Am I Doomed?

[Helphelphelp]

So I took a practice test and went -13 on the RC..... I was devastated because I've seen many people say that RC is the hardest section to improve your score. Does anyone have experience drastically improving their RC score? Also, has anyone that has ever taken a Testmasters course think that the classes' review of RC is comprehensive?

[dukelawguy144]

So I took a practice test and went -13 on the RC..... I was devastated because I've seen many people say that RC is the hardest section to improve your score. Does anyone have experience drastically improving their RC score? Also, has anyone that has ever taken a Testmasters course think that the classes' review of RC is comprehensive?

Dude, thats a real bad RC score. I would recommend focusing on your criticial reading skills for a long time (e.g reading scientific American, economist, the scientific inquirer), so your reading skills will reach an adequate level. Then take the last only after you feel comfortable reading dense passages and understadning the argument structure.

If you cant, re-consider law school. LS is all about the RC and I think that section of the exam is far more indicative of law school success than LG

[Mroberts3]

First I would check the questions you missed to see what mistakes you made. It could turn out that something specific is throwing you off (extreme answer choices, reasonable vs unreasonable inferences etc).


The above response is also useful -- if you understand the passage, then most of the questions are not too hard. I tutored SAT kids who would breeze through a reading passage and claim to have "gotten it" only to totally crash and burn on the questions or when asked about specific inferences etc. Spend some time reading LSAT passages and asking yourself (or have someone ask you) critical questions about the passage to test your underlying knowledge. Specific words can give away the author's tone and other key details, so make sure you pick up on them.

[GermX]

Don't panic. -13 on RC first time you take it is normal. I was - 12 on my diagnostic, on the actual exam I lost -4 on RC (December 09). It was funny because my usual best section (LR) I got -10 which got me the lame 169.

[dominkay]

So I took a practice test and went -13 on the RC..... I was devastated because I've seen many people say that RC is the hardest section to improve your score. Does anyone have experience drastically improving their RC score? Also, has anyone that has ever taken a Testmasters course think that the classes' review of RC is comprehensive?

I took a Testmasters course. The Testmasters method for doing RC is great, and I knew several kids who improved a whole lot.

Also, read more.

[3|ink]

So I took a practice test and went -13 on the RC..... I was devastated because I've seen many people say that RC is the hardest section to improve your score. Does anyone have experience drastically improving their RC score? Also, has anyone that has ever taken a Testmasters course think that the classes' review of RC is comprehensive?

I took a Testmasters course. The Testmasters method for doing RC is great, and I knew several kids who improved a whole lot.

Also, read more.

I just finished reading Capitalism and Freedom. Freidman was a good recommendation. Thank you.

[dominkay]

So I took a practice test and went -13 on the RC..... I was devastated because I've seen many people say that RC is the hardest section to improve your score. Does anyone have experience drastically improving their RC score? Also, has anyone that has ever taken a Testmasters course think that the classes' review of RC is comprehensive?

I took a Testmasters course. The Testmasters method for doing RC is great, and I knew several kids who improved a whole lot.

Also, read more.

I just finished reading Capitalism and Freedom. Freidman was a good recommendation. Thank you.

I'm glad to hear it! Actually, Milton Friedman's son is a law professor and his books are also really good. His seminal work is available online: --LinkRemoved--

[TheGambler]

This was your first PT ever? I wouldn't sweat it yet - it could just be you're misunderstanding what the questions are asking/ aren't used to the RC framework and/or didn't pace yourself. Study a bit more, read through TLS, LSAT Blog, and you'll become familiar with the question types. What you PT then will be more reflective of what you're capable of.

[legalease9]

So I took a practice test and went -13 on the RC..... I was devastated because I've seen many people say that RC is the hardest section to improve your score. Does anyone have experience drastically improving their RC score? Also, has anyone that has ever taken a Testmasters course think that the classes' review of RC is comprehensive?

Dude, thats a real bad RC score. I would recommend focusing on your criticial reading skills for a long time (e.g reading scientific American, economist, the scientific inquirer), so your reading skills will reach an adequate level. Then take the last only after you feel comfortable reading dense passages and understadning the argument structure.

If you cant, re-consider law school. LS is all about the RC and I think that section of the exam is far more indicative of law school success than LG

This is all wrong. Don't start reading unrelated magazines because its what "smart people" read. This is BS. If you've graduated college you probably have the RC skills to do well with practice. You need to focus on the test!

Just slam down as many practice tests as you can and perhaps buy the reading comprehension bible. http://www.amazon.com/PowerScore-LSAT-R ... 0980178223

I did the logical reasoning bible and it helped a LOT.

[TheGambler]

Also - you didn't mention what part of the RC you had a problem with - that might be helpful for ppl giving you advice.

[TheTopBloke]

Yes.

[jrose421]

Don't panic. -13 on RC first time you take it is normal. I was - 12 on my diagnostic, on the actual exam I lost -4 on RC (December 09). It was funny because my usual best section (LR) I got -10 which got me the lame 169.

I was the same way. I can't remember the exact score but I was around -12 on the diagnostic and ended up getting -4 on the June 2010 LSAT. I took the Testmasters course, which offered some good advice for approaching RC. However, I think the biggest factor is taking as many practice sections as possible. Make sure that if this is your weakest section that you put more effort into this section than LR and Games. With practice you can see dramatic increases in RC by learning where author's attitude and key distinctions can be found within the passage. Don't lose faith just yet.

[balzern]

You can improve on RC, just do a ton of practice sections and really force yourself to concentrate.