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RC Stamina

Victoria14Victoria14 Alum Member
in Reading Comprehension 776 karma

Hey everybody,

So i'm encountering a strange phenomenon in RC. First off, I've officially succeeded in getting a -0 in an RC passage. If anyone remembers my RC scores from before, you know this is a HUGE improvement. I believe I was landing in the -15 before. Now here is the issue, since i've now been able to get -0 several times i've started trying to do multiple passages in a row to improve stamina (untimed). As the passages go on, I just seem to be getting worst and worst and worst. My first passage is a -0 and by the last one i'm right back at a bad RC person. Has anyone else had issues with stamina before? Any tips/tricks/advice for building up my tolerance (lol) for RC and maintaining my performance?

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  • LSATcantwinLSATcantwin Alum Member Sage ⭐
    13286 karma

    How long does it take you to get from 1 to 4 total?

  • lawschool33lawschool33 Member
    100 karma

    For RC, I always quickly glance over each passage to determine which passage topic will give me the most trouble. I'm not a fan of the scientific passages, so I always try to do the passages that seem the worst FIRST to get them out of the way. Then, I know I won't run out of time and will be able to fly through the easier passages without making silly mistakes from being fatigued by a daunting passage.

  • AlexAlex Alum Member ⭐
    23929 karma

    @Victoria14 said:
    Hey everybody,

    So i'm encountering a strange phenomenon in RC. First off, I've officially succeeded in getting a -0 in an RC passage. If anyone remembers my RC scores from before, you know this is a HUGE improvement. I believe I was landing in the -15 before. Now here is the issue, since i've now been able to get -0 several times i've started trying to do multiple passages in a row to improve stamina (untimed). As the passages go on, I just seem to be getting worst and worst and worst. My first passage is a -0 and by the last one i'm right back at a bad RC person. Has anyone else had issues with stamina before? Any tips/tricks/advice for building up my tolerance (lol) for RC and maintaining my performance?

    Well, one thing to note is that if you are doing entire sections, the passages generally get more difficult as you progress through an RC sections. Perhaps this might be what is causing it?

    My biggest issue isn't exactly stamina, but it becomes a bit more challenging for me to stay engaged and read actively by the last passage. The only advice for increasing your reading stamina is to just keep practicing reading more.

    I completely remember you posting that you were having issues with RC not to long ago at all. I'm so happy to hear you are hitting -0 on a passage now. What an incredible improvement -- I'm proud of you! I promise if you keep working hard and drilling RC, you won't get as fatigued when doing full sections.

  • Paul CaintPaul Caint Alum Member ⭐
    edited August 2017 3521 karma

    I run into the same issue. I think the main problem is complacency. You just kinda get bored after a while. I experienced that today and paid the price (-5 on RC :cry:)

    I just rewatched J.Y.'s introduction to reading comp. video. I think it would be helpful to remind yourself to

    1. "Feign Interest" - as you're reading being like "wow this is actually really interesting!" even if it isn't.

    2. focus Focus FOCUS and actively read

    I think there's something to resetting your brain really quickly and just telling yourself to focus/find it interesting. It reestablishes that there's a task at hand and prevents complacent reading.

  • Victoria14Victoria14 Alum Member
    776 karma

    @LSATcantwin said:
    How long does it take you to get from 1 to 4 total?

    Roughly between 34-38 minutes depending on the passages!

  • Victoria14Victoria14 Alum Member
    776 karma

    @hannahmyers9551 said:
    For RC, I always quickly glance over each passage to determine which passage topic will give me the most trouble. I'm not a fan of the scientific passages, so I always try to do the passages that seem the worst FIRST to get them out of the way. Then, I know I won't run out of time and will be able to fly through the easier passages without making silly mistakes from being fatigued by a daunting passage.

    That's a cool idea! I'll try it and let you know!

  • Victoria14Victoria14 Alum Member
    776 karma

    @"Paul Caint" said:
    I run into the same issue. I think the main problem is complacency. You just kinda get bored after a while. I experienced that today and paid the price (-5 on RC :cry:)

    I just rewatched J.Y.'s introduction to reading comp. video. I think it would be helpful to remind yourself to

    1. "Feign Interest" - as you're reading being like "wow this is actually really interesting!" even if it isn't.

    2. focus Focus FOCUS and actively read

    I think there's something to resetting your brain really quickly and just telling yourself to focus/find it interesting. It reestablishes that there's a task at hand and prevents complacent reading.

    I think that's absolutely the problem. I'll try the feigning interest thing lol I forgot he mentioned to do that

  • Victoria14Victoria14 Alum Member
    776 karma

    @"Alex Divine" said:

    @Victoria14 said:
    Hey everybody,

    So i'm encountering a strange phenomenon in RC. First off, I've officially succeeded in getting a -0 in an RC passage. If anyone remembers my RC scores from before, you know this is a HUGE improvement. I believe I was landing in the -15 before. Now here is the issue, since i've now been able to get -0 several times i've started trying to do multiple passages in a row to improve stamina (untimed). As the passages go on, I just seem to be getting worst and worst and worst. My first passage is a -0 and by the last one i'm right back at a bad RC person. Has anyone else had issues with stamina before? Any tips/tricks/advice for building up my tolerance (lol) for RC and maintaining my performance?

    Well, one thing to note is that if you are doing entire sections, the passages generally get more difficult as you progress through an RC sections. Perhaps this might be what is causing it?

    My biggest issue isn't exactly stamina, but it becomes a bit more challenging for me to stay engaged and read actively by the last passage. The only advice for increasing your reading stamina is to just keep practicing reading more.

    I completely remember you posting that you were having issues with RC not to long ago at all. I'm so happy to hear you are hitting -0 on a passage now. What an incredible improvement -- I'm proud of you! I promise if you keep working hard and drilling RC, you won't get as fatigued when doing full sections.

    Would maybe doing the questions in reverse help? Tackle the harder sooner, as someone else suggested?

    I'm a literature major - i've read some weird and boring stuff and this stuff is genuinely like pouring salt in to my eyes some days.

    Thanks Alex! I genuinely thought I could never do it in all honesty, I'm really proud of myself. I'm gonna keep drilling them. Someone even suggested trying to do 5 passages instead of 4 to build stamina, but idk about that type of pain.

  • LSATcantwinLSATcantwin Alum Member Sage ⭐
    13286 karma

    An odd thing I've noticed with RC is that too much attention can be harmful. Often times I'm aware of the right AC, and if I linger too long I inevitably change it. So be wary of over thinking.

    Also, RC requires full attention. It could be you focused so hard at the start that by the last passage you don't even remember what you read. That's not conducive to a good RC score.

    You want to engage with the passage, garner interest for yourself, and then attack the AC. You don't want to linger, justifying AC to yourself without support just because it sounds like something you remember reading. This is the danger of RC. Pretend you have a bar of energy. It's green until about 28min then turns yellow at 30min then red at 33. The goal is to have read the last passage before 28min. Retention will fade when you rush read. Make sure you answer the first few passages confidently. It takes practice, but this is my guess as to why the last passage is killing you smalls.

  • TheMikeyTheMikey Alum Member
    4196 karma

    Congrats on the -0 on a passage!

    I think that doing back to back RC sections would help build RC stamina. You can try adding 1 passage and then 2, then 3 then 4. Idk, just an idea.

    Also, it may seem small but taking 3 seconds before starting the next passage in a section to just clear your mind and take a deep breath can be pretty helpful. At least for me it helps.

  • nathanieljschwartznathanieljschwartz Alum Member
    1723 karma

    @TheMikey i do this too! But i take 5 seconds, close my eyes take a few deep breaths and clear out the previous passage from my internal storage. Works like a charm

  • TheMikeyTheMikey Alum Member
    4196 karma

    @nathanieljschwartz said:
    @TheMikey i do this too! But i take 5 seconds, close my eyes take a few deep breaths and clear out the previous passage from my internal storage. Works like a charm

    Wow. Ok.

    So now I'm almost certain that we are long lost twins.

  • nathanieljschwartznathanieljschwartz Alum Member
    1723 karma

    Twins.. destined for those 180s!!!

  • TheMikeyTheMikey Alum Member
    4196 karma

    @nathanieljschwartz said:
    Twins.. destined for those 180s!!!

    You're taking next month right?

  • nathanieljschwartznathanieljschwartz Alum Member
    1723 karma

    Aghhhhghhhh thats the question. I am signed up for it. But my scores and confidence are all over the place. So im considering pushing till december. I have to apply this cycle so this is it. I took last december already and i really dont want to take it 3 times.
    Im just concerned that, if i push to dec, and im not in tip top shape i may have a nervous breakdown and botch it. Guidance?

  • nathanieljschwartznathanieljschwartz Alum Member
    1723 karma

    Btw. Even though i have been studying for so long i still have a ton of material i havent burnt yet.

  • LSATcantwinLSATcantwin Alum Member Sage ⭐
    13286 karma

    @nathanieljschwartz said:
    Aghhhhghhhh thats the question. I am signed up for it. But my scores and confidence are all over the place. So im considering pushing till december. I have to apply this cycle so this is it. I took last december already and i really dont want to take it 3 times.
    Im just concerned that, if i push to dec, and im not in tip top shape i may have a nervous breakdown and botch it. Guidance?

    Jdkskxjwoviejd SHUSH YOU TWO ARE SCARING ME.

    I'm signed up for Sept and score in your range (sometimes) and my confidence is all over AND YOU ARE SCARING ME. Lol

  • nathanieljschwartznathanieljschwartz Alum Member
    1723 karma

    @LSATcantwin sorry sorry. Its just one of those days.lol.

    tomorrow, and every day until September, all 3 of us are gonna wake up with that feeling of complete sageliness ready to kick some LSAT butt.(love those days)

  • tringo335tringo335 Alum Member ⭐
    3679 karma

    I've been reading The Economist and I think it really helps with my stamina.

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