Manhattan RC Guide Forum

[O Captain My Captain]

What are your thoughts on the book?

I just finished it.

The final part of the book is a timed RC section.

I got -11.

I was very happy with the first passage. I had -1
the the second passage -1
then the third and fourth passages went to shit

I feel like I learned a lot of great stuff, but I didn't perform very well on that last drill which is sort of upsetting.

Hows the LSAT Trainer RC guide? Is it any better? I just need to practice more I'm sure. Kind of bummed out.

[90convoy]

What are your thoughts on the book?

I just finished it.

The final part of the book is a timed RC section.

I got -11.

I was very happy with the first passage. I had -1
the the second passage -1
then the third and fourth passages went to shit

I feel like I learned a lot of great stuff, but I didn't perform very well on that last drill which is sort of upsetting.

Hows the LSAT Trainer RC guide? Is it any better? I just need to practice more I'm sure. Kind of bummed out.

Yes, you are right you do need to practice. The techniques you learn in the book have to sink in and those skills have to be practiced a lot. I did the Manhattan book and was still at like -10 when I finished. With practice and fine tuning I was able to get down to -6 average with -2 being my best. IMO 7sage memory method is very helpful.

[Pneumonia]

What are your thoughts on the book?

I just finished it.

The final part of the book is a timed RC section.

I got -11.

I was very happy with the first passage. I had -1
the the second passage -1
then the third and fourth passages went to shit

I feel like I learned a lot of great stuff, but I didn't perform very well on that last drill which is sort of upsetting.

Hows the LSAT Trainer RC guide? Is it any better? I just need to practice more I'm sure. Kind of bummed out.

Learning the method enables you to improve your performance, but it doesn't in itself help you. There is no book that will automatically get you to -0 on your first RC section after reading it. You're going to have to practice a lot for that.

Think of the various books/methods etc as a starting point, and browse them until you find one that feels suitable for you. Then implement it over and over; that is when you'll start to see improvement.

[bp shinners]

Learning the method enables you to improve your performance, but it doesn't in itself help you. There is no book that will automatically get you to -0 on your first RC section after reading it. You're going to have to practice a lot for that.

Think of the various books/methods etc as a starting point, and browse them until you find one that feels suitable for you. Then implement it over and over; that is when you'll start to see improvement.

Exactly.

Going -1 on the first two passages is a good sign that you have the basics down. It's only when it moved to (presumably) more difficult passages with a bit of a time crunch that you started to feel the pressure and see your score suffer as a result. Practice will iron out those issues.

[Clearly]

Keep practicing. The Mlsat Rc guide is great!

[Straw_Mandible]

To answer your question about the LSAT Trainer RC lessons: I think they are extremely good, and well worth the read. I do not know how the Trainer's approach to RC differs from Manhattan's, since I haven't yet read the Manhattan guide, but the Trainer has a way of walking the reader through passages in order to habituate the process of reading for reasoning structure, which I have found to be very useful. Also, the lesson about question types and common correct/incorrect answer characteristics contains many shrewd insights which have helped me improve in my drills dramatically. Highly recommended if you find yourself struggling to implement what you've learned in the Manhattan RC guide.