminded me how critical it is to ANTICIPATE the types of questions that will be asked and make a mental note or marking next to areas of the passage that are "cookie-cutter"-ish. Of course, when I'm rushing to finish 4 passages, I never do any of this I think if I slow down enough to anticipate and focus on totally nailing 3 passages, I'll be alright!

  Yeah I think being able to do 4 and giving them the same attention under timed constraints would be quite difficult, and still score high in that section . Given - later on you might chose to do all 4 http://lsatblog.blogspot.com/p/lsat-reading-comprehension-tips.html?m=1#tips also make sure you review your wrong answers
• s_jricke Alum Member

  July 2018 360 karma

  @iamcardibri said:
  The July LSAT is upon us.... and despite my satisfactory gains in LG and LR (thanks 7sage), my reading comprehension is still dismal.

  So I'm asking my fellow 7sagers.. throw it all out on the table! What last ditch attempts could I try to pick up a few extra points in RC? I don't think there's much that could hurt me in terms of RC at this point so hit me with your best shot lol.

  I know there are many long term study strategies to build a more sustainable understanding of RC and I'm committed to retaking and mastering RC the RIGHT way. But as for now, if you have any test taking tips that have helped you to gain a few extra points on RC I would love the hear them!

  Good luck to all my fellow July test takers. May the wind be at your back and the odds in your favor!

  When you choose answers for questions you must make sure you can find support for them from the passages. Outside knowledge can help you understand passages either, but the LSAT writers don't care about testing your knowledge in regards to oil drilling or 17th century Renaissance art. They only care about your ability to read the words on the page and your ability to draw inferences or implications that stem from those words.

  To this point, be aware that the LSAT writers will try to constantly bait you with trap answer choices that have very little to do with the actual passages but perfectly fit in with our idea of how the world works. Like, if a passage talks about how lions are animals who hunt and like to eat zebras, then when you're confronted with a MSS type you can't choose the answer that talks about how lions hunt giraffes. That might seem obvious but under timed conditions it can be easy to get trapped into the thinking of, "oh yea lions are hunters and of course they must eat giraffes occasionally." It simply doesn't matter though unless you can find support for it in the passage.

  TLDR version: use outside knowledge when you can to help make things make sense, but throw all that out the window when it comes to actually supporting answer choices.
• macklynking Free Trial Member

  July 2018 36 karma

  What has helped me recently is to do an initial quick read through, notating points of view, evidence/examples, and overall main point. I then summarize the structure/purpose of each paragraph with a word or sentence in the margins and a longer explanation in my head. I make sure to prephrase the MP before even moving to the questions.