Howdy, Stranger!

It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!

Sign In Apply for Membership

Categories

From -16 to -5 in RC

Hans ZimmerHans Zimmer Member
in Reading Comprehension 541 karma

Disclaimer: I'm not claiming to be an RC expert, but I've seen huge improvement in a short time period (roughly two months) and would like to share how.

Starting out I was abysmal at RC and things stayed that way as I was told RC is the "least improvable" area. Fast forward and this is my most improved section. So what changed?

  1. I started doing additional reading pretty well every evening for about an hour. I've been reading some dense literature, Dostoevsky's Demons in particular. I atrribute an increased facility in reading passages to this additional reading practice.

  2. I read the LSAT Trainer's tips for RC. The main points can summarized as follows: routinely ask yourself why the author is writing what they are, what the purpose of each pargraph you read is in relation to the passage as a whole, and what the main point of the passage is.

  3. Using J.Y's "active reading" technique. After each paragraph I read I force myself to jot down a summary/main idea of it. Knowing I have to write something down while reading has indeed helped me read with more purpose, and force me to better understand paragraphs before moving on.

  4. Reading a new RC passage or two every single day and doing a thorough BR. I'll often sit and analyse every single question and make sure I'm confident of my choice before I move on. My BRs typically last 30 minutes to an hour.

  5. Reading articles on Sciencenews.org. The broader your knowledge base, the better equiped you are for whatever a passage throws at you. Moreover, these passages ressemble actual RC passages and I've even been able to implement similar techniques while reading them (ie: asking what the purpose of a paragraph is and how it relates to the main point of the article).

  6. I've starting listening to "A Skeptic's Guide to the Universe" podcast. As a foreign languages major my science knowledge is weak, and I think it's possible that listening to discussion of science topics by experts has helped me improve in this regard. Plus it's just genuinely interesting material and once again adds to your knowledge base!

I've seen lots of RC struggles posts on here lately so I felt this write up would be timely. Let me know what you think!

Show Related Discussions

Comments

Sign In or Register to comment.