Reading Comprehension Help Forum

[Matikpa]

I'm having a lot of trouble with Reading Comprehension. I've tried underlining conclusions and important information, understanding the structure of the passage, summarizing each paragraph before going onto the next one, and even memorizing important info before going onto the questions. I keep getting, on average, -4 per passage. I'm beginning to lose hope in RC. I complete 4-5 passages/day so I feel I'm doing them frequently enough. Aside from Art passages, I can stay focused on the topic fairly easily. What am I doing wrong? Are there any tips I should try?

Thanks.

[BrownieD]

I personally wouldn't waste time underlining so much during your first reading of the passage. I improved significantly when I just took a genuine interest in what ever the passage was. You will remember the organization and details better if you're actually interested, like you're reading for pleasure. I'd only underline to keep track of details I might need to answer a question. It doesn't even need to be a complete underline, just a mark or symbol. Asking yourself questions about the reading, making predictions, or challenging the author in your head might help to engage you more.

[musedreverie]

Underlining for me only helped when I'm underlining in preparation for fact-specific questions. Best advice is to underline only the part in the passage that's listing facts and you feel like you're 90% sure fact-specific question regarding that is going to come up.

Underlining doesn't work at other times because when you underline everything you think are important --i.e. the writer's opinion, critics' opinions, the subject's opinion etc--then you end up highlighting more than half the passage. This is because the LSAT passages already are condensed version of much longer article or a compilation of articles; everything in that short article is meant to be important.

So don't underline things you think may be important. Because when you're solving the questions, you won't be able to remember which one of the underlined facts you should go back to as reference, and you spend ages trying to figure it out, wasting precious time.

What I did was as I went through the article, I tried to memorise after each paragraph the main theme/main point of that paragraph. Sometimes I'd write down in 5-6 word sentences what the main point was after each paragraph, but quit this later as well because it was taking too much time. Also important is the author's opinion, so watch out for words indicating author's opinions.

RC can be pain in the arse. I think you just have to grit your teeth for 35 minutes during RC and try to memorise the 4 articles as you're reading them.

[Harry_Pluxen]

Underlining for me only helped when I'm underlining in preparation for fact-specific questions. Best advice is to underline only the part in the passage that's listing facts and you feel like you're 90% sure fact-specific question regarding that is going to come up.

Underlining doesn't work at other times because when you underline everything you think are important --i.e. the writer's opinion, critics' opinions, the subject's opinion etc--then you end up highlighting more than half the passage. This is because the LSAT passages already are condensed version of much longer article or a compilation of articles; everything in that short article is meant to be important.

So don't underline things you think may be important. Because when you're solving the questions, you won't be able to remember which one of the underlined facts you should go back to as reference, and you spend ages trying to figure it out, wasting precious time.

What I did was as I went through the article, I tried to memorise after each paragraph the main theme/main point of that paragraph. Sometimes I'd write down in 5-6 word sentences what the main point was after each paragraph, but quit this later as well because it was taking too much time. Also important is the author's opinion, so watch out for words indicating author's opinions.

RC can be pain in the arse. I think you just have to grit your teeth for 35 minutes during RC and try to memorise the 4 articles as you're reading them.

I second this.

I would look into the 7 sage memory method as well if you still have time. Read a paragraph, cover it up and write out 1-3 bullet points beside it as a memory aid. I feel more comfortable with RC passages since I started doing this. Just as with the logic games, spending more time up front with a passage has its advantages. As mused reverie said, underlining has its limits.