RC Repetition helpful? Forum

[jared6180]

I am terrible at RC. Will creating a book with a bunch of passages and questions help with speed? I just did a RC section and got 9 correct out of 26. I generally get the first couple correct, but then I start feeling rushed and get most of the rest incorrect. Ask me the same questions without a time limit and I get them all correct.

[Tyr]

Have you studied with MSLAT, LSAT Trainer, or PS Bibles? With only 9 out of 26 correct, it sounds like you need to go back and study the fundamentals before you worry about reading a book of passages. Without solid fundamentals, you probably won't make much headway.

[jared6180]

I am taking a course, I guess I am just not grasping the basics. I do -1, -2 on the first section, and progressively worse the rest of the section. I end up at -5, -6.

[jared6180]

Have you studied with MSLAT, LSAT Trainer, or PS Bibles? With only 9 out of 26 correct, it sounds like you need to go back and study the fundamentals before you worry about reading a book of passages. Without solid fundamentals, you probably won't make much headway.

Is that Rush Revere in your avatar? LOL.

[bp shinners]

I am terrible at RC. Will creating a book with a bunch of passages and questions help with speed? I just did a RC section and got 9 correct out of 26. I generally get the first couple correct, but then I start feeling rushed and get most of the rest incorrect. Ask me the same questions without a time limit and I get them all correct.

First, as others have said, a 9 out of 26 calls into question your understanding of the section, so it's not time to work on speed.

To your question, it absolutely will. If you read through an RC passage and questions enough times, your brain will remember what showed up in the correct answers. Then, reading the passage, it will stop focusing on the information that won't help answer them. Do this enough, and you'll train your brain to recognize what's important in the passage and what isn't, as there is a definite pattern to what information gets asked about.

[10052014]

.

[jared6180]

I am terrible at RC. Will creating a book with a bunch of passages and questions help with speed? I just did a RC section and got 9 correct out of 26. I generally get the first couple correct, but then I start feeling rushed and get most of the rest incorrect. Ask me the same questions without a time limit and I get them all correct.

First, as others have said, a 9 out of 26 calls into question your understanding of the section, so it's not time to work on speed.

I have improved on the LG and LR but gotten worse at RC, that is what really worries me. I have been doing a lot of reading this week though for my job. Seems like more sticks now than a year ago. Since I am a member of the BluePrint course I plan on going through the BP Movie this weekend and hitting RC lessons really hard. I haven't prepped at all since September so I am really getting back on the wagon for the Feb Test.

[bp shinners]

I am terrible at RC. Will creating a book with a bunch of passages and questions help with speed? I just did a RC section and got 9 correct out of 26. I generally get the first couple correct, but then I start feeling rushed and get most of the rest incorrect. Ask me the same questions without a time limit and I get them all correct.

First, as others have said, a 9 out of 26 calls into question your understanding of the section, so it's not time to work on speed.

I have improved on the LG and LR but gotten worse at RC, that is what really worries me. I have been doing a lot of reading this week though for my job. Seems like more sticks now than a year ago. Since I am a member of the BluePrint course I plan on going through the BP Movie this weekend and hitting RC lessons really hard. I haven't prepped at all since September so I am really getting back on the wagon for the Feb Test.

Sounds like a solid plan! I know our RC curriculum really well, so feel free to get in touch with any questions about how to use it!

[RobertGolddust]

9 out of 26? that's cause for concern...

[meegee]

9 out of 26? that's cause for concern...

Robert is just being a party pooper. Ignore him. Everyone started somewhere.

9 out of 26 is less a cause for concern and more a barometer that let's you know where you currently stand. Read as many RC guides as possible. And then drill as many passages as possible. Check out Mike from the Trainer and his posts about reviewing for RC. That being said, 9/26 means that you have a lot of work ahead of you.

One thing I did early on in my RC prep was to go back and underline relevant sentences for all the questions (after I finished the passage). I'm not sure how useful this was, but I hoped it helped to give me a better understanding of what sort of information to look out for in RC.

[bp shinners]

One thing I did early on in my RC prep was to go back and underline relevant sentences for all the questions (after I finished the passage). I'm not sure how useful this was, but I hoped it helped to give me a better understanding of what sort of information to look out for in RC.

This is a great drill to start you on the path to focusing on the important elements of the passage. It trains your brain to pick out the stuff that shows up in questions, as there's a definite pattern to it.

Additionally, check any notes/underlines you took while reading it. If they didn't help you answer a question, it was something you shouldn't have focused on.

At least 75% of RC is knowing what they're going to ask about while reading the passage. You can absolutely predict it, and these drills will help you get there.

[KDLMaj]

(TL;DR some exercises and concepts to help you ace RC)

You're suffering from a combination of timing anxiety and misplaced priorities in the section. Here are 7 pieces of advice to get you started with RC. They won't solve all of your issues, but they'll solve most of them:

1) EXERCISE: First start by training yourself to find the Big Picture. Practice reading the intro paragraph and the 1st paragraph of each sentence for the gist, and then try to figure out what each paragraph is going to be about. ALWAYS read the intro paragraph and the 1st sentences before diving into the rest- once you have a big picture view, it's really easy to skim the rest of the junk. As you get better at this, start training yourself to guess where the author's main idea will be located so you know which paragraph to read more carefully and which ones are junk.

2) CONCEPT: Every passage on the LSAT is about one of four things: someone's theory/belief, a debate between multiple perspectives, something significant someone has done, or a problem/phenomenon (these days- mostly problem). Start trying to figure out which of these scenarios you're in when you read for the Big Picture- it makes it easier to get past the details and get to what matters. This is the true scope of the passage- make identifying it your first goal when you skim the intro and 1st sentences. (For example: a passage about dead dolphins and a researcher's hypothesis about why they died is really about the hypothesis- NOT the dolphins. It's a theory passage. Focus on the hypothesis, ignore dolphin crap)

3) CONCEPT: Once you know which of those passages you're in, all you have to do is find the author's opinion of that scope. That gives you the main idea, and the primary purpose. Broadly speaking, an author can either be pro, con, or neutral (if neutral, the main idea is just a description of the scope). If the author is con, be on the lookout for an alternative perspective (which then becomes the main idea). Once you have main idea, you can answer at least half of the questions in most passages. (It is the single most important concept you're tested on) THE ONLY THING YOU NEED TO KNOW WHEN YOU LEAVE A PASSAGE IS THE AUTHOR'S MAIN IDEA AND WHAT EACH PARAGRAPH DOES. THE REST IS MOSTLY JUST CLOGGING UP YOUR BRAIN.

4) EXCERCISE: The RC section assigns 6-8 questions per passage. Once you subtract your standard big picture questions like main idea, organization of passage, etc. most passages are left with 4-5 questions. On average, a passage is testing you on 5 or 6 sentences. The rest is utter garbage that doesn't matter. You have to read these passages KNOWING that most of what you see is never going to show up in the questions. Of those 4-5 questions, most of them are incredibly obvious about where in the passage they're coming from. Go flip through some passages you've never read and try to answer some of the questions- using their clues to take you back to the passage for the answer. You'll be shocked at how many you can answer VERY quickly. So there's no reason to try to read a passage by memorizing every little thing mentioned- most of the questions will tell you exactly where to go later.

5) EXERCISE: When you review a passage, ALWAYS mark where in the passage all of the correct answers came from while you're doing it. Then go back over the passage and figure out why they tested what they tested, how you could have known those were going to be tested, and what you focused on that ended up being worthless (and how you could've known it was worthless). This is the single most important thing you can do when reviewing RC.

6) CONCEPT: The LSAT RC section is testing you on your issue spotting skills. The parts of the passage they draw on for questions are incredibly predictable. Here's your cheat sheet:

When you're reading a passage, if you run into a sentence that matches one of the following criteria, then you are likely to be tested on it:
1) Someone's Opinion (They'll test A's opinion over someone else's opinion if they have to choose)
2) Contrast between two things (especially between opinions)
3) An Emphasized Detail (either set off by a phrase like "For Example", is a proper name or noun, or something that supports the A's opinion directly)

If it doesn't fall into one of those categories, it's not going to matter.

7) CONCEPT: You can predict which sections of a passage you'll be tested on, but you can't predict HOW you'll be tested on it. For example, the LSAT may choose to test you on an example used to back up the author's main idea. They could test you in the following ways:
1) The passage states which of the following about <example>? (testing you on the example itself)
2) Describe the role the example played in the passage. (describing what it DOES, not what it IS)
3) The author would most likely agree with which of the following statements about the example: (really testing you on the A's opinion)
etc

Each of these questions requires a different reading of that part of the passage. So don't waste your time reading the crap carefully the first time. Just mark where it is, figure out the main idea and what each paragraph is doing, and move along. You can be the person who understands every piece of the passage better than everyone in the room, but that doesn't mean you're going to be able to answer the questions. Wait until a question directs you back to a piece of the passage before you read it carefully. THE ONLY EXCEPTION TO THIS IS THE MAIN IDEA. YOU MUST WALK AWAY KNOWING THE MAIN IDEA WELL BEFORE GOING TO THE QUESTIONS.

You internalize all of this, and you're going to solve 75% of your problems.

[CocoSunshine]

This is incredibly helpful! Thank you so much for sharing these thoughts.

(TL;DR some exercises and concepts to help you ace RC)

You're suffering from a combination of timing anxiety and misplaced priorities in the section. Here are 7 pieces of advice to get you started with RC. They won't solve all of your issues, but they'll solve most of them:

1) EXERCISE: First start by training yourself to find the Big Picture. Practice reading the intro paragraph and the 1st paragraph of each sentence for the gist, and then try to figure out what each paragraph is going to be about. ALWAYS read the intro paragraph and the 1st sentences before diving into the rest- once you have a big picture view, it's really easy to skim the rest of the junk. As you get better at this, start training yourself to guess where the author's main idea will be located so you know which paragraph to read more carefully and which ones are junk.

2) CONCEPT: Every passage on the LSAT is about one of four things: someone's theory/belief, a debate between multiple perspectives, something significant someone has done, or a problem/phenomenon (these days- mostly problem). Start trying to figure out which of these scenarios you're in when you read for the Big Picture- it makes it easier to get past the details and get to what matters. This is the true scope of the passage- make identifying it your first goal when you skim the intro and 1st sentences. (For example: a passage about dead dolphins and a researcher's hypothesis about why they died is really about the hypothesis- NOT the dolphins. It's a theory passage. Focus on the hypothesis, ignore dolphin crap)

3) CONCEPT: Once you know which of those passages you're in, all you have to do is find the author's opinion of that scope. That gives you the main idea, and the primary purpose. Broadly speaking, an author can either be pro, con, or neutral (if neutral, the main idea is just a description of the scope). If the author is con, be on the lookout for an alternative perspective (which then becomes the main idea). Once you have main idea, you can answer at least half of the questions in most passages. (It is the single most important concept you're tested on) THE ONLY THING YOU NEED TO KNOW WHEN YOU LEAVE A PASSAGE IS THE AUTHOR'S MAIN IDEA AND WHAT EACH PARAGRAPH DOES. THE REST IS MOSTLY JUST CLOGGING UP YOUR BRAIN.

4) EXCERCISE: The RC section assigns 6-8 questions per passage. Once you subtract your standard big picture questions like main idea, organization of passage, etc. most passages are left with 4-5 questions. On average, a passage is testing you on 5 or 6 sentences. The rest is utter garbage that doesn't matter. You have to read these passages KNOWING that most of what you see is never going to show up in the questions. Of those 4-5 questions, most of them are incredibly obvious about where in the passage they're coming from. Go flip through some passages you've never read and try to answer some of the questions- using their clues to take you back to the passage for the answer. You'll be shocked at how many you can answer VERY quickly. So there's no reason to try to read a passage by memorizing every little thing mentioned- most of the questions will tell you exactly where to go later.

5) EXERCISE: When you review a passage, ALWAYS mark where in the passage all of the correct answers came from while you're doing it. Then go back over the passage and figure out why they tested what they tested, how you could have known those were going to be tested, and what you focused on that ended up being worthless (and how you could've known it was worthless). This is the single most important thing you can do when reviewing RC.

6) CONCEPT: The LSAT RC section is testing you on your issue spotting skills. The parts of the passage they draw on for questions are incredibly predictable. Here's your cheat sheet:

When you're reading a passage, if you run into a sentence that matches one of the following criteria, then you are likely to be tested on it:
1) Someone's Opinion (They'll test A's opinion over someone else's opinion if they have to choose)
2) Contrast between two things (especially between opinions)
3) An Emphasized Detail (either set off by a phrase like "For Example", is a proper name or noun, or something that supports the A's opinion directly)

If it doesn't fall into one of those categories, it's not going to matter.

7) CONCEPT: You can predict which sections of a passage you'll be tested on, but you can't predict HOW you'll be tested on it. For example, the LSAT may choose to test you on an example used to back up the author's main idea. They could test you in the following ways:
1) The passage states which of the following about <example>? (testing you on the example itself)
2) Describe the role the example played in the passage. (describing what it DOES, not what it IS)
3) The author would most likely agree with which of the following statements about the example: (really testing you on the A's opinion)
etc

Each of these questions requires a different reading of that part of the passage. So don't waste your time reading the crap carefully the first time. Just mark where it is, figure out the main idea and what each paragraph is doing, and move along. You can be the person who understands every piece of the passage better than everyone in the room, but that doesn't mean you're going to be able to answer the questions. Wait until a question directs you back to a piece of the passage before you read it carefully. THE ONLY EXCEPTION TO THIS IS THE MAIN IDEA. YOU MUST WALK AWAY KNOWING THE MAIN IDEA WELL BEFORE GOING TO THE QUESTIONS.

You internalize all of this, and you're going to solve 75% of your problems.

[Bosh]

(TL;DR some exercises and concepts to help you ace RC)

You're suffering from a combination of timing anxiety and misplaced priorities in the section. Here are 7 pieces of advice to get you started with RC. They won't solve all of your issues, but they'll solve most of them:

1) EXERCISE: First start by training yourself to find the Big Picture. Practice reading the intro paragraph and the 1st paragraph of each sentence for the gist, and then try to figure out what each paragraph is going to be about. ALWAYS read the intro paragraph and the 1st sentences before diving into the rest- once you have a big picture view, it's really easy to skim the rest of the junk. As you get better at this, start training yourself to guess where the author's main idea will be located so you know which paragraph to read more carefully and which ones are junk.

2) CONCEPT: Every passage on the LSAT is about one of four things: someone's theory/belief, a debate between multiple perspectives, something significant someone has done, or a problem/phenomenon (these days- mostly problem). Start trying to figure out which of these scenarios you're in when you read for the Big Picture- it makes it easier to get past the details and get to what matters. This is the true scope of the passage- make identifying it your first goal when you skim the intro and 1st sentences. (For example: a passage about dead dolphins and a researcher's hypothesis about why they died is really about the hypothesis- NOT the dolphins. It's a theory passage. Focus on the hypothesis, ignore dolphin crap)

3) CONCEPT: Once you know which of those passages you're in, all you have to do is find the author's opinion of that scope. That gives you the main idea, and the primary purpose. Broadly speaking, an author can either be pro, con, or neutral (if neutral, the main idea is just a description of the scope). If the author is con, be on the lookout for an alternative perspective (which then becomes the main idea). Once you have main idea, you can answer at least half of the questions in most passages. (It is the single most important concept you're tested on) THE ONLY THING YOU NEED TO KNOW WHEN YOU LEAVE A PASSAGE IS THE AUTHOR'S MAIN IDEA AND WHAT EACH PARAGRAPH DOES. THE REST IS MOSTLY JUST CLOGGING UP YOUR BRAIN.

4) EXCERCISE: The RC section assigns 6-8 questions per passage. Once you subtract your standard big picture questions like main idea, organization of passage, etc. most passages are left with 4-5 questions. On average, a passage is testing you on 5 or 6 sentences. The rest is utter garbage that doesn't matter. You have to read these passages KNOWING that most of what you see is never going to show up in the questions. Of those 4-5 questions, most of them are incredibly obvious about where in the passage they're coming from. Go flip through some passages you've never read and try to answer some of the questions- using their clues to take you back to the passage for the answer. You'll be shocked at how many you can answer VERY quickly. So there's no reason to try to read a passage by memorizing every little thing mentioned- most of the questions will tell you exactly where to go later.

5) EXERCISE: When you review a passage, ALWAYS mark where in the passage all of the correct answers came from while you're doing it. Then go back over the passage and figure out why they tested what they tested, how you could have known those were going to be tested, and what you focused on that ended up being worthless (and how you could've known it was worthless). This is the single most important thing you can do when reviewing RC.

6) CONCEPT: The LSAT RC section is testing you on your issue spotting skills. The parts of the passage they draw on for questions are incredibly predictable. Here's your cheat sheet:

When you're reading a passage, if you run into a sentence that matches one of the following criteria, then you are likely to be tested on it:
1) Someone's Opinion (They'll test A's opinion over someone else's opinion if they have to choose)
2) Contrast between two things (especially between opinions)
3) An Emphasized Detail (either set off by a phrase like "For Example", is a proper name or noun, or something that supports the A's opinion directly)

If it doesn't fall into one of those categories, it's not going to matter.

7) CONCEPT: You can predict which sections of a passage you'll be tested on, but you can't predict HOW you'll be tested on it. For example, the LSAT may choose to test you on an example used to back up the author's main idea. They could test you in the following ways:
1) The passage states which of the following about <example>? (testing you on the example itself)
2) Describe the role the example played in the passage. (describing what it DOES, not what it IS)
3) The author would most likely agree with which of the following statements about the example: (really testing you on the A's opinion)
etc

Each of these questions requires a different reading of that part of the passage. So don't waste your time reading the crap carefully the first time. Just mark where it is, figure out the main idea and what each paragraph is doing, and move along. You can be the person who understands every piece of the passage better than everyone in the room, but that doesn't mean you're going to be able to answer the questions. Wait until a question directs you back to a piece of the passage before you read it carefully. THE ONLY EXCEPTION TO THIS IS THE MAIN IDEA. YOU MUST WALK AWAY KNOWING THE MAIN IDEA WELL BEFORE GOING TO THE QUESTIONS.

You internalize all of this, and you're going to solve 75% of your problems.

That's truly helpful. I wish this could be tagged as a way of improving RC

[ket310]

Thanks to you! I'm struggling with RC as well and I will try this approach

(TL;DR some exercises and concepts to help you ace RC)

You're suffering from a combination of timing anxiety and misplaced priorities in the section. Here are 7 pieces of advice to get you started with RC. They won't solve all of your issues, but they'll solve most of them:

1) EXERCISE: First start by training yourself to find the Big Picture. Practice reading the intro paragraph and the 1st paragraph of each sentence for the gist, and then try to figure out what each paragraph is going to be about. ALWAYS read the intro paragraph and the 1st sentences before diving into the rest- once you have a big picture view, it's really easy to skim the rest of the junk. As you get better at this, start training yourself to guess where the author's main idea will be located so you know which paragraph to read more carefully and which ones are junk.

2) CONCEPT: Every passage on the LSAT is about one of four things: someone's theory/belief, a debate between multiple perspectives, something significant someone has done, or a problem/phenomenon (these days- mostly problem). Start trying to figure out which of these scenarios you're in when you read for the Big Picture- it makes it easier to get past the details and get to what matters. This is the true scope of the passage- make identifying it your first goal when you skim the intro and 1st sentences. (For example: a passage about dead dolphins and a researcher's hypothesis about why they died is really about the hypothesis- NOT the dolphins. It's a theory passage. Focus on the hypothesis, ignore dolphin crap)

3) CONCEPT: Once you know which of those passages you're in, all you have to do is find the author's opinion of that scope. That gives you the main idea, and the primary purpose. Broadly speaking, an author can either be pro, con, or neutral (if neutral, the main idea is just a description of the scope). If the author is con, be on the lookout for an alternative perspective (which then becomes the main idea). Once you have main idea, you can answer at least half of the questions in most passages. (It is the single most important concept you're tested on) THE ONLY THING YOU NEED TO KNOW WHEN YOU LEAVE A PASSAGE IS THE AUTHOR'S MAIN IDEA AND WHAT EACH PARAGRAPH DOES. THE REST IS MOSTLY JUST CLOGGING UP YOUR BRAIN.

4) EXCERCISE: The RC section assigns 6-8 questions per passage. Once you subtract your standard big picture questions like main idea, organization of passage, etc. most passages are left with 4-5 questions. On average, a passage is testing you on 5 or 6 sentences. The rest is utter garbage that doesn't matter. You have to read these passages KNOWING that most of what you see is never going to show up in the questions. Of those 4-5 questions, most of them are incredibly obvious about where in the passage they're coming from. Go flip through some passages you've never read and try to answer some of the questions- using their clues to take you back to the passage for the answer. You'll be shocked at how many you can answer VERY quickly. So there's no reason to try to read a passage by memorizing every little thing mentioned- most of the questions will tell you exactly where to go later.

5) EXERCISE: When you review a passage, ALWAYS mark where in the passage all of the correct answers came from while you're doing it. Then go back over the passage and figure out why they tested what they tested, how you could have known those were going to be tested, and what you focused on that ended up being worthless (and how you could've known it was worthless). This is the single most important thing you can do when reviewing RC.

6) CONCEPT: The LSAT RC section is testing you on your issue spotting skills. The parts of the passage they draw on for questions are incredibly predictable. Here's your cheat sheet:

When you're reading a passage, if you run into a sentence that matches one of the following criteria, then you are likely to be tested on it:
1) Someone's Opinion (They'll test A's opinion over someone else's opinion if they have to choose)
2) Contrast between two things (especially between opinions)
3) An Emphasized Detail (either set off by a phrase like "For Example", is a proper name or noun, or something that supports the A's opinion directly)

If it doesn't fall into one of those categories, it's not going to matter.

7) CONCEPT: You can predict which sections of a passage you'll be tested on, but you can't predict HOW you'll be tested on it. For example, the LSAT may choose to test you on an example used to back up the author's main idea. They could test you in the following ways:
1) The passage states which of the following about <example>? (testing you on the example itself)
2) Describe the role the example played in the passage. (describing what it DOES, not what it IS)
3) The author would most likely agree with which of the following statements about the example: (really testing you on the A's opinion)
etc

Each of these questions requires a different reading of that part of the passage. So don't waste your time reading the crap carefully the first time. Just mark where it is, figure out the main idea and what each paragraph is doing, and move along. You can be the person who understands every piece of the passage better than everyone in the room, but that doesn't mean you're going to be able to answer the questions. Wait until a question directs you back to a piece of the passage before you read it carefully. THE ONLY EXCEPTION TO THIS IS THE MAIN IDEA. YOU MUST WALK AWAY KNOWING THE MAIN IDEA WELL BEFORE GOING TO THE QUESTIONS.

You internalize all of this, and you're going to solve 75% of your problems.

[IgosduIkana]

RC was my weakest section throughout prep, and on test day as well, but repetition turned my score from "are you an imbecile" to "barely acceptable from the homo sapiens." Like others said you definitely need to learn the foundation first, and then move on to speed. Accuracy, Speed, then Stamina is how I trained.