LSAT Reading Comp Forum

[Loyola Trojan]

Hey Guys,

Just wondering how you guys prepped/improved for your RC passages...
I took my LSAT last June and found this section the hardest to improve in. I'm looking into retaking my LSAT in the fall. Do you guys have any recs for improving your score? I've heard mixed things about taking speed reading seminars and what not, to help with this section specifically.

Thoughts/personal experiences?

Thanks!

[whymeohgodno]

Read a lot of dense materials. Even then I wouldn't say improving RC is common. It's just that hard to improve.

[bp shinners]

I've always found that people focus their prep on just the passages and skip over the questions. First off, the passages are getting more straight-forward and the questions more difficult (at least, that's a trend we've noticed at BP - YMMV). Second, knowing the types of things the LSAC is liable to ask about will help you tag up/understand the passage better. For instance, they always have a number of author attitude questions; that should tell you tracking the author's attitude is important. If there are examples/studies/hypotheses, there will be at least one question on that (more if they're extensive throughout the passage).

In short, focus on what the questions are likely to ask (by studying them as much as the passages - afterwards, not during the exam) so that you can develop an eye for what they're going to ask before you even get out of the passage.

Good luck!

[EstboundNDwn]

What score are you aiming at? If you're going for the 170+, then this probably won't work out for you.

My problem was giving enough attention to all 4 sections in enough time, so I decided just to focus on the three biggest passages. This gave me enough time to get the most points possible, and usually left me about 3-4 minutes for the smallest passage. I'd then skim the smallest passage, and answer the easiest questions. I'd continue this process with the harder questions, or I'd just guess if I was out of time.

I'm sure the prep companies, and many of the 170+ test takers will probably flame this sloppy method, but it helped me improve my score, so it is what it is.

[Loyola Trojan]

I am trying to shoot for the high 160s, if not 170
I feel like the biggest section holding me back is the RC. You can train and practice hard enough to get to a -2 on LR and LG, but I haven't seen anyone make such leaps and bounds with RC.

I can't seem to get through all 4 passages with enough time for the last one, which is the hardest.
I also don't want to leave any questions on the table by going in reverse order of passages or leaving the one with the least amount of questions till the end.

strategy, oh strategy...

Blueprint, thanks for the advice. Took your prep course but no major improvement in RC
(everything else went up though )
I really need to nail this section to make the leap into the range that I'm shooting for.

[Straw_Mandible]

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