Improving on Reading Comp.... Forum

[MrHan]

Okay so long story short I decided to push back my October LSAT to December because I'm not exactly scoring what I want on my practice exams.
I scored 160 ONCE, and all the other times I'm floating around 150-155. That said, I realized that I'm not doing that bad on any of the sections (usually getting 6-8 wrong on the LR sections, 5-8 wrong on the logic games). But it's the reading comprehension section that is really killing me (getting around 12-15 wrong AT LEAST).

I know there are those cookie cutter methods of improving on reading sections but can anyone give me any advice on how to improve on reading comprehension? I know there isn't a secret formula...it's just that no matter how hard I concentrate and focus on the reading passages...I just get stumped on some of the questions, well I guess a lot of the questions, and so...yeah...call this a last ditch effort help call.


I'd like to thank anyone that comments in advance.


-Brian

[sanibella]

How have you prepared so far for Reading Comp?

Also, that LG score has a lot of potential for improvement. Definitely wouldn't neglect that.

[MrHan]

How have you prepared so far for Reading Comp?

Also, that LG score has a lot of potential for improvement. Definitely wouldn't neglect that.

Well there's always improvement for everything! But yeah I agree with you.


I've been practicing RC by doing a bunch of RC passages and then blind reviewing them. Do you have any suggestions?

[Widdle_Dumpling]

Have you noticed a type of question that always stumps you? I did fine on my LSAT, but for the most part I hated the questions that were like "this author would be most likely to agree with which of the following statements?" which felt like an exercise in picking the least wrong answer.
Are you managing your time well? Reading the questions in advance before you read the passage?

[MrHan]

Have you noticed a type of question that always stumps you? I did fine on my LSAT, but for the most part I hated the questions that were like "this author would be most likely to agree with which of the following statements?" which felt like an exercise in picking the least wrong answer.
Are you managing your time well? Reading the questions in advance before you read the passage?

Yeah usually I get stumped on the "passage would infer" or the "author would be most likely to agree questions"

I usually finish all 4 passages in time...and no I do not read the questions in advance before I dive into the passage. Is that a method I should consider?

[sanibella]

Definitely don't read the question stems before reading the passage for RC. I would recommend LSAT Trainer, ASAP. I also found it very helpful to (untimed) break down passages thoroughly into main point, author's opinion, background, application, examples, etc, and write line references next to each answer choice confirming whether or not it was correct. I did this post LSAT Trainer and predrilling and found it helpful. Additionally, I also did the passages in SuperPrep untimed and read through LSAC's explanations after each passage.

[Widdle_Dumpling]

Have you noticed a type of question that always stumps you? I did fine on my LSAT, but for the most part I hated the questions that were like "this author would be most likely to agree with which of the following statements?" which felt like an exercise in picking the least wrong answer.
Are you managing your time well? Reading the questions in advance before you read the passage?

Yeah usually I get stumped on the "passage would infer" or the "author would be most likely to agree questions"

I usually finish all 4 passages in time...and no I do not read the questions in advance before I dive into the passage. Is that a method I should consider?

Try reading them in advance--it will familiarize you with what you should be reading for, so you know to be looking for the author's tone while you read, and will minimize the re-reading you have to do.

With passage would infer, in general you want to choose answers that are less assertive than others. (If you already have read advice like this, bear with me.) Like

This passage could most likely be used to support which of the following?
1. Women are always more emotional than men.
2. Women are never more emotional than men.
3. In certain types of interaction, some women show more empathy when considering responses.
4. Most men aren't as empathetic as women in certain types of interaction.

The answer to this hypothetical would almost certainly be C, because the first two deal in absolutes and are unlikely to be true in all cases, and the last one is a little too strong and likely isn't supported enough by the passage. So you generally want your conclusions to be weak, and your premises to be super strong.

[flash21]

hey

my advice is to buy manhattan reading comp book if you don't have it. I used to do just as bad as you at reading comp but this book really helped me. it is not a secret formula. Do exactly as this book says and then practice slow mo for a while until you feel comfortable being faster.

my issue was I had NO process for reading comp, unlike the other sections. Once I got a process, it feels a lot better and my scores are more consistent now. I used to miss 10-12 but now I miss around 7. I know its not great but this is relatively short period of time (a month or two?) and I feel like I'm only getting better.

[sanibella]

Have you noticed a type of question that always stumps you? I did fine on my LSAT, but for the most part I hated the questions that were like "this author would be most likely to agree with which of the following statements?" which felt like an exercise in picking the least wrong answer.
Are you managing your time well? Reading the questions in advance before you read the passage?

Yeah usually I get stumped on the "passage would infer" or the "author would be most likely to agree questions"

I usually finish all 4 passages in time...and no I do not read the questions in advance before I dive into the passage. Is that a method I should consider?

Try reading them in advance--it will familiarize you with what you should be reading for, so you know to be looking for the author's tone while you read, and will minimize the re-reading you have to do.

With passage would infer, in general you want to choose answers that are less assertive than others. (If you already have read advice like this, bear with me.) Like

This passage could most likely be used to support which of the following?
1. Women are always more emotional than men.
2. Women are never more emotional than men.
3. In certain types of interaction, some women show more empathy when considering responses.
4. Most men aren't as empathetic as women in certain types of interaction.

The answer to this hypothetical would almost certainly be C, because the first two deal in absolutes and are unlikely to be true in all cases, and the last one is a little too strong and likely isn't supported enough by the passage. So you generally want your conclusions to be weak, and your premises to be super strong.

I understand why you are saying this, and it sounds like this strategy works really well for you, but I don't think this is a strategy that is necessary or advisable for most test takers.

Having to hold all of the question stems in your head is just unnecessary and could potentially lead to confusion. You should read for a general understanding of the passage and how all parts of it relate to each other. You will be consistently tested on those relationships so no need to read the questions- if you read for relationships you will be able to answer all general questions confidently and find the details you need for specific questions easily.

Also, you should always be looking for the author's opinion while you read anyway, so no need to read a question stem to confirm you'll have to have an understanding of what the author thinks- you can generally be sure they will test you on it for every passage.

OP, I will recommend again the LSAT Trainer- really, really worth the read for RC alone.

[Widdle_Dumpling]

I understand why you are saying this, and it sounds like this strategy works really well for you, but I don't think this is a strategy that is necessary or advisable for most test takers.

Having to hold all of the question stems in your head is just unnecessary and could potentially lead to confusion. You should read for a general understanding of the passage and how all parts of it relate to each other. You will be consistently tested on those relationships so no need to read the questions- if you read for relationships you will be able to answer all general questions confidently and find the details you need for specific questions easily.

Also, you should always be looking for the author's opinion while you read anyway, so no need to read a question stem to confirm you'll have to have an understanding of what the author thinks- you can generally be sure they will test you on it for every passage.

OP, I will recommend again the LSAT Trainer- really, really worth the read for RC alone.

It's absolutely not necessary--it's just something to try. Personally, I found it more of use in LR than anything else, but I remember it as a technique they taught us in SAT prep classes.

[sanibella]

I understand why you are saying this, and it sounds like this strategy works really well for you, but I don't think this is a strategy that is necessary or advisable for most test takers.

Having to hold all of the question stems in your head is just unnecessary and could potentially lead to confusion. You should read for a general understanding of the passage and how all parts of it relate to each other. You will be consistently tested on those relationships so no need to read the questions- if you read for relationships you will be able to answer all general questions confidently and find the details you need for specific questions easily.

Also, you should always be looking for the author's opinion while you read anyway, so no need to read a question stem to confirm you'll have to have an understanding of what the author thinks- you can generally be sure they will test you on it for every passage.

OP, I will recommend again the LSAT Trainer- really, really worth the read for RC alone.

It's absolutely not necessary--it's just something to try. Personally, I found it more of use in LR than anything else, but I remember it as a technique they taught us in SAT prep classes.

I completely agree it is very helpful in LR. The stimulus is much shorter though and you need to read most questions with a critical eye as opposed to the objective lens through which you should view RC. You're also looking for specific flaws as opposed to a broad, relational understanding. It is definitely a good technique for SAT passages (actually used to teach SAT prep and taught that exact strategy ) but I've personally found SAT reading comp to be different than LSAT RC.

[appind]

I understand why you are saying this, and it sounds like this strategy works really well for you, but I don't think this is a strategy that is necessary or advisable for most test takers.

Having to hold all of the question stems in your head is just unnecessary and could potentially lead to confusion. You should read for a general understanding of the passage and how all parts of it relate to each other. You will be consistently tested on those relationships so no need to read the questions- if you read for relationships you will be able to answer all general questions confidently and find the details you need for specific questions easily.

Also, you should always be looking for the author's opinion while you read anyway, so no need to read a question stem to confirm you'll have to have an understanding of what the author thinks- you can generally be sure they will test you on it for every passage.

OP, I will recommend again the LSAT Trainer- really, really worth the read for RC alone.

can you describe how much time you take to each read/analyze the passage, do the questions, finish the section and how you score in fresh timed recent rc?

[sanibella]

I understand why you are saying this, and it sounds like this strategy works really well for you, but I don't think this is a strategy that is necessary or advisable for most test takers.

Having to hold all of the question stems in your head is just unnecessary and could potentially lead to confusion. You should read for a general understanding of the passage and how all parts of it relate to each other. You will be consistently tested on those relationships so no need to read the questions- if you read for relationships you will be able to answer all general questions confidently and find the details you need for specific questions easily.

Also, you should always be looking for the author's opinion while you read anyway, so no need to read a question stem to confirm you'll have to have an understanding of what the author thinks- you can generally be sure they will test you on it for every passage.

OP, I will recommend again the LSAT Trainer- really, really worth the read for RC alone.

can you describe how much time you take to each read/analyze the passage, do the questions, finish the section and how you score in fresh timed recent rc?

I haven't timed myself on that stuff individually in a long time so I don't know exactly. I believe it takes me usually 2 to 2:30 to read a passage? Probably closer to 3 or 3:30 for sciences? I did time individual passages and questions recently and it took me between 5:26 and 9:34 depending on passage type. I go a lot faster for humanities/arts than I do for science. I also am very quick for comparative reading.

ETA: Going to be drilling RC later, so I will time passage and questions separately.

Past ten: -1.6, past 5: -1.2