Reading Comp - In need of serious help

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• 3 Likes

  RaphaelP Member Sage 7Sage Tutor

  November 2021 1121 karma

  RC is tricky to improve, but there are a few things that I think might be helpful.

  Start by identifying the extent to which the problem is timing versus fundamentals. This is why Blind Review (BR) is so helpful - you can tell whether you missed it because you had insufficient time to think on it versus missing it because you just didn't get it.

  Knowing the problem here will be helpful. If it's timing-related, you need to do more timed practice. You should develop a timing strategy (identify how much time you want to spend on the passage read-through, how much time you want to finish the section with, etc.) and practice sticking to it. If it's fundamentals-related, you'll want to do some untimed practice, review the Core Curriculum, see if it's a passage type you're struggling with, etc.

  Also, try to learn from your mistakes. I always tell my students to keep a Wrong Answer Journal for all missed questions on RC and to add to it whenever they miss one. This can be useful for redoing/drilling during down time and can help you identify patterns.
• 5 Likes

  skiman2020 Member

  November 2021 145 karma

  from what I understand, RC is a section that depends heavily on what kind of reader the person is so what I have to say might not apply to you because we might just be different readers but I hope it helps. I think the key to lowering a RC score is to have a really good working memory while going through the passage and the way you do that is through reading for structure (author's view, opposing viewpoints, examples vs. context etc.) so that when you're done reading you could take a step back and be able to say you fully understood what went on in the passage. How I got there was doing passage after passage at first untimed and using the highlighter A LOT to emphasize important points without doing the questions, and once I felt like I could do that well I started to add on questions untimed, then moved on to 100% accommodations, then lowered the time etc. until I could get entire passages right (always prioritize accuracy). another thing that also helped me is not starting out this process with 5 star passages, I started off with 3 star passages and moved up in difficulty when I thought I was ready because I think there are certain characteristics that make each level of difficulty distinct.
• 3 Likes

  AryanSingh-1 Member

  November 2021 edited November 2021 342 karma

  Started with -14 down to -5 in 7 month. Like Ralph say it’s about fine tuning in blind review. You must realize source of error and correct it. I.e my errors are somewhat not understanding answer choice correction, mis reading question steam. Etc. it’s multitude of errors, so only you would known through blind review why you missed what you missed. My major breakthrough was understanding context, so I started to write vocabulary commonly used. In the end, only you can realize your error. When you reading, differentiate context from author, relate each paragraph and ask your self why did the author write it. Then develop overall pic of the passage. I.e common pattern: context p1, support p2, author statement against or for p3 concluding it. That p3 will be your main point answer also (freebie)
• fatmaalazazi Member

  November 2021 127 karma

  Hi there, I was having problems with RC as well. My problem was mainly understanding the fundamentals. I decided to try out Mike Kim's LSAT Trainers