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Hi,

I have a lot of trouble with the RC section, I am only averaging 60% accuracy (I get up to 85% on LR , completing the section fully [1/2 my mistakes come from inference questions]; and 75% LG, completing 3/4 games). I am not too worried about the games or LR, i just picked up the LG Bible and am pretty sure its just practice.

But, maybe it is because English is my 4th language (although now my dominant one) but I have trouble understanding many of the words used in RC. Are there any books out there you would recommend on expanding ones vocabulary, especially for words used in the LSAT.

I have found these two so far:

Kaplan: Word Power
[unfortunately this one does not ship in time.]
http://www.amazon.ca/Kaplan-Word-Power- ... 454&sr=8-3


Test Words You Should Know: 1,000 Essential Words for the New SAT and Other Standardized Texts
http://www.amazon.ca/Test-Words-You-Sho ... 320&sr=1-5

thanks

btw I have maybe put in 30 hours of studying so far and am hovering around a 157-159 [however I give myself 0 for incomplete questions]. Would a mid to high 160 be a reasonable goal for this Feb?

maks25 wrote:Hi,

I have a lot of trouble with the RC section, I am only averaging 60% accuracy (I get up to 85% on LR, completing the section fully; and 75% LG, completing 3/4 games). I am not too worried about the games or LR, i just picked up the LG Bible and am pretty sure its just practice.

But, maybe it is because English is my 4th language (although now my dominant one) but I have trouble understanding many of the words used in RC. Are there any books out there you would recommend on expanding ones vocabulary, especially for words used in the LSAT.

I have found these two so far:

Kaplan: Word Power
[unfortunately this one does not ship in time.]
http://www.amazon.ca/Kaplan-Word-Power- ... 454&sr=8-3


Test Words You Should Know: 1,000 Essential Words for the New SAT and Other Standardized Texts
http://www.amazon.ca/Test-Words-You-Sho ... 320&sr=1-5

thanks

btw I have maybe put in 30 hours of studying so far and am hovering around a 157-159 [however I give myself 0 for incomplete questions].

Why would you cram words form some books? If you take the test in June or later, you have plenty of time to get used to the vocabulary. Just do as many sections as possible and read a lot of complex articles when you have time. (Especially since English is a dominant language for you now which means you are Fluent/close to being Fluent)

Good luck

BTW, SAT words and LSAT words have nothing to do in common, maybe, just the fact they are English
I dunno if there're books specifically for the LSAT vocabulary, but I imagine if you want to cram those buy at least the relevant ones.

Because I am already registered for February.

maks25 wrote:Because I am already registered for February.

Have you considered rescheduling? Is it already too late? Are those some sort of key words or stuff like fenfluramine, hydrencephalocele etc?
I honestly think that some stupid book won't help too much especially at this point and when it's designed not for the LSAT

They are not professional terminology but words I really should know. Ex. i find "altruistic" pops up a lot on the test, now i do know what it means but there are many other words of similar 'difficulty' that I don't know. Ok, maybe that was a bad example but I hope you understand what I mean.
Its the words you would have learned in high school while I was learning basic English that I have most trouble with.

As for rescheduling, if I don't do it in Feb I will never do it and will be stuck in some boring finance job for the rest of my life.

Get your hands on more prep tests ASAP. Don't bother reading books, they won't be on the test. If RC is your bane, then get your hands on as many RC sections as you can and just power through.

- Give yourself 9 minutes to read a passage and answer the questions related to it.
- See which answers you got wrong, and go back to the text and search through/re-read it as many times as it takes (look up words you didn't understand) to find where and when the answer you chose was wrong or the answer you missed was right.

After a while you will begin to get a feel for the writing style of the test makers. The chances that those books teach you a word that will be critical to a test question won't be worth the time spent on the 99,999 other words learned in one of those books. You need to teach yourself to use context to understand prose written in terms you've never heard/seen.

Also, you should be giving yourself 0 for incomplete answers, thats how the test is structured.

EDIT: typo

pmomnie wrote:Get your hands on more prep tests ASAP.

^ This.

Though, besides just taking them as a regular RC, I would pay close attention to the vocabulary they use and learn everything unknown. E.x., take a section, then after reread those passages screening for words and weird/very complex constructions. Vital words are usually repeated (because topics are related), so you should be able to learn/get used to them quite soon.

Pull out every question regarding author's attitude as well, so you know all those adjectives and exactly what they mean under each.