Topic Difficulty Forum

[Marlins]

Hey guys, this is my first post here on the forums!

I've been noticing that a lot of the questions I miss on LR discuss topics in which I'm not familiar with and/or can't relate to (e.g. science topics). When I read about something I've never heard of before and can't even picture it in my mind I find it hard to understand what's going on in the stimuli (without having to go back and re-read it very slowly & closely)-even when it's one of the first few questions in a section where the questions generally require a small amount of reasoning to workout (this is also an issue for me in RC when I have to read a really dense/boring passage).

Does anyone have any tips on how to quickly understand and relate to stimuli's on "weird" topics?

Thanks in advance!

[EarlCat]

Stop trying to understand the topic.

[PolarBear]

I'm going to quote from another thread. I personally really like this method and believe it's important to be able to break down LR (and the test for that matter) in this way.

One thing that can help is to train yourself to read science lingo with an abbreviated letter. For example, if you read a sentence in an LR question stem that says "antihistamines produce increased vascular permeability" just say in your head "A produces IVP".

Focus on the structure of the argument/factual statement rather than the topic.

This.

The logic behind the question has nothing to do with your comprehension of science. Don't even read the word, just remember that there's a big jumble of letters starting with Q and that big jumble is used to create some kind of reaction or something. It's not like you're gonna write a paper on it.

This is true for the whole test. A game about electrical switches has nothing to do with your understanding of electricity. A reading comp passage about Native American seamstresses has nothing to do with your knowledge of sewing. The topics are just window dressing so that you don't have to spend three hours reading formulas involving X and Y.

EarlCat, who posted above, was/is? an LSAT tutor (and he always seems to give brilliant advice), so his stamp of approval is always good as well!

If you'd like to see the thread, it can be found here: http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 7#p4634357