Reading Comp? Forum

[kcho10]

Hey guys,
One question type is always killing me on the reading comp passages...and that is the detail questions that say something along the lines of ..."The author would agree with each of the following EXCEPT" or "each of these are mentioned in the passage EXCEPT"...I have trouble finding where each of the answer choices are in the passage...how do you guys approach these questions, and are there any approaches that help you predict what will be asked about in these question types? Thanks in advance!

[clovis]

Each of the four wrong answers should be VERY easy to find and will be grouped in no more than two clumps in the text. Maybe two will be together or three will be close and the fourth will be a little farther away. Meanwhile, the one right answer that's not mentioned in the text will usually be something that seems off. Whenever they give a question like this that, by its structure, is inherently time-consuming, they will compensate by making it relatively EASIER in content. In other words, you should expect an overall low level of difficulty. Just don't be lazy, dive into the text, find the four mentioned things fast and you're good. Even though, often, you will be able to spot the right answer off the bat if you're a good reader. These questions are not tricky, they are just trying to intimidate you.

[kcho10]

Each of the four wrong answers should be VERY easy to find and will be grouped in no more than two clumps in the text. Maybe two will be together or three will be close and the fourth will be a little farther away. Meanwhile, the one right answer that's not mentioned in the text will usually be something that seems off. Whenever they give a question like this that, by its structure, is inherently time-consuming, they will compensate by making it relatively EASIER in content. In other words, you should expect an overall low level of difficulty. Just don't be lazy, dive into the text, find the four mentioned things fast and you're good. Even though, often, you will be able to spot the right answer off the bat if you're a good reader. These questions are not tricky, they are just trying to intimidate you.

Hey Clovis,
Thanks a lot for your response. I will definitely try this out!

[Blueprint Mithun]

Hey guys,
One question type is always killing me on the reading comp passages...and that is the detail questions that say something along the lines of ..."The author would agree with each of the following EXCEPT" or "each of these are mentioned in the passage EXCEPT"...I have trouble finding where each of the answer choices are in the passage...how do you guys approach these questions, and are there any approaches that help you predict what will be asked about in these question types? Thanks in advance!

The two types of questions you mentioned are actually quite different. "Each of these are mentioned EXCEPT..." type questions are detail-oriented, and the best way to deal with them is to quickly scan the passage, like clovis mentioned. You're not expected to remember little details off the cuff like that. However, you can save a lot of time if you know where to look beforehand.

If the passage was about, say, dark matter, and the question asked you to name the one answer choice that WASN'T described as dark matter, you can save lots of time if you can remember where they discussed that issue. There might be a paragraph or two where they basically list different examples, and if you can remember where that is, you'll save a bunch of time. At Blueprint we encourage people to "tag" paragraphs in terms of their role in the argument or arguments being made. So I might write the word, "examples" or "evidence" next to a paragraph like that during my first reading of the passage.

Also, on the harder versions of these kinds of questions, one trick I've seen them pull is to mention something that was mentioned in the first two or three sentences, which people tend to skip when they scan the passage.

The other type of question you mentioned, "the author would agree with ... EXCEPT" are more argument-based. They test how well you understand the author's viewpoint and attitude towards the subject. Before even looking at the answer choices for these questions, I always quickly review what the author's opinion is. Was he totally skeptical about dark matter's existence? Did he contend one specific part of the argument? If you can put yourself in his/her frame of mind, you'll more critical and less likely to be swayed by misleading answer choices.

[kcho10]

Hey guys,
One question type is always killing me on the reading comp passages...and that is the detail questions that say something along the lines of ..."The author would agree with each of the following EXCEPT" or "each of these are mentioned in the passage EXCEPT"...I have trouble finding where each of the answer choices are in the passage...how do you guys approach these questions, and are there any approaches that help you predict what will be asked about in these question types? Thanks in advance!

The two types of questions you mentioned are actually quite different. "Each of these are mentioned EXCEPT..." type questions are detail-oriented, and the best way to deal with them is to quickly scan the passage, like clovis mentioned. You're not expected to remember little details off the cuff like that. However, you can save a lot of time if you know where to look beforehand.

If the passage was about, say, dark matter, and the question asked you to name the one answer choice that WASN'T described as dark matter, you can save lots of time if you can remember where they discussed that issue. There might be a paragraph or two where they basically list different examples, and if you can remember where that is, you'll save a bunch of time. At Blueprint we encourage people to "tag" paragraphs in terms of their role in the argument or arguments being made. So I might write the word, "examples" or "evidence" next to a paragraph like that during my first reading of the passage.

Also, on the harder versions of these kinds of questions, one trick I've seen them pull is to mention something that was mentioned in the first two or three sentences, which people tend to skip when they scan the passage.

The other type of question you mentioned, "the author would agree with ... EXCEPT" are more argument-based. They test how well you understand the author's viewpoint and attitude towards the subject. Before even looking at the answer choices for these questions, I always quickly review what the author's opinion is. Was he totally skeptical about dark matter's existence? Did he contend one specific part of the argument? If you can put yourself in his/her frame of mind, you'll more critical and less likely to be swayed by misleading answer choices.

Awesome, this was very insightful. Thank you, Mithun. I tried out this method and it really helped...now I need to start focusing on time! Are you an LSAT instructor?

[Blueprint Mithun]

Hey guys,
One question type is always killing me on the reading comp passages...and that is the detail questions that say something along the lines of ..."The author would agree with each of the following EXCEPT" or "each of these are mentioned in the passage EXCEPT"...I have trouble finding where each of the answer choices are in the passage...how do you guys approach these questions, and are there any approaches that help you predict what will be asked about in these question types? Thanks in advance!

The two types of questions you mentioned are actually quite different. "Each of these are mentioned EXCEPT..." type questions are detail-oriented, and the best way to deal with them is to quickly scan the passage, like clovis mentioned. You're not expected to remember little details off the cuff like that. However, you can save a lot of time if you know where to look beforehand.

If the passage was about, say, dark matter, and the question asked you to name the one answer choice that WASN'T described as dark matter, you can save lots of time if you can remember where they discussed that issue. There might be a paragraph or two where they basically list different examples, and if you can remember where that is, you'll save a bunch of time. At Blueprint we encourage people to "tag" paragraphs in terms of their role in the argument or arguments being made. So I might write the word, "examples" or "evidence" next to a paragraph like that during my first reading of the passage.

Also, on the harder versions of these kinds of questions, one trick I've seen them pull is to mention something that was mentioned in the first two or three sentences, which people tend to skip when they scan the passage.

The other type of question you mentioned, "the author would agree with ... EXCEPT" are more argument-based. They test how well you understand the author's viewpoint and attitude towards the subject. Before even looking at the answer choices for these questions, I always quickly review what the author's opinion is. Was he totally skeptical about dark matter's existence? Did he contend one specific part of the argument? If you can put yourself in his/her frame of mind, you'll more critical and less likely to be swayed by misleading answer choices.

Awesome, this was very insightful. Thank you, Mithun. I tried out this method and it really helped...now I need to start focusing on time! Are you an LSAT instructor?

Yes! I'm an LSAT teacher for Blueprint LSAT, if my username didn't give it away. I've been teaching the test for about a year and a half in the DC area. If you have any other questions, you can post them in this topic and I'll give you an answer in a day or two at most: http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 4#p8833414