Need for speed (for RC) Forum

[DoYouEvenTLS]

I've been doing RC passages untimed for the past 2 weeks and though I have progressed somewhat slightly (used to get -5 per passage now I get around -2 to -0 (again, this is untimed)), I'm concerned that I won't be able to complete all 4 passages of a timed section correctly when I start taking PTs next week. It usually takes me around 10-15 mins to complete ONE passage and its questions. My question is whether I can get faster and "learn" how to approach RC just like LG.

[mornincounselor]

Post removed.

[RZ5646]

You can't reduce RC to a few mechanical tricks. But you can get faster.

[DoYouEvenTLS]

Is there value in re-doing passages that I've already completed?

[eli2015]

Is there value in re-doing passages that I've already completed?

Yes, it helps you see structure better, regardless if you have done it or not, and it helps you to familiarize yourself with LSAT material, and topics, as well as keep yourself engaged.

[killingmesoftly]

In my opinion the best way to learn to do RC quickly and well is to spend as much time as possible reading books, essays, and articles that have some depth to them. My friends (and myself) who enjoy reading like this in their free time all do better on RC. So in addition to studying I would spend any free moments you have reading, and preferably reading in print as opposed to on a screen.

[BlueprintJason]

I agree with a lot of what other posters in here are saying. Particularly, if you spend your free time reading challenging material rather than Netflixing 24 hours per day, then you will get better at reading and understanding dense material on the LSAT. You can't cram for this, it's kind of a lifetime thing. Although, doing some reading (particularly of academic articles) will most likely help you with the style of the LSAT passages. I got some random stuff for spare time reading when I was prepping: a Columbia University journal of Gender and International Affairs, the economist, scientific American, and a music theory journal (an area I'm not familiar with, two gold standards, and an area where I had substantial background. Not sure if any of this helped, but I can't imagine that it would hurt you.

That being said, I don't think it is the BEST way to prepare for taking the RC section of the LSAT. The best way to do that is practice strategies and do/redo passages. I think the above is more of a nice thing to do in your spare time that is somewhat productive--think of it as an active study break, not actual studying.

At Blueprint, we have students focus on the major points of view in the discussion, the main big-picture takeaway from each paragraph (structure), and things that frequently pop up in questions.

I think it's important to find a strategy that's kind of in between the two extremes alluded to above. You don't want to read too fast only really capturing the main points and then miss the nuances and fail to make important predictions about what will come up in the questions. You also can't highlight EVERY little thing because it a) takes too long and b) you don't actually see anything (I.e. what's important) when you highlight everything. The thing I see most students do is write WAY TOO MUCH in the passage, instead of focusing on fully understanding everything and mapping out the structure.

It's key to find the balance between being able to answer many questions without having to refer back to the passage while having a good sense of where to look back (knowing the structure) when you do need to check/confirm your answer.

I like teaching students to do this by asking them after reading a paragraph 1) what's the one thing the author wants to take away from this paragraph?-- i.e. why are you boring me with this?--2) What main points of view (or teams) are present here? And 3) Are there any details you see here that frequently pop up in questions? You'd be surprised after repetition (re-doing passages and studying them carefully) how good you get at spotting and predicting what will come up.

Also, focusing on accuracy at this stage also has the ability to help you build speed later once you turn to that. If you are more confident and are able to get to the answer consistently, then you are going to be able to move on and not get bogged-down as easily once you start practicing. Accuracy is key in RC, because unlike LG, it's much harder to get 100% correct even untimed. At this point, I would focus on getting down to -1 or -0 and do lots and lots of practice. Some speed will build naturally and you have plenty of time to drill for speed once you get midway through your prep where accuracy is good.

HTH and let me know if you need me to clarify any of this!

[DoYouEvenTLS]

HTH and let me know if you need me to clarify any of this!

Thanks for the reply..
I spent most of today and yesterday drilling RC. I took 2 timed sections and found myself with just under 5 mins just as I was starting the 4th passage. I got -5 on one section and -10 on the other section...
As I posted in the original post, I plan on taking my first (of plenty) PTs next week; how should I go about the RC section: Do I give myself a little bit of extra time to complete it? Or do I give myself the alotted 35 mins only?

[BlueprintJason]

HTH and let me know if you need me to clarify any of this!

Thanks for the reply..
I spent most of today and yesterday drilling RC. I took 2 timed sections and found myself with just under 5 mins just as I was starting the 4th passage. I got -5 on one section and -10 on the other section...
As I posted in the original post, I plan on taking my first (of plenty) PTs next week; how should I go about the RC section: Do I give myself a little bit of extra time to complete it? Or do I give myself the alotted 35 mins only?

Good questions!

Well, I think you aren't that far off from having the timing pretty much ok. In terms of your long term development, I would still focus on accuracy primarily since you aren't that far off on speed. You will get better naturally with practice and you are almost there.

As to the sections you listed where you had about 5 min left, where did you miss your questions?

I wouldn't give myself extra time per se. But, what I would do is take the section timed up to 35 min, and then bubble in guesses for what is remaining. Then I would go back and blind review the section (probably re-read the 4th passage especially since you might have been rushed). I'd do this by re-trying any question that gave me trouble as I was working timed for accuracy, and then I would try and finish the questions I didn't get to untimed. The goal here is to have your untimed score (after blind review) be close to -0 and significantly better than your timed performance. Eventually, you'll want to see that timed score creep lower towards your blind review score.

I wouldn't start freaking out about being slow or anything at this point. Still think accuracy. You don't have to get every question right in RC to get a 180, and you're usually better off nailing what you try than rushing, particularly this far out.

HTH. Let me know if you need clarifying.

Jason