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So I've recently been drilling reading comp trying to get my time down. For now I am at 4:30 to 5:00 each passage. That being said when I see the expected time for some of these passages on 7Sage I see some of them have a 2min setup and I ask myself how is it possible to get through the passage in just 2 minutes?? Moreover, there are some passages that have an expected time to finish the passage and questions at about 6 Minutes and 15 seconds. How is that possible??? What am I missing, how can I get my timing down to the expecting time on 7Sage because truth be told from my perspective currently it just sounds absurd as the amount of time I take between fully answering every question and reading the actual passag itself ranges from 8:30-10:45.
Comments
I think with RC, like a lot of other aspects of the LSAT, you should figure out what works for you. So try not to obsess too much over the artificial numbers. Frankly, I'm not sure blowing through the passage in 2 minutes is a good idea. Sure you have to get through them really fast, but that reading also has to have positive effects when it comes time to answer questions. You need to grasp the passage.
For myself, when I was studying, I set a 3-minuite target. Most days I stayed at or below that. And that worked as just enough time to get through the passages quickly, while still properly comprehending them. By the time I took the June test, I was doing anywhere between -0 (rarely though) and -4 on RC. -5 on bad days.
I'll add, lastly, that depending on where you are with your studying, as you practice more, time will start to seem less and less of a factor. And I believe this goes for any section of the test. Practice more and set reasonable targets for yourself. Goodluck
I’ve known one guy that I can confirm can properly process a passage in under 2:30, and I’ve worked with hundreds of people on this test. For 99.9% of people, a read time in that range is not the way to go. I take an average of 4 minutes per passage and went -0 on test day. You’re fine. 5 minutes, as an average, is starting to push the boundaries of what is acceptable, but even that is okay if that’s really what it takes. At a 4:30 average passage read, you’ll have an average of about 0:38 to answer each question. So you’ve just got to be aggressive is all.
The number one thing to focus on in RC is the actual comprehension aspect. Reading a passage in two minutes for the sake of reading it in two minutes is probably not a good strategy, because you will most likely fail to absorb the material enough to answer the questions without constantly needing to re-examine the passage.
I would say 4 minutes on the passage and 4 minutes on the questions for each passage is the best timing goal. This will still leave you with three minutes to spare for any last minute questions that you need to re-examine.