LR errors due to misreading

Comments

• 1 Like

  out-liar12 Core Member

  January 2021 28 karma

  Hey! I have definitely been experiencing the same issue. I think most of it comes from pressure to get through the questions so quickly. It feels so terrible when you look and see that you could have got the right answer if you had not missed ONE WORD. Basically what I can recommend is reading through the passage twice. I really make use of the highlighter and I've been trying to focus on words that indicate positive/negative (not, neither etc.). Another thing for me was if the answer choices didn't always make perfect sense it usually pointed out that I had missed something. This has helped me, but mostly I think it will just come from practicing active reading skills. I've also tried rephrasing each sentence in a way that makes sense to me personally, which helps to enhance understanding. I think being aware of it is the first step, don't worry you got this!!!
• 1 Like

  RolandOfGilead Member

  January 2021 66 karma

  This happens to me more often than I care to admit. Not just misreading, but more specifically: not seeing a dangling modifier that changes the question stem (really annoying when there is a wrong answer choice that is attractive if you missed that modifier), missing a NOT or EXCEPT, misunderstanding if the question is about the AP or OP, misreading an LG question as "how many can be in group X" instead of "how many can be in group X at one time" or something.

  It's frustrating. I don't have a great solution or else I wouldn't be making these mistakes. The only thing I would recommend is to not dwell on these kind of misses too much. I get pissed at myself for 3 seconds, write "READ THE PROMPT" in my notebook, ensure I would have gotten it right if I read it correctly, and move on. The key thing to remember is to just read the question stem slowly and carefully. Unfortunately, I think the only way to learn to do this is to get burned enough times that it becomes a habit.
• 1 Like

  emmorens Core Member

  January 2021 1470 karma

  I just scored my first 22/26 on LR and I've been getting -7/-8 usually, I think what I did differently was exactly what @"Morgann Martens" said, I made sure to read slowly and carefully and if I wasn't willing to put that into the question I wouldn't just guess and move on, I left it blank and came back. I feel like I'm not someone who should be giving advice since that was my first time scoring so high in LR but I'm going to keep going with this method and hopefully I will be able to close my BR gap.
• LSAT Able Member

  January 2021 137 karma

  @"Morgann Martens" said:
  Hey! I have definitely been experiencing the same issue. I think most of it comes from pressure to get through the questions so quickly. It feels so terrible when you look and see that you could have got the right answer if you had not missed ONE WORD. Basically what I can recommend is reading through the passage twice. I really make use of the highlighter and I've been trying to focus on words that indicate positive/negative (not, neither etc.). Another thing for me was if the answer choices didn't always make perfect sense it usually pointed out that I had missed something. This has helped me, but mostly I think it will just come from practicing active reading skills. I've also tried rephrasing each sentence in a way that makes sense to me personally, which helps to enhance understanding. I think being aware of it is the first step, don't worry you got this!!!

  Thanks so much! I'll definitely try to be more of an active reader!
• 1 Like

  m_takes_a_test Member

  January 2021 61 karma

  This is common. I think reading for clear comprehension is a skill that deserves its own set of practices. I suggest the Basic Translation Drill that I learned from Ellen Cassidy's Loophole to LR book, which I loved. Basically, you take a blank LR section. You just read the stim, cover it up, and then write out what you just read. When you're done, uncover the stim and see if you got it right. This will give you an idea of how well you're comprehending. Do not attempt the answer choices as you go---this is just reading practice. Do this drill many times. I improved by doing so. I think this drill will help with RC and LG too. Good luck!
• LSAT Able Member

  January 2021 137 karma

  @m_takes_a_test said:
  This is common. I think reading for clear comprehension is a skill that deserves its own set of practices. I suggest the Basic Translation Drill that I learned from Ellen Cassidy's Loophole to LR book, which I loved. Basically, you take a blank LR section. You just read the stim, cover it up, and then write out what you just read. When you're done, uncover the stim and see if you got it right. This will give you an idea of how well you're comprehending. Do not attempt the answer choices as you go---this is just reading practice. Do this drill many times. I improved by doing so. I think this drill will help with RC and LG too. Good luck!

  YES!! I just started The Loophole a few days ago and I'm excited to see where it takes me!!