RC strategies? Forum

[SoCalKevin]

This seems (for me, at least) to be the toughest one to get through with the time limit. Any good strategies out there for plowing through the material quickly? Do most of you read the entire passage and then answer the questions, or skim the questions first and go back to read as necessary?

[mutfro]

This seems (for me, at least) to be the toughest one to get through with the time limit. Any good strategies out there for plowing through the material quickly? Do most of you read the entire passage and then answer the questions, or skim the questions first and go back to read as necessary?

R E A D S L O W L Y (seriously)

[am060459]

This seems (for me, at least) to be the toughest one to get through with the time limit. Any good strategies out there for plowing through the material quickly? Do most of you read the entire passage and then answer the questions, or skim the questions first and go back to read as necessary?

R E A D S L O W L Y (seriously)

well, what do you average on the RC section?

[s0ph1e2007]

Time wise I also find this the most difficult section.
But the important thing is to do AS MANY PRACTICE PASSAGES AS POSSIBLE with timing and underlining, starring, abbreviating DEF etc., and parenthesesing, oh and numbering

the more you do it the more likely it is youll be able to pick up while reading on what is important in the passage and not have to go back to it, or not for more than 5 seconds, to answer the questions correctly.

Read through it carefully but quickly while underlining etc. and most importantly be very sure exactly what the question prompt says because that can really f*** you up if you miss something in the prompt or in the answer.

I usually get -1 or -2 and its always because i didnt read it properly and when i read it again i think 'oh crap, of course'



.... well, sometimes i think the question is complete BS and want to hurt LSAC but who doesnt think that every once in a blue moon lol


really knowing you underlining, starring, etc. method is key
dont be thinking about it while you do it. you shouldnt have to devise a plan
and the more you read them the more you can pick out info that is likely to get a question asked about it until you almost know all the questoins theyre going to ask already.
and in comparative reading passages pick up on the main pt of each paragraph and write one or two words next to the paragraphs, allowing you to compare very easily without looking for more than 1 sec

[SoCalKevin]

This seems (for me, at least) to be the toughest one to get through with the time limit. Any good strategies out there for plowing through the material quickly? Do most of you read the entire passage and then answer the questions, or skim the questions first and go back to read as necessary?

R E A D S L O W L Y (seriously)

well, what do you average on the RC section?

I'm at about 80% on average.

I actually just tried my first set without any outlining or other notations (which I've always done) and actually got through in 8.5 minutes at 85-ish%. I did have to spend more time reading when I went back to the passage, but still my overall time wasn't bad. Gotta keep trying this and see if that wasn't just luck.

[Madman]

A bunch of people advocate underlining etc. For me, my best RC scores have always been when I just put down my pencil and read. Try both strategies on a number of PT's and see what works best or feels most comfortable.

[7ED]

It depends on what makes you focus. I underline cause it keeps my mind on what the passages (which i think everyone can agree are EXCRUCIATINGLY boring) are saying, instead of whats going on in another galaxy.

If underlining distracts u from the passage then that might be a bad idea, but usually most people I think find marking up the text helpful. Oh, and yes, take ur time reading the question. If ur rereading parts, it means ur not focusing. Don't panic if that happens, it just means you need practice keeping ur eyes on the ball.

[SoCalKevin]

It depends on what makes you focus. I underline cause it keeps my mind on what the passages (which i think everyone can agree are EXCRUCIATINGLY boring) are saying, instead of whats going on in another galaxy.

If underlining distracts u from the passage then that might be a bad idea, but usually most people I think find marking up the text helpful. Oh, and yes, take ur time reading the question. If ur rereading parts, it means ur not focusing. Don't panic if that happens, it just means you need practice keeping ur eyes on the ball.

You hit the nail on the head with both those points. Trying to focus is harder than it sounds. And I've found that about 40% of my missed questions are because I didn't read the question carefully.

[letsdoit1982]

A bunch of people advocate underlining etc. For me, my best RC scores have always been when I just put down my pencil and read. Try both strategies on a number of PT's and see what works best or feels most comfortable.

+1 I like this strategy, because when I'm reading a sentence and stop midway through it to underline, box, etc., my flow is messed up. For some reason, when I do the questions, I'm usually able to quickly locate relevant information even though it's not marked.

Different strokes, obviously. Experiment with multiple strategies.

[llawguru]

A bunch of people advocate underlining etc. For me, my best RC scores have always been when I just put down my pencil and read. Try both strategies on a number of PT's and see what works best or feels most comfortable.

+1

I do better when when I just read. No notations or underlining.

[hv1]

the trick to RC is to remember what the argument is and if there are any counter or supporting arguments in the passage.