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speed reading on lsat
Posted: Sun Dec 27, 2009 4:36 pm
by jason8821
It seems that there are a number of different opinions on speed reading as it pertains to the LSAT. However, I am wondering if anyone has had success with it. I know that people say it hurts your overall comprehension, but I just bought the Evelyn Wood book, and increased my reading speed significantly or so it seems.
I have not tested it on an actual passage yet, but I have used the techniques in reading articles from the economist, and scientific american. I was able to retain enough information to discuss the main point, structure, and tone of the author and I did it in half of the time. I figure that kills around two of the RC questions per passage and allows plenty of time to look at the other questions.
Basically I am asking if anyone has had success or if this is likely to be a waste of time.
Re: speed reading on lsat
Posted: Sun Dec 27, 2009 4:53 pm
by GeesesAintTeethes
jason8821 wrote:It seems that there are a number of different opinions on speed reading as it pertains to the LSAT. However, I am wondering if anyone has had success with it. I know that people say it hurts your overall comprehension, but I just bought the Evelyn Wood book, and increased my reading speed significantly or so it seems.
I have not tested it on an actual passage yet, but I have used the techniques in reading articles from the economist, and scientific american. I was able to retain enough information to discuss the main point, structure, and tone of the author and I did it in half of the time. I figure that kills around two of the RC questions per passage and allows plenty of time to look at the other questions.
Basically I am asking if anyone has had success or if this is likely to be a waste of time.
Don't ever consider this technique for the LSAT.
Re: speed reading on lsat
Posted: Sun Dec 27, 2009 5:38 pm
by lawgirl99
GeesesAintTeethes wrote:jason8821 wrote:It seems that there are a number of different opinions on speed reading as it pertains to the LSAT. However, I am wondering if anyone has had success with it. I know that people say it hurts your overall comprehension, but I just bought the Evelyn Wood book, and increased my reading speed significantly or so it seems.
I have not tested it on an actual passage yet, but I have used the techniques in reading articles from the economist, and scientific american. I was able to retain enough information to discuss the main point, structure, and tone of the author and I did it in half of the time. I figure that kills around two of the RC questions per passage and allows plenty of time to look at the other questions.
Basically I am asking if anyone has had success or if this is likely to be a waste of time.
Don't ever consider this technique for the LSAT.
Agreed.
Re: speed reading on lsat
Posted: Sun Dec 27, 2009 7:20 pm
by jason8821
Thanks for the answers, that's good to know.
Re: speed reading on lsat
Posted: Sun Dec 27, 2009 7:32 pm
by IHaveDietMoxie
do work on increasing your reading speed, and especially your thinking speed (there is a difference imo)
don't adopt some weird bs technique that hinders your ability to follow the subtle cues of an RC passage.
Re: speed reading on lsat
Posted: Sun Dec 27, 2009 7:51 pm
by jason8821
I think the earlier techniques in the book do help with reading speed and do not effect comprehension. That is just using your finger while you read and looking at words in small groups rather than reading each individual word. None the less I can understand how the other techniques could hinder ones performance.
Re: speed reading on lsat
Posted: Sun Dec 27, 2009 7:57 pm
by hv1
GeesesAintTeethes wrote:jason8821 wrote:It seems that there are a number of different opinions on speed reading as it pertains to the LSAT. However, I am wondering if anyone has had success with it. I know that people say it hurts your overall comprehension, but I just bought the Evelyn Wood book, and increased my reading speed significantly or so it seems.
I have not tested it on an actual passage yet, but I have used the techniques in reading articles from the economist, and scientific american. I was able to retain enough information to discuss the main point, structure, and tone of the author and I did it in half of the time. I figure that kills around two of the RC questions per passage and allows plenty of time to look at the other questions.
Basically I am asking if anyone has had success or if this is likely to be a waste of time.
Don't ever consider this technique for the LSAT.
+ 1
Re: speed reading on lsat
Posted: Sun Dec 27, 2009 10:39 pm
by cornell
I wouldn't suggest you use this technique on the LSAT, after all you shouldn't need to speed read in order to complete the RC section successfully, plenty of people use proper marking and symboling techniques to achieve near perfect score on RC.
Instead of doing speed reading, I suggest you just read anything that could stretch your comprehension, for example some articles from Scientific America. It's good to challenge yourself with tough reading material so that the RC passages won't feel that daunting.
Re: speed reading on lsat
Posted: Sun Dec 27, 2009 10:44 pm
by Jumbo
The passages on the reading comprehension sections are actually very, very short. I'd read each section very carefully at a pace you're comfortable with so you can minimize the number of times you have to reread something.
Re: speed reading on lsat
Posted: Mon Dec 28, 2009 4:13 am
by kazu
Jumbo wrote:The passages on the reading comprehension sections are actually very, very short. I'd read each section very carefully at a pace you're comfortable with so you can minimize the number of times you have to reread something.
+1. Even if you are able to finish main point/structure/tone of author questions in half of the time, having to go back and reread the passage in order to answer the remaining questions is going to take up any time that you have saved, and then some.
Re: speed reading on lsat
Posted: Mon Dec 28, 2009 4:49 am
by hoopsguy6
No idea what the book/techniques are, but simply being able to read quickly is of course helpful. If it works for you, go for it.
Re: speed reading on lsat
Posted: Wed Dec 30, 2009 5:56 pm
by Baruch Hume
I would not use a speed reading technique, however I found that increasing my reading speed helped a whole lot. I had an old cd-rom of the program eye-q lying around that I never used until recently. It allowed me to go from finishing an LR or RC section 2-3 minutes faster than I had been able to prior to using it.
Re: speed reading on lsat
Posted: Sat Jan 02, 2010 10:35 am
by jason8821
- I looked up eye Q and it looks like it's designed to teach speed reading techniques. Are there alternative techniques/exercises that help?
Re: speed reading on lsat
Posted: Sat Jan 02, 2010 2:24 pm
by Sequoia90
People on here making blank statements (DON'T DO IT!) really should be disregarded. I am a very quick reader and it helped immensely on the LSAT because I finished each section with 5-10 minutes to spare. This extra time to check answers was invaluable.
I would test the techniques on a few PTs to see how it works and THEN make a judgement call.
F@#$ the naysayers.
Re: speed reading on lsat
Posted: Sat Jan 02, 2010 2:32 pm
by cubswin
Speed-reading programs are gimmicks. And to the above, there is a difference between being a quick reader and speed reading.
IMO, RC is the section where test prep strategies/approaches are least relevant. People have different reading abilities, so no one approach is going to work best. Do a lot of practice tests, and try a few different approaches. Make sure to use the recent PTs, since they are a lot tougher than the older tests.
On my first RC passage of the modern-era, I think it was PT 54 (the one with the Cakewalk passage), I got around -10. I kept doing PTs and gradually increased, eventually getting -2 on the December LSAT. Just review your RC sections thoroughly after taking each test. You should start to get a sense for what to look for in a correct answer, and common ways that LSAC makes answers that are almost right.
Re: speed reading on lsat
Posted: Sat Jan 02, 2010 4:58 pm
by vtoodler
What is the Evelyn Wood book? Do you have the Amazon or Internet link from which you used to buy it?
Re: speed reading on lsat
Posted: Sat Jan 02, 2010 5:27 pm
by bloustmaster
speed read only if you comprehend - you save much less time answering questions quickly than reading a passage fast.
Re: speed reading on lsat
Posted: Sat Jan 02, 2010 5:33 pm
by aether
vtoodler wrote:What is the Evelyn Wood book? Do you have the Amazon or Internet link from which you used to buy it?
The poster is talking about "Reading Dynamics", a speed-reading program by Evelyn Wood that was popular back in the 1950s. Wikipedia link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reading_Dy ... g_Dynamics
It's a poor technique for the LSAT. RD focuses on skimming large amounts of material very quickly, with an eye towards seeing the forest rather than the trees. The LSAT is the exact reverse situation: fairly small pieces of text about which you are expected to answer both general and detailed questions.
Reading fast is useful, sure; but RD really isn't the best technique for the LSAT.
Re: speed reading on lsat
Posted: Sat Jan 02, 2010 5:35 pm
by Helmholtz
My "speed reading" is not pronouncing the words in my head while reading and taking the words in clusters, this is how I read books in general. What I would do on the LSAT is speed read the passage, take the questions one by one and take a more detailed look back at the passage if I needed to. Most of the time, I could answer questions such as those asking about the author's mood, etc., without having to go back. I got -1 on the RC section of my LSAT and that one wrong was a stupid mistake, so this method obviously works with me, but I always always always stress that for the RC section, much more so than LG or LR, people are going to have wildly different methods and will succeed with those difference methods. I am certain that there are people who get -0 on their RC section who do all the highlighting/underlining/boxing/arrowing crap and I am also certain there are people who get -0 w/o making one mark on the passage. Just find out through practice what works for you and try a bunch of different things at the start.
Re: speed reading on lsat
Posted: Sat Jan 02, 2010 7:42 pm
by vtoodler
Helmholtz, how fast do you read generally?
Re: speed reading on lsat
Posted: Sat Jan 02, 2010 7:56 pm
by Helmholtz
vtoodler wrote:Helmholtz, how fast do you read generally?
Probably like 600-700 wpm.